21 Ways To Repurpose Plastic Containers: Easy Craft Ideas
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Wondering what to do with plastic containers piling up at home? Don’t toss them!
These plastic container craft ideas will help you repurpose old containers into fun, useful DIYs, while saving money and reducing waste.
Whether you’re into DIY, crafting, organizing, or gardening, there’s an idea here for you.
Let’s dive into the 21 easy ways to repurpose plastic containers:
1. Plastic bottle planter
Cut the bottom of a 2-liter bottle, decorate it however you like, fill it with soil and seeds, and you will have a plant pot made from waste:
2. Piggy bank
You can upcycle a plastic bottle into a piggy bank and start collecting money. You can paint the entire bottle or leave it transparent:
3. Vertical garden
Perfect if you’re short on space. Cut openings in soda bottles, stack or hang them, and grow herbs or flowers. Check out the step-by-step instructions on how to create a vertical garden from recycled soda bottles:
4. Bird feeder
Use a bottle, string, and bird seed to attract feathered friends to your yard. Check out this easy step-by-step guide from Eco Sapien:
5. Self-watering system
Heading out of town? Use a plastic water bottle to keep your plants hydrated. Check this YouTube video by Jugaad:
6. Pencil case
A fun idea for kids (or for crafty adults, too) is to reuse a small plastic bottle and make a pencil case in no time.
The pencil case has no-sew zippers, and you will need just a couple of things to make it. You can follow the great step-by-step guide from Make It and Love It:
7. Terrarium
Create a little green world inside a plastic bottle:
8. DIY gift boxes
Repurpose plastic tins into cute boxes for storing or gifting small items:
9. On-the-go shampoo
Use small pill containers for on-the-go shampoo, conditioner, or lotion – ideal for airport security.
10. Organize/keep things tidy
If the containers are tiny, you can use them to keep drawers organized. Place a few containers inside to hold small items like elastic bands, twist ties, coins, take-out packets, wine charms, candles, batteries, etc.
You can use yogurt containers to keep your fridge organized. Strawberry containers or similar types can be useful for collecting small items such as legos, small toys, craft supplies, brushes, etc.
11. Plant pot
Often, when my granny propagates her plants, she gives them to me in a plastic container. This is another simple way to reuse some of your smaller to medium plastic containers.
12. Cleaning spray bottle
If you DIY some of your cleaning products, you can keep them in an old spraying bottle for easy application.
I stopped buying cleaning products, as they are filled with toxins, and I now use a simple, effective DIY cleaning spray.
13. Collect compost
If you end up with bigger plastic containers, you can repurpose them to store food scraps for your composting. When it is full, add it to your compost pile, rinse the container, and reuse it again.
14. Scoopers
Do you have a pet? You can make a scoop from a container for your pet’s food. Check this quick video from Toby Lerone on how to do it:
15. Store DIY laundry detergent
If you DIY your laundry detergent, or if you buy it in bulk, you can use bigger plastic juice jugs to keep it. Their size is great for that purpose.
16. Bulk shopping
When it comes to bulk shopping, you can repurpose some of your bigger containers and fill them with something you tend to get a lot.
17. Grocery shopping
If you have a bunch of plastic bags from before, you can use the bags for groceries, to collect plastic waste, or to store things.
18. Plastic bag showerhead cleaner
You can reuse a plastic bag to wash your showerhead. Just fill it up with water, and add distilled white vinegar. Use a rubber band to secure it around your shower head. Let it soak for about an hour and then remove & rinse with warm water.
19. Leftover food
Use reusable plastic food containers or even clean food-safe bags (like from coconut sugar) to store extra food. Just wash thoroughly and let them dry before reuse.
I do not recommend reusing plastic bags that weren’t intended for food storage. (more about that in the FAQ section)
20. Wrap shoes in luggage
When you want to bring an extra pair of shoes when traveling, you can place them in a bag. This will help you avoid messing up your whole suitcase and spreading around dirty pieces that were possibly stuck in your shoes.
21. Reuse plastic cutlery
Instead of throwing plastic cutlery out, you can wash and reuse it for another time. While they are designed for single use only and may degrade with repeated washing and reusing, eating with them a couple more times extends their life cycle.
FAQ:
What number of plastic is safe to reuse?
Check the number inside the recycling triangle:
- Safe to reuse: #2, #4, #5
- Avoid reusing for food: #1, #3, #6, #7
Also, avoid heat exposure or storing food after the “best before” date marked on the packaging.
When should you recycle plastic containers?
Recycle them if they:
- Have cracks, scratches, or look cloudy
- Smell off or stained
- Are exposed to heat/sun frequently
Why is it best to try to reduce our plastic use?
While repurposing plastic containers is amazing, reducing plastic consumption is even better. Plastics are made from non-renewable fossil fuels, and about 40% of them end up as single-use packaging. From 1950 to 2012, production increased from 1.7 million to 300 million tons per year!
🔗 Learn more about reducing plastic waste here.
Final thoughts
I hope this guide gave you some inspiring and practical ideas for what to do with plastic containers.
Whether you try one of these upcycling plastic container projects or just start reusing what you already have, it makes a difference.
Did I miss a clever idea? Let me know in the comments.
