Olympia: Bottle men working flat out

l Mark Head (left) and Tony Skelling display a framed set of flattened Wychwood bottles

August 3, 2005: Tony Skelling and partner Mark Head are quite happy to show off their extensive range of flattened beer bottles, but just don't ask then how it's done - it's a trade secret.

Tony, from Harrogate, is a design and technology teacher and stumbled across the process while he and a class were doing a project on rubbish landfill sites.
Now, Tony and Mark not only recycles their bottles - they give them a total new lease of life!

The Flat Bottle Company (what else would you call such a business?!) can take your favourite bottle, flatten it and present it in a frame, or to be hung on a wall.

They get requests, too, to create corporate gifts and to make lasting mementoes of bottles such as those which contained celebration Champagnes and the like. They make good cheeseboards, as well.

Particularly popular are flattened Marmite bottles, although I suppose you either love them or hate them!