Unique Recycled Decor Using Plastic Bottles

A plastic bottle can offer many possibilities. Be creative and give your home an original and unique touch.

We all know plastic is bad for the environment. The oceans are filling up with more and more plastic items and rubbish that are thrown into rivers. Be environmentally conscious and explore the possibilities of unique recycled decor for your home using plastic bottles.

It seems that everything is disposable these days. Once something is used, it’s common to throw it away in the garbage. But really, everything can have a second life; you can give things a new use instead of throwing them away. One interesting way to do this is to recycle objects for decorative uses.

Next time, don’t throw away that plastic bottle. By being creative and by using your imagination, you can invent innovative objects to decorate your home. Below, let’s look at some examples that illustrate how you can make unique recycled decor with plastic bottles.

Pot plants made from plastic bottles

A plastic bottle that’s one liter or larger can have many uses. You can find tutorials on the internet where you’ll learn how to use recyclable objects like bottles. Here is one example you could consider for your home:

• Once you’ve used the contents of the bottle and cleaned it, cut off only the base of the bottle. You’ll need a Stanley knife to do a good job. Try to make the cut edge as smooth as possible and keep the line even.
• Use a candle or lighter to melt the cut edges a little. They’ll become softer and bend a little; so you won’t be at risk of cutting yourself on the raw edges.
• Make two small holes on either side of the hole you’ve cut. Then put a string through the holes. You want to be able to hang the container, with the neck of the bottle hanging downwards. You can also make a few holes in the neck and lid to allow the water to drain.

• Paint the outside of the bottle with a design of your choice. You could use shapes, a smooth or textured color, a figure, pictures for kids, etc. The best paint for sticking to plastic is acrylic-based paint.
• Now for the finishing touch. Fill up the bottle with a good quality potting mix and add a plant. Make sure the plant you choose won’t grow too big. One that will just adapt to the size of the bottle would be perfect. This could be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for to create a herb garden, for instance.

Making animals using plastic bottles in recycled decor

Any kind of bottle or tin you have left over can be useful to make into a recycled animal. These might be from cleaning products that you’ve used, shampoo bottles or even tins that food came in. Of course, it all depends on your tastes, but if you use your imagination you can make some creative kids’ decor items.

Let’s take as an example a bottle of washing up liquid. These are usually long, round and with a larger base.

• Just clean the labels off; it’s not necessary to cut anything off or change its shape, not even if it has a handle.
• Next, make the neck of the bottle into the animal’s snout. You could stick two bottle lids on either side as eyes or glue on some plastic eyes, and stick some ears on using some similar material. And why not use four lids to make some short legs?
• Finally, add some horns and hair using other items. For example, you could make some horns out of thin tubing. And for hair, why not use the fingers from some old plastic gloves?

This will make some creative animal heads – you could use them to decorate a wall or a shelf, or as toys for your kids.

Get inventive with your kids – these would be a great project for a rainy day at home.

Original tablecloths

Plastic bottles and containers include another item that could be really useful: their lids. You can find bottle lids in many different colors, and they are circular in shape, offering a variety of combinations.

They are visually interesting. One possibility could be making a unique small tablecloth or potholder from bottle lids. How would you go about it?

• First, you’ll have to start keeping all the bottle lids you come across for a while. You could use around 100 bottle lids in just one small tablecloth. Of course, it all depends on the size of the tablecloth you want to make.
• The process is very simple – put superglue on the sides of each lid. The lids that are in the middle of your design will, of course, need more glue than the ones at the edges. The center lids will be stuck to at least 5 or 6 other lids.
• Try to achieve a dynamic color pattern. Don’t just stick all the lids of the same color in one place; go for variety.

So there are a few options for you to consider. We’ve seen how from just simple plastic bottles, you can create a unique recycled decor. Give your imagination free reign and invent your own decor items.