How often are you given something you want to give back or never even asked for? (Well, I can think of about a dozen things when I think back to my wedding gifts. Of course, my thoughts then were something like “my god, WHAT were they thinking!” ) But now I’m thinking more about the things that come our way from purchases or services.
Think about wire hangers from the dry cleaner, packing peanuts from shipments we receive, plastic bags that always seem to slip by us when we aren’t paying attention and burned out CFLs.
Well, they don’t need to become needless trash. Consider this the next time one of these things slip your way:
- Wire hangers – (hopefully you’re using an eco-friendly dry cleaner!… but) take them BACK to your dry cleaner the next time you make a drop-off. Most will accept them and reuse them.
- Packing peanuts – even if they didn’t come from a UPS shipment, they will accept them with a smile and reuse them too. Check here to find a location.
- Plastic bags – if I’m not vigilant and paying attention, a cashier always seems to manage to slip one in on me. Save them at home and many stores have collection bins at their entrance if your curbside recycling does not accept them. And don’t forget about all of those “other bags” too (like bread bags, plastic wrappers, etc.)
- CFLs – so many people get hung up on the mercury content in CFLs, but keep in mind that most still contain only enough mercury to fit on the head of a pin and each new generation of CFLs has even less. However, when they finally do burn out, remember to dispose of them properly at your local Home Depot through their CFL Recycling Program. They’ll take them off your hands for proper disposal, free of charge.
Now, as for those hideous items I received for wedding gifts, well those were “given” too… in the way of donation. They do say “one (wo)man’s trash is another (wo)man’s treasure!”
Great ideas but plastic bags can be repurosed or upcycled. If you sew or crochet plastic bags can become source material. First cut off the handles and closed sides to square it up. The next step is to fold the bags top and bottom so they touch, do that several times. Now cut the folded bag into about an inch or so to make strips. Open the folded strips and tie the loops together, like one links several rubber bands together. Now you have water proof and forgiving material to work with. As you gather this “yarn” ball it up as you would traditional materials. Color and durability will depend on your source “material”.
Another alternative for upcycling plastic bags would be to fuse the plastic with an iron. Fusing melds several bags together. If you do decide to fuse plastic be sure to work in a well ventilated work space. Many sources say to use three or more layers. Fused plastic becomes rigid and more durable than the source material. Many online sources explain how to fuse plastic and the ease of sewing items out of this upcycled material. Terracycle sells fused plastic bags in the ladies department at Walmart and Target. The bags you may find are made from cookie wrappers or drink pouches in the design.
Sorry about the last post. I meant to say in the first section that you cut off the closed bottomor end of the bag instead of the sides. Then fold the outside edges together over and over again to make the strips. You can find similar possibly clearer instructions under key word searches like making plastic yarn or yarn out of plastic. ETSY, Craft magazine and other DIY or green sources online have instructions about fusing and making things out of plastic bags