So Much Plastic, So Little Time!

by Juliet Ames January 7, 2008, 7:45 am 32 Comments

According to The Environmental Literacy Council, plastics make up 25% of all waste in landfills when buried. It is a good thing that crafters are finding ways to appropriate this versitale and plentiful material into their creations.

Take, for example, these adorable bird coin purses from Etsy seller Bird Versus Bird which are made from vinyl scraps from a sign shop. Imagine how many vinyl banners from State Fair corndog stands are filling up landfills? Yuck. This seller also uses repurposed and recyclable materials for packaging in order to reduce waste.

This “Beer-merang” necklace earned its name from the boomerang shape and the fact that it was made using the plastic rings from a 6 pack of PBR beer. Saving critters lives, recycling, and looking cool, that is what it is all about! Check out Muse Glass for more styles.

If you have ever visited the record section of a thrift store, you will know that they have more discarded vinyl there then anyone knows what to do with. How many Kenny Rogers records does one store need? Nature Vs. Machine brings us this stunning vinyl record and sterling silver lotus necklace. Kenny Rogers never looked so good!

We all have some records laying around, don’t we? Instead of adding to a landfill or the thrift store collection, why not make some funky chip bowls like this one? Check out these instructions from Instructables to find out just how easy it is. (Just make sure that your record is not valuable collector’s first!) I think I know what to do with my old Alvin and the Chipmunks album!

There are so many ways to use recycled plastics in crafting – I could go on all day! Feel free to share your plastic crafts in a comment!

[Images courtesy of Bird versus Bird, Muse Glass, Nature vs. Machine, and Instructables.]

Written by Juliet Ames

Juliet Ames breaks plates for a living. A metals and craft major at Towson University, Ames went on to work for the Howard County Arts Council organizing gallery exhibits. Meanwhile, she kept up her own craftwork. The plate-breaking started with a mosaic mailbox. “There were leftover pieces, so I soldered them and wrapped them around my neck and got a lot of compliments,” says Ames, 28, who just had her first child, a boy.