Plastic is forever, so keeping plastic bags and bottles out of the briny deep is important.



I reported recently in this space about the hundreds of millions of tons of plastic debris contaminating the world’s oceans. Plastic is forever, so keeping plastic bags and bottles (to name some of the most common items) out of the briny deep is important. There are plenty of commercial products that use recycled plastics, from Polartec to backyard decks. But there are also a lot of fun and useful things the recycling-conscious DIY-er can make, too.

If you’re like me, you’ve got a big plastic bag overflowing with smaller plastic grocery bags. Now you can knit a recycled plastic carryall to bring to the store with you next time — or just use it to contain its cousins. You can even make a camo themed bag out of plastic yarn, or “plarn.” Double your impact by using plarn to make a carrier for your soon-to-be-recycled 1 liter water bottles.

How about some jewelry and accessories? Just fuse plastic bags into a flexible fashion statement. Or make a futuristic vest from recycled plastic bottles.

Those with a yen for fun furniture can take inspiration from a chair made out of plastic bags by South African designer Ryan Frank.

For DIY recycler-gardeners, plastic bottles and bags are a boon. Want to grow a container salad garden? Use a reusable plastic grocery bag that’s seen better days. And you can water your container veggies with this nifty watering can made out of a plastic jug. You can make harder-sided plant pots or create a drip irrigation system for your flower or vegetable beds.

Drag your kids away from their DSs with some cool craft projects made from plastic bottles, from a bird-feeding station to a box car.

When you’re tired of gardening, you can tool around a local lake with a raft made out of tree branches and plastic bottles. (OK, maybe not.)

Run out of ideas? If worse comes to worst, you can always recycle your plastic bags the old-fashioned way. Find a list of retailers who will take them here.

With a little ingenuity, we can all keep plastic out of the oceans and in use for a long time to come.

By Francesca Rheannon