Wanted...Creative Ideas for Reusing or Recycling Plastic Bottles

Wanted: Creative Ideas for Reusing/Recycling Plastic Bottles

I've been saving my plastic bottles these last few weeks. What happened was I wanted to make a canoe out of plastic bottles (only need 275 roughly, I got 50). But then I read a bit more on the project and you also need about $50 worth of adhesive and it took him roughly 6 months to collect the bottles...for a boat that floats, but also takes on some water. Although I really want to do the project, I decided to check out some alternatives, because, you know, I have at least 6 months before I would be able to build it.

So, I went looking for other projects I could do. There were a lot of crafts for single bottle uses. Things like irrigation systems for plants, bird feeders, lights, aquariums, vertical gardens, etc... But none of them jumped out at me like the canoe.

I did find some other innovative ideas though...one fairly interesting project was using them in building homes . They state at the link that the house pictured above used 8000 plastic bottles and freed up 12 cubic meters in a landfill. Most of these house building projects are being done in places like Honduras, Columbia, and Bolivia, and apparently plastic bottles are pretty much indestructible and perfect material for building.

The only other thing I saw I wanted to do was a greenhouse, but it seems like it would be too big a project to do on my own (maybe not, but it seems that way). And I thought maybe, just maybe, someone on ATS might know of a fun project that I can start with the bottles I do have. I don't care if it takes me a few months to collect the bottles, I just want a project I can start now and continuously add to. So I can see the progress as I go without messing up the actual process of building it.

Has anyone come up with a creative way to re-purpose plastic bottles? Anything that maybe wasn't mentioned or maybe you tried one of the other projects and can speak to how good or bad it worked? Any ideas/help would be appreciated...

As always, thanks for reading....

blend57

a reply to: blend57

In days gone by, the bottles would last a long time. Most bottles manufactured now, tend to self destruct over time due to their design. That is, they are designed to degrade in the sun.

So perhaps they need to be used where the sunlight can't get to them.

P

Here are a couple videos on rope/string made from plastic bottles.

I know gardeners used plastic bottles as micro-greenhouses for little seedlings. You could hang them from trees and use them as bird feeders.

a reply to: blend57

I don't have a plastic bottle recycling idea, I just love the concept of this thread.
Very good !

a reply to: blend57

I have some pics of a few smaller projects, that I saved when I saw them posted somewhere.

io9.gizmodo.com...

LadyGreenEyes

Thanks for the pics! I saw the bird feeder ones while I was looking for projects. But I never saw the flower pics. Looks like a fun project to do.

Trueman

Thank you! Just was thinking that there had to be a better place for the bottles then in the land fill. Saw the canoe and thought it would be a fun project, but figured I would see what else was out there that I could do. ATS is full of creative people...best place to ask these types of questions honestly.

stormcell

If I do a greenhouse, I think using any additional bottles for seedlings would be a good way to keep reusing/recycling. Thanks for the idea!

Evilbunnie

Those videos were pretty interesting. Making rope from bottles and also doing it pretty much for free. The rope looked sturdy enough to me. Maybe I'll try that with a few as well... Thanks!

pheonix358

So, possibly the irrigation idea would be good. They poke holes in the bottles and bury them underground up to the mouth..then fill with water and let it slowly drain into the ground. (more to it then that, but that's a rough synopsis of the process)

Thanks everyone for the great ideas so far. I truly am grateful for the replies...

blend57

How bout building your own personal island resting on plastic bottles?
youtu.be...
B
PS.. mobile doesn't give me YouTube link options

We use them to feed our cat.

Just poke a few smallish holes in one and pour the dry food into it. She has to roll it around to work out the individual kibbles. She gets exercise while she eats and she can't wolf down her food so fast she immediately pukes it all back up.

i just read this a couple days ago...

www.boredpanda.com...

originally posted by: blend57

Wanted: Creative Ideas for Reusing/Recycling Plastic Bottles

I've been saving my plastic bottles these last few weeks. What happened was I wanted to make a canoe out of plastic bottles (only need 275 roughly, I got 50). But then I read a bit more on the project and you also need about $50 worth of adhesive and it took him roughly 6 months to collect the bottles...for a boat that floats, but also takes on some water. Although I really want to do the project, I decided to check out some alternatives, because, you know, I have at least 6 months before I would be able to build it.

So, I went looking for other projects I could do. There were a lot of crafts for single bottle uses. Things like irrigation systems for plants, bird feeders, lights, aquariums, vertical gardens, etc... But none of them jumped out at me like the canoe.

I did find some other innovative ideas though...one fairly interesting project was using them in building homes . They state at the link that the house pictured above used 8000 plastic bottles and freed up 12 cubic meters in a landfill. Most of these house building projects are being done in places like Honduras, Columbia, and Bolivia, and apparently plastic bottles are pretty much indestructible and perfect material for building.

The only other thing I saw I wanted to do was a greenhouse, but it seems like it would be too big a project to do on my own (maybe not, but it seems that way). And I thought maybe, just maybe, someone on ATS might know of a fun project that I can start with the bottles I do have. I don't care if it takes me a few months to collect the bottles, I just want a project I can start now and continuously add to. So I can see the progress as I go without messing up the actual process of building it.

Has anyone come up with a creative way to re-purpose plastic bottles? Anything that maybe wasn't mentioned or maybe you tried one of the other projects and can speak to how good or bad it worked? Any ideas/help would be appreciated...

As always, thanks for reading....

blend57

Fill them up with water and save in cool place to use for emergency. Fill with water and freeze for ice packs. Fill with water and leave them open in corners of rooms, under your bed to absorb negative energy. Dump the water when they "feel" full into healthy grass or plants. Peel off the lables and string a bunch together through the tops and fill half way with water then add food coloring. Hang them over windows or your backyard like you would with a string of lights at night, except these show their glow when the sunlight goes through them. Or string them at the tops and fill them with change, buttons, little rocks, sand, dried flowers or leaves. Paint them and string them. Make wind chimes out of them. Cut out the bottom and hang two old spoons inside of them or something so they clink together in the wind. Make a vest or belt out of them. Paint them and form letters out of them, huge ones, spell something out, then adhere to your roof. Make Christmas decorations out of them. A wreath.

a reply to: blend57

How's this???

www.youtube.com...

Great ideas. I just wonder now days how long they will last, for the green house ideas? I've used them for more simple reasons, catching fruit flies(cut in half or 1/3 then turn it upside down without the cap on- have soda or sugared water left in it and they cannot get out), even wasps and hornets if they come close to your camp fire. Also when out camping, if you're out of bowls, to use can cut them and use them as one.

Thanks to everyone for all the creative, innovative ideas! I was thinking about a couple uses that maybe haven't been done yet and also, might be ongoing projects that I can start now and gradually build upon. Not sure how feasible they are, but maybe someone here has already done them or has an idea how to implement them/perfect them....

The first idea is building a patio out of plastic bottles. Filling them with sand or dirt just as you would for making a house out of them, burying them, but leave them about 1/3rd or 1/4 above ground. Maybe have to pour some type of concrete filler over them after they are all placed..I am unsure. Just a thought that came to me over night...

The second idea is similar...making a patio walkway in the same fashion as above. I have seen the caps used for walk ways, but not the full bottle itself. And I am unsure how difficult it would be to bury the bottles (probably a bit more work then just using the caps) Similar to this:


and also there is a garden bed bottle wall. It is a bit, well, ugly...so would need to work on the look a bit, but that is a pretty good reuse for the bottles...


Still looking for some ideas...although I loved the island one, it is probably way too big a project for me to do, and I'm land locked currently, so...

Thanks again everyone!
blend57

a reply to: blend57

Great thread Blend!
I love the idea of repurposing things also and it's unfortunate that I could likely gather a massive amount of water and soda bottles just walking around the roads Anyway, I started looking for some ideas on what to do with them all as well.
Here's some things I found
We can make rocket packs! Haven't perfected the lift off yet but, I will.

Rainbow bubble snakes seem fun AND harmless enough

And now I know where I can keep my jellyfish.


Hope these ideas help and I would like to thank you in participating in helping to make our world a little cleaner and as always with your threads, a little brighter.

a reply to: Evilbunnie

I really like the rope video.

TNMockingbird

Thanks, Lady! I looked at the jet pack..thought about it pretty hard and serious too!
I might make one, because, who doesn't want a jet pack!! I would still have quite a few bottles leftover though..and also, will be collecting more. One thing with the crafty ideas is that I'm not very crafty. I usually don't care to sit down and do projects like those...but I do envy the people who have the patience and creativity to do so.

I do like to build things though....

I am going to the cabin today and it has no/limited internet access up there. So I will check back on the thread when I get back later today or if I happen to get a signal (doubtful)..

Again, thanks so much for all the cool ideas and projects!

thanks,
blend57

My folks do luminaries every year at the holidays with milk jugs, but I don't see why you couldn't adapt to use plastic bottles. And luminaries wouldn't necessarily be just holiday thing either. You would use them for garden lighting, for example.

Basically, the bottle becomes the shielding/housing for the light. And if you have clear plastic, I don't see why you couldn't find a way to color that plastic to the color of your choosing or use colored lighting to achieve the effects you want.



If you look up plastic bottles luminaries on Google, you 'll find images of different hings that can be done that way, including using them as hanging light shades too.

a reply to: blend57
That's a good idea for a thread. You might enjoy this:

ketsuko

Some of the luminaries made of plastic look really awesome! I saw a few pics while I was researching for ideas. Thanks for mentioning them! Also, I thought about making TIKI torches to light a pathway (while making the pathway..lol) Which I think would be somewhat cool to do and also look good using plastic bottles. And I loved the cat feeder idea you suggested as well. Going to start that one immediately! Thanks for that suggestion as well!

Skid Mark

Vertical bottle gardens I would use in my green house..as well as the seedling idea. The vertical gardens would allow me to have more plants, as well as it's easier to transfer them into larger pots when they are ready I would think..I like the watering system they showed in the video.

I'm leaning towards those two projects..the greenhouse and the pathway with tiki torches. That will definitely keep me busy for sometime... (pathway first I think..)

Thanks for all the really, really good ideas everyone. If I see something new or come up with more I'll keep posting him here on occasion. Anyone else feel free to do the same. I think I will always be looking for some new, inventive way to recycle bottles...just wish you could find one idea that was a continuous, never ending recycling project.. (which the closest I see so far is the rope making idea).

Thanks again!

blend