Creative Ways to Recycle & Repurpose Plastic Bottles

Creative Ways to Recycle & Repurpose Plastic Bottles
Veronica Davis
8/3/2014
Updated:
4/23/2016

Society has been campaigning earnestly for everyone to participate in the “Go Green” movement. Legislation has also played a part by enforcing citizens to take care of the environment.

Saving Our Earth One Bottle at a Time

Plastic bottles are made by mass production. There are over 35 billion plastic bottles discarded every year. It would be a waste not to utilize that plastic to create something new and recycling can give them new life.

There are factories, warehouses and companies that use the recycled material to create new retail items. But instead of just throwing your plastic bottles in the recycling bin, how about recycling them yourself? Recycle your plastic bottle into an art piece or practical item you can keep or give as a gift. You'd be surprised at the masterpieces designed by crafters or the average curious mind. It just takes a little creativity. There are projects for all levels of expertise, which means even the children can join in!

Plastic Bottle Project Ideas

  • Butterflies
  • Vases
  • Bird feeders
  • Jewelry
  • Lamp shades

There are over 250 ideas including the ones above here.

Once you realize the limitless creative possibilities you have with plastic bottles, you might just become addicted . You may even want to consider selling your work online.In this case you might not have enough plastic bottles to support your new interest. No problem there though, as you can invest in wholesale plastic bottles. Arts and crafts have been proven to be therapeutic and fun. If you’re looking to pick up a hobby, you should really give it a try.

Here’s a simple project you can make using two 2 liter bottles:

Pumpkin Luminaries

Materials Needed: Spray paint (for use with children please use non-toxic and water based paint) Two 2 liter empty plastic bottles Contact paper Scissors Knife Adhesive remover (using the sticky side of scotch tape may also do the trick) 2 candles Sand Paper towels (for keeping work area clean) Newspaper (for keeping work area clean) Rubber Gloves (optional)

Instructions: Peel the label from the empty plastic bottles and remove residue (Magic Erasers are great for getting that residue off). Wash the bottles really good and let them dry. Using a knife, cut off the top of the bottles. Cut a half-circle out of the back, close to the bottom (for the sand and the candle) Create a stencil. Draw the face of the pumpkins on contact paper and cut them out. Lay the contact paper on the face of the plastic bottles, and seal edges with fingernail.by pressing down. Spray plastic bottles with Spray paint. (The colors in the image are orange and sunbeam). Let dry for 3 hours. Wait for the paint to dry then simply peel the contact paper stencil up. Add sand to the base for weight and insert the candle. Light and enjoy your recycled bottles!

You can find more ideas for plastic bottle projects like the one above on savedbylovecreations. There are also a variety of websites that may inspire you, like Pinterest. So go for it, Christmas is closer than you think. You can get started on some stocking stuffers.

Veronica is a wife and work at home mom. Her and her husband live in Missouri with their three boys. She has been a freelance writer for over fiver years, and has since ventured into many areas of working online and marketing online. She loves being in the kitchen, discovering new dishes the family loves and hopes to go to culinary school some day. A former Marine and ex-whitewater rafting guide, she loves the outdoors and sports.
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