December Top Tips | 10 ways to re-purpose a plastic bottle

Welcome to December!

We thought it would be cool to find 10 ways you can use a plastic bottle even after you have refilled it gazillion times, so you don't waste all the plastic . Because, even if you try to avoid plastic bottles at all costs, you will inevitably end up using hundreds of them throughout your life. The impact on the environment is undisputed, from the land animals to the creatures of our seas, plastic bottles can have a detrimental impact. But we can reuse them in lots of fun ways, here are our ten favourites. Have a good December and a great new year, you'll hear from us!

1. Bird Feeder

At one of our blog meet-ups, we actually made a bird feeder out of an old plastic bottle, so this is definitely one we can vouch for. It's super simple, as long as you have some good scissors to cut the bottle and a suitable place to hang it. Below is a photograph of ours for some inspiration, and there are plenty of resources online to help you make your bird feeder from a plastic bottle! Now we aren't the most creative bunch, hopefully, you can make yours slightly more visually pleasing.

2. Planter

This is probably one you've heard of, but just like the National Trust in the UK used to make us plant cress in our empty cardboard lunch bags, you can plant herbs or salads in the base of a plastic bottle. It can be a really effective way to reuse your bottles and get a crop of something too! Growing things on windowsills is very easy and doing it in a plastic bottle means you have nothing to loose. You can even try and find a particularly pretty bottle and hang it up.

3. Travel box for toothbrush

Naming this one is weird. If you take the lid of a plastic bottle and cut it in half, you can roll your toothbrush, toothpaste and a little towel into it. Close the bottle and put the lid on; you now have a somewhat waterproof container that keeps your toothbrush well clear of your dirty underwear.

4. Mobile or hanging decoration

there are these plastic bottles that are slightly tinted in one colour, collect several of those and cut long strips of them around and around. They make cool wind spirals. or you can paint parts of a bottle and hang them on a mobile, cutting out specific shapes. You can make basically anything look nice. That goes as a general statement as well, I would say.

5. Storage for workshops

In your workshop, garage or shed, there is a huge mess. Don't even start pretending. Everything is lying around and getting dusty, stepping on those bolts really hurts and you can't ever find the right-sized screw. If you cut an opening in the front of a plastic bottle and hang it up, you can use it to store whatever is lying around and simulate tidiness. You can use different plastic bottles for different bolts, nails or whatever and be really proud of yourself for cleaning up. Even if you haven't, that's what I do, and it makes me feel much better about myself. You can also paint it or decorate it in another way, then it even looks nice.

6. Lantern

When I was about 7, I made this really cool torch lantern from a plastic bottle, for which you need a relatively big stick, a bottle, a bit of string, a sharp knife, glue, a fairy light or a candle and some colourful paper. First, cut off the bottom of the bottle in a wavy line, and turn it over, before cutting bits of orange, red and yellow paper and sticking it on there like flames (With the cap down!). Unscrew the cap and fit the bottle on the stick, wrapping the string around it, just for the sake of beauty. If it doesn't hold, add some glue too. Just pop your light source into it and some lucky child has a really cool torch lantern!

7. Maraca

Making maracas out of plastic bottles is actually really fun, and you can experiment a lot with them. I would recommend using small plastic bottles for that and painting them with colours you can't see through, then pouring in whatever you want: Sand, pebbles, rice (uncooked!), beans (same), shells, little bits of plastic. You name it, it all sounds cool!

8. Trashbin

You can make a trashbin out of plastic bottle caps, but you need A LOT of patience for that. If you collect lots of caps of different colours and clue them all together, you can not only come up with a specific way you want to colour your trashbin but also how you want to shape it. But it's probably a good idea to take bits of the actual bottles and stick them inside of the trashcan so all your trash doesn't fall out of the cracks. Don't get too creative with the shaping part, you don't want to disturb possible visitors...

9. Collection station for pieces of glass

This summer I saw this cool thing, where someone had hung up a plastic bottle with a little opening at the top under a tree called the emergency room of pieces of glass, (Sounds better in my language) the general idea being that people can throw bits of glass they find on the way in there so no one steps on them. It's a really cool thing to have in a place where lots of people walk around barefooted, especially when there are lots of kids around.

10. Egg Yolk Sucker

This is a strange idea, and I haven't yet tried it, but it could be fun, if you have tried it let us know about it! All you have to do is hover your empty plastic bottle over your cracked egg and gently squeeze it. Then release as the egg yolk is sucked up into the bottle and quickly turn the bottle over before it has a chance to escape again! Way faster than slowly running it from one shell to the next. but make sure to wash the bottle, you probably know how bad rotten egg stinks.

Hopefully, you enjoyed this, let us know if you tried any of these ideas and what you thought of them! Have a great time!

Next year, we will be discontinuing the Top Tips series. It has been a cool series to write but now it's time for something new. Here's the vote so that you can decide what we do next year!

Your Green World Team💚

Sources:

I got this video without a link from a friend since I can't really source it, I will attach it at the bottom, it has lots more cool ideas!

https://www.diybunker.com/68-diy-recycle-project-ideas-thatre-totally-genius/

Images:
Bird feeder: This image is owned by a blog editor.

Video:

Comments

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

Hello. On the 12th of August it was International Elephant Day, so we decided that this week's post should be about elephants. Elephants are the largest living land mammals. There are three types of elephant; the African bush elephant; the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants have larger ears, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears. Elephants use their trunks to breath, bring food and drink to their mouths and to grasp objects. Elephants' legs are like pillars. They carry the Elephant's massive weight. African bush elephants weigh 6000kg, Asian elephants weigh 4000kg and African forest elephants weigh 2700kg. Basically, they are very heavy.Elephants eat grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Elephants can live up to 70 years old in the wild. They communicate by sight, touch and smell. Sadly, these wonderful mammals are in danger. African elephants are listed as vulne...

Ozone layer

Hi everyone, What even is ozone? And the ozone layer? Where does the hole in the ozone layer come from and what does it mean? Is it dangerous? What can be done? Often the ozone-talk can be complicated and confusing, keeping an overview is hard and understanding all the problems always difficult. Let us break it down a bit for you: What is the ozone layer? We'll start with the basics: The ozone layer is part of the stratosphere, which is the second layer of the Earth's atmosphere, between 10 and 50 km above the Earth's surface and made up of protective gases. One of these protective gases is ozone. There is not much ozone in the atmosphere, only 0.3 molecule of ozone per 1 million molecules of air. This is because ozone is chemically unstable and only forms when ultra violet radiation (UV light) hits oxygen and breaks the bonds between the atoms. It fact it is so unstable that even when it has formed, it breaks down again relatively quickly. This leads to ozone turning back ...

10 animals on the edge of extinction you didn't know about no. 9 - South Island takahē

Hello Today we’re talking about the South Island takahē, porphyrio hochstetteri . They are flightless birds, endemic to New Zealand. Takahē are brightly coloured and weigh 2.3-3.8 kg. They have red legs and a large red beak. Their feathers are coloured blue and green. They have wings, but these are only used during courtship or rivalry displays. They are territorial, with one family’s territory reaching anywhere from 4 ha to 100 ha (0,04-1km^2). Pairs will live in the same territory each year. They breed once a year and will raise 1-3 chicks (normally 2) each year. Both parents raise the chicks together. In the wild, takahē live in native grasslands and have a lifespan of 16-18 years. If snow covers the ground then they will move into nearby forests. They eat tussock grasses, sedges and sometimes rushes. But they are opportunists, so they will occasionally go for insects or even ducklings and...

The Responsible Traveller by Karen Edwards || a practical guide to reducing your environmental and social impact // BOOK REVIEW

HI Everyone! Our January monthly post was a zero-waste challenge, but as we explained in our 2023 wrap up , this year we will be alternating a monthly challenge with a book review, of course related to the environment. This week, I'm going to share a recommendation for a fantastic book, all about how you can travel more sustainably and responsibly. I absolutely love travelling, but I'm also very aware of the impact it has on the world, and I am very keen to learn more about how I can further reduce my impact. That's why I bought this book around a year ago, and I've really enjoyed reading it and learning from it. This is a practical, small-format guide, sharing both basic information about the climate crisis and the impact of various travel activities, and how you can do your bit. It shares specific journeys that are more environmentally friendly options, for example long distance train journeys such as The Alaskan Railroad with its stunning alpine forests and wide ar...

How much do you know about marine animals? | quiz

Hi Everyone! Welcome to another monthly quiz! Today we are so excited to share some quiz questions on marine animals. Let us know how you did in the comments! Questions 1) Which of these came first: sharks, dinosaurs or jellyfish? 2) How many electric bulbs could an electric eel light up? 3) True of False: dolphins sleep with only half their brain. 4) True or False: an octopus has purple blood. 5) What is the loudest sound made by a marine animal (and indeed any animal on the planet!)? 6) True or False: oysters are all female. 7) In which animal species do the males and not the females give birth and care for their young? 8) True or False: a shrimp's heart is in its head. 9) True or False: sea sponges have no head, brain, mouth, eyes, feelers, bones, heart, or lungs. 10) How many continents do turtles live in? Answers: 1) Jellyfish! They've been around for more than 650 million years. 2) 10 3) True! They also...

Pollination

Hello everyone, Today we're talking about pollination and its importance in the world's ecosystems. First a bit of basic plant biology. To reproduce most plants do have a differentiation into male and female, but not in the same way that we see in mammals. Both male and female reproductive organs can be found on the same plant, although not in the same place. Male gametes are produced in the stamens and are then found in pollen. On the other hand, female reproductive organs are called pistils and egg cells are found in the ovule (normally in the flower heads). Pollination describes the process of transporting the pollen to the egg cells, making it an essential part of the reproduction of plants. Nearly all seed plants worldwide require pollination to reproduce. Cone bearing trees also need pollination. Pollination is almost always assisted by other organisms such as insects, birds and mammals to transport the pollen. In some species wind ...

Biodiversity

Hello, Today we're talking about biodiversity and why it's so important. As you probably know biodiversity describes the variety of living species, often referring to one specific place or ecosystem. For example, the Amazon rainforest is a very biodiverse ecosystem. The opposite of biodiverse is a monoculture. A monoculture often refers to farmland, where only one crop is produced. Palm oil plantations are normally monocultures, with rows and rows of palm trees and nothing else. I'm going to start by giving you an idea of the current situation. This year, the State of Nature 2023 report was published. This report looks at recent changes in biodiversity in the UK. To be frank, it's bad news. One in six (17%) of all UK species and almost half (43%) of bird species are at risk of extinction. 31% of amphibians and reptiles and 28% of fungi are also at risk. There has been a 54% decline in flowering plant species and a 34% decline in ...

Carbon credits

Hi everyone, Welcome back to Green World! Today we're talking about an industry that has expanded massively in the past few years. Carbon credits are one of the measures that companies are taking to reduce CO2 emissions . But how does it actually work? The companies that sell carbon credits fund projects to protect an area of forest or rainforest from deforestation . They then calculate how much carbon dioxide emissions they have saves by protecting this area. This means they can now sell 'negative carbon emissions' to companies. In this way, the companies are funding the protection of said area and are causing negative emissions while doing so meaning that the company can still emit greenhouse gases but can claim to be net zero. One carbon credit is basically the permission to emit one ton of CO2. This is good for the company as well as they are able to advertise as sustainable at a relatively low cost to actually reducing the...

Ecotourism: what it is, the advantages and the disadvantages

Hi Everyone! Today we wanted to talk about the idea of ecotourism, including the advantages and disadvantages of this concept. If you are looking to reduce your environmental and social impact when travelling, then this is the post for you! Ecotourism is a form of tourism which limits the damage to the environment and local community. It can involve helping in community projects such as planting trees, as well as taking part in local customs and festivals. It helps to keep the local culture alive, while preserving the natural environment. The advantages are abundant. By helping in a project conserving the environment, tourists gain a new understanding and appreciation for the natural world and may be inspired to make changes in their "real" life to live more sustainably. It provides a valuable insight to a country and community, perhaps also inspiring more respect for different people and the lives they lead. The projects also provide sustainable income sources for locals, h...

Zero-waste Challenge

Hi everyone, Welcome back to Green World for our first post of 2024! As explained in our wrap up post, this year the monthly series will switch between challenges and book reviews. We're starting with a challenge and this month we're challenging you to cut down on your waste! 1. No single use plastic bags challenge Plastic bags are a disaster for the environment and they're not always even usable for us. Some of the really thin plastic bags will just rip as soon as you put something in them which is a nightmare if you're out shopping and need to transport your groceries home. When these plastic bags are then thrown away, they cause significant damage to our planet. Plastic bags often clog waterways and sewers which is a massive problem. Waterways, such as streams, and their ecosystems depend on moving water and if they get too blocked, the migration of different species is hindered. If a dam starts to form with all of the sticks, rocks and more plastic that is being tr...

Green World

Search This Blog