Recycle & Re-Use: Pretty Uses For Plastic Bottles

Recycle & Re-Use: Pretty Uses For Plastic Bottles

Coca Cola in Asia have launched an innovative little pack of bottle caps that will convert an old plastic bottle into something wonderful - like dumbbells, a spray bottle or bubble blower.

We absolutely love this idea and it got us thinking about what you could do with an old plastic bottle. We trawled through Pinterest for some inspiration and found these beauties...

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Make a single flower vase

Recycle & Re-use: Pretty uses for plastic bottles
Make those bottle pretty!

Grab yourself some Washi tape (patterned tape to you and me) or get creative with some strips of wrapping paper and PVA glue, and decorate your empty bottle. It'll make a lovely little single flower vase and if you have a few, a line of them will make a pretty addition to any room.

Just remember to add some weights to the bottom of the bottle. We love this step-by-step guide to making a Washi Tape Coke Bottle Vase by The Bold Abode.

Use the bottom as a paint stamp

Feeling arty? Grab some paper and use the bottom of your plastic bottle as a nifty paint stamp. Just push the base of your bottle into a plate of paint and press onto the paper - pink paint will create a lovely cherry blossom effect. Kids and adults alike will love this idea from AlphaMom.

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Create a cute cleaning bottle

Before you pop your used cleaning bottles in the recycling bin, make sure you grab any spray heads and attached tubes. Find the right fit and you can easily screw it onto your plastic bottle or secure it with some gaffer tape. Decant your cleaning fluid into your new bottle and keep as a handy spare or fill with your own natural cleaning solution.

You can use pretty much any bottle for this. We love how LiveSimply.Me have spray painted this bottle to amazing effect:

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Make apple treat cups

We saw this creative idea on the blog Yesterday on Tuesday. Cut the bottoms of your plastic bottles, paint red or cover in strips of paper, then  fill a clear bag with red cherries or sweeties. Tie with a green ribbon and et voilà - a cute apple cup filled with sweet treats! Great for Halloween.

You could even fill a cup with an actual apple and make the kid's lunch-boxes more fun. For the full step-by-step guide, make sure you check out their blog post on how to make Upcycled Apple Treat Cups.

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Build hanging planters

Hanging planters look really lovely both indoors and outdoors. You can easily make some mini ones with your old plastic bottles. Just snip in half, punch holes through the sides and hang using some rope. We checked out The Garden Glove for inspiration.

recycled-bottle-container

Make a pencil case or pen pot

Make It & Love It have a great guide to making these no-sew pencil cases. All you need is some old plastic bottles, coloured zippers, scissors and hot glue. You can ever create different size depending on how your cut each bottle end.

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Check out the full guide to making a no-sew pencil case now.

 Create a kitty plant pot

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These are such an adorable idea from BRUDiy. If you have a spare afternoon, why not make these Japanese cat plant pots. You just need some plastic bottles, white spray paint, scissors, pens and glue. They've even made some easy templates to help create the same faces - CUTE!

 Thanks for reading! Do you have any pretty uses for a plastic bottle? 

 

Let us know in the comments section below. 

Anushka F

Editor

A keen money-saver and fan of all things natural, Anushka enjoys making her own beauty products and is partial to a bit of crafting. Never short of a clever tip or two, she's always looking for new ways to make her money go even further.

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  1. Author Susanna Wilson on June 27, 2015 at 1:56 pm

    I like to cut my plastic bottled in half And make 2 plants inside them. First wash the bottle and cut in half. Next, place a piece of kitchen roll inside . Between the bottle and the kitchen towel, place a bean, eg. Runner bran . Water it and watch it grow. Kids love it! Enjoy

    1. Author Anushka F on June 29, 2015 at 11:16 am

      What a great idea Susanna, if you have any photos of your plant bottles then please do share. Would love to see it!

    Reply
  2. Author michelle atkinson on October 19, 2015 at 9:40 pm

    love the ideas thank you

    1. Author Anushka F on October 26, 2015 at 12:20 pm

      I'm glad! Thanks Michelle.

    Reply
  3. Author Audrey Naylor on April 26, 2016 at 1:34 pm

    Children like to play music and you can make maracas with them Here goes, once bottles are empty give them a rinse out, the next bit is important get the bottle stood up on its top end, without the top on it, the idea is any droplets of water will run down the inside of the bottle and after a couple of days it will be completely dry inside, then you can put some grains of rice,, broad beans, pennies, dried peas if you do it in varied amounts and the children might even want to decorate bottles with glitter, pain, sticky paper, wrapping paper, what ever you have indoors. The noise will be a little differant depending on what you fill them with even water makes a sound.

    1. Author Colleen B on April 26, 2016 at 2:46 pm

      That sounds like a wonderful idea Audrey, thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Author Sue King on April 29, 2016 at 5:26 am

    It can be dangerous to de can't cleaning products into other containers as you don't know what they are and no COSHH / emergency info is with it should you get in eyes or if a child drinks it.

    1. Author Anushka F on May 9, 2016 at 2:04 pm

      Hi Sue, this is a very good point. Perhaps you could use sticky labels and write your own warning labels on them?

    Reply

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