Reusing plastic bottles

Everyone is well aware about the massive destruction of the environment by the hands of humans. This has led to new inventions and origin of innovative plans every day to reduce the damage caused by us. Of course, we cannot just invent something out of the blue. But, the least we can do is to “Reuse, Reduce and Recycle”.

If we wish to minimize waste and save money in the process, we must consume less. Also, our main focus should be on efficiency rather than convenience. It requires a substantial amount of energy to manufacture, fill, ship, and recycle or destroy plastic water bottles.

Benefits of reusing plastic bottles:

• Conservation of Oil – When a ton of plastic bottles are recycled approximately 3.8 barrels of petroleum is saved.
• Reduction of Greenhouse Gas emissions – The substitution of recycled materials reduces the emission of greenhouse gases that are produced in the manufacturing of virgin materials.
• Saving of Landfill Space – Not having millions of plastic bottles in the landfill results in a saving of 6.7 cubic meters of landfill space.
• Reduction of pollution – Reusing plastic water bottles means that there is less demand to manufacture new bottles from virgin petroleum resin, and this leads to production of less trash that ends up in landfills, streams, and parks. Reusing plastic bottles can significantly reduce pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy usage.
• Reduction of waste – Washing and reusing plastic water bottles reduces waste and landfill crowding, minimizes pollution, and conserves energy. Refilling your plastic water bottle with tap water is considerably less resource intensive than purchasing commercially purified and bottled water.
• A clean environment – Every day, consumers discard more than 60 million plastic water bottles. These bottles litter highways, clog waterways, or end up in incinerators and landfills.

How can we reuse plastic bottles?

Below are 10 DIY Green tips given to reduce the use of plastics by reusing them. These are very simple and highly useful projects that will make our day to day chores easier to follow and at the same time will contribute to a greener earth.

If this is not enough to motivate you to go green then remember that a plastic bottle takes 700 years to start the decomposition process and more than a century to fully disappear in the environment.

Initially, prepare your bottle. For all of these projects, you will need to fill your empty plastic coke bottle with hot tap water to melt the label adhesive. Remove the label and pour the hot water out. This will leave you with a clean, blank bottle ready to be reused. Use a craft knife for cutting purposes.

1. Food Container – Use two plastic bottles of different sizes: a longer one (to be the base) and a smaller one (to be the cover) and fit them together. Use these containers to store food such as rice, beans, noodles and sugar.                                                                                                                      

2. Watering cans – You only need to make some holes on the cap using a nail and a hammer. The easiest and the most convenient way to water the plants.

3. Desk Organizer – Cut the lower part of the bottles and use them as desk organizers for your offices or homes. Use your creativity and make them in different sizes and very colourful.

4. Bird´s Feeder – If you have a garden (or not) but like to have birds flying, then it is a good idea to place some feeders to attract them. One idea is using some wood spoons dovetailed in the bottle. Make small holes and insert the spoons by the cable side. Full the bottle with bird’s food and let it slip in the spoon. Now the only part left is to hang the feeder in a tree and wait for the birds.

5. Snack Bowls – The bottom part of plastic bottles can be perfectly used as snack bowls. Cut the bottom part of the bottle. Use it to put small snacks as peanuts, almonds or chips.

6. Emergency Spoon – Make a spoon using a plastic bottle. It is only to cut it as you can see in the picture bellow using the bottom round part as a spoon. Simple and easy for emergency cases.

7. Magazine Organizer – Cut the upper part of some plastic bottles and nail them in a wooden board. In offices this idea can work as a mail organizer or a newspaper organizer.

8. Candle holder – Transform an empty plastic bottle into a creative candle holder. Cut off the top portion of the plastic bottle with a craft knife. Fill the bottom of the bottle with sand, pebbles, shells or gemstones. Light a candle in your personalized candle holder.

9. Flower Vase – Create a flower vase from a plastic bottle. Remove the top portion of the bottle with a craft knife and wrap the remaining portion of the bottle with paper, using glue to secure it in place. Either use a decorative paper or use white paper and decorate it with markers, stickers, gemstones and other craft supplies. Fill the bottle with water and place a bouquet of flowers inside.

10. Pencil Cup – Make a storage system for your mountain of pens, pencils and markers on your desk. Measure the height you wish your container to be, and mark it on the bottle. Cut the top of the bottle off at this mark. Decorate the bottle with stickers or craft supplies, if you would like to personalize your pencil cup.