When Boise Mayor Dirk Kempthorne walks into his office, he walks on teal-toned carpet made from plastic ketchup bottles.
And the walls are decorated with matching recycled paint.With the help of a robot in the shape of a Heinz Ketchup bottle, the mayor showed off his new decor to the media Thursday and made a pitch for Boise residents to buy recycled products.
"This city has been very active in its recycling pilot programs," Kempthorne said. "But we can't forget the end products that are made from recyclables."
Ore-Ida Foods Inc., a Heinz subsidiary, paid the $1,200 for the carpet and its installation.
"We just really have to recycle everything we can," said John Glerum, Ore-Ida president and chief executive officer.
The recycled carpet, called commercial plush, was made from plastic bottles cut, melted and molded into fibers. It cost about $16 per square yard.
The new carpet replaces worn, torn carpet, part of which was salvaged to cover the floor of a city hall conference room.
The paint was made by Ponderosa Paint from old latex.