Who would have thought a plastic bag or a plastic water or soda bottle could be upcycled into something so unique and beautiful? Check out these unique upcycled products made by talented artists and I think you'll agree that one person's trash can definitely be another person's treasure.
unique flowers made from the bottoms of soda bottles (above and below) by Michelle Brand
What is PET?
PET aka polyethylene terephthalate is a highly recyclable plastic product made from oil. It is what water bottles and soda bottles are made from. Above is the recycling classification mark that is shown on the bottoms of bottles and other PET products. These products should always be recycled.
2-liter bottle boxes (above and below) by Zitta Schnitt
Plastic bottle table lamp by SarahTurnerEcoDesign via Etsy
DIY How to make "wire" from plastic bottles for use in jewelry and crafts
Plastic bottle beads by the frugal crafter
Lampshade (above) and Fruit bowl (below) made from melted recycled plastic by Frozen Plastic via Etsy
PET Plastic bottle stick pin brooches (above) and bowl (below) by gulnurozdaglar on Etsy
PET plastic bottle jellyfish by Miwa Koizumi
DIY jewelry stand made from recycled plastic bottles
Handbags made from recycled plastic bags
Recycled plastic bag chickens
and snakes
Lampshade made from recycled plastic bags by Zipper8Lighting via Etsy
Mandala made from plastic bags by Virginia Fleck
Tote made from fused plastic bags by Lousupcycles via Etsy
Landfill decomposition rates:
Milk carton: 5 years
Plastic milk jug: 500 years
Aluminum can: 80 to 200 years
Plastic drinking bottles: hundreds of years
Plastic bags: hundreds of years
Cigarette butt: up to five years & leaches toxins into the ground
Newspaper: 2 to 4 weeks or longer
Glass bottles: tens of thousands of years
Styrofoam: no sign of ever breaking down
(figures from ecocomic.com)
What do you think?
I hope you have a great week
Love, Laura
My broken china jewelry is always available for purchase
at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns
at https://www.etsy.com/shop/dishfunctionldesigns
whoops, post just got eaten! let me try again. people are amazing what they can do to recycle and repurpose things. that jellyfish is absolutely stunning. so is the pile of bottles. hits the point home. don't know if you got my post a couple of weeks ago, but i broke a pretty dish and thought of you. i've saved it aside if you'd like me to send it to you. very pretty black and white. just shoot me an email!
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked the post! I just left a note on your blog. Can you send me a pic of it? (to be sure I can use it, hate to have you send it if it's not something I can work with). And where can I get the Pinterest button you have? The only one I've found is one I have to embed in my main code and I'd rather have one that is a 'gadget.'
DeleteLaura
...Ok, I found the Pinterest button. On Pinterest. LOL
DeleteNo way! Love the fruit bowl, and totally the zipper thing. This is like.. totally fascinating.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like!
DeleteWow - what creative ideas! The zipper boxes are hilarious and I love the jellyfish!
ReplyDeleteI love the jellyfish too - it's so cool!
Deletethe zipper boxes would be great for traveling. thanks for the ideas
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting!
DeleteWould love to know how you did the bangle bracelets? I love all the ideas. Can't wait to try some of them for my students.
ReplyDeleteClick on the link below the photo for more info on the bracelets
DeleteThank you so much.
DeleteThank you so much for linking up to and featuring my post! I love all the other great ideas of repurposing plastic bottles. And as you saying: one person's trash can definitely be another person's treasure. But despite all of these fantastic works of art, we should try not to buy plastic bottles or totes.
ReplyDeleteExactly. Well said!
DeleteWith two thirsty teenage boys and a thirsty husband, I am drowning in plastic water bottles. Thanks so much for the great ideas and wonderful tutorials. I've started to make art from the bottles when I get home from work - it's my cheap therapy and keeps me from eating! Double bonus
ReplyDeleteTru Dee
That's excellent!
DeleteThese are amazing and really neat, thanks for making this post! I was wondering about the possible harm of re-using the plastic? I have seen posts like this before and have always been wary to make something that food goes into out of re-used plastic because of the decomp. Any info would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't recommend using anything to store food in.
DeleteSome great ideas. I have a friend who lives by a lake and has made a raft completely from recycled plastic bottles. It even has an old sofa and a sunshade on it.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome!
DeleteI love your blog. :D
ReplyDeleteFantastic ideas here. Definitely going to try. The jellyfish is just an amazing, beautiful yet troubling work of art.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to start a business selling bags recycled from the fabric from discarded umbrellas- part of a growing international community working with this material.
I collect umbrella recycling ideas and put them pn the board 'umbrella crafters' on my pinterest, under the name carminabiryani