Projects – What do I do with those NON-recyclables?

I know what you’re thinking.  “Lawren, you are telling me that I can’t recycle a #6 plastic container, and that plastic bottle caps ARE NOT recyclable, and now I can’t even find a recycling drop-off within 100 miles of me anyway…What am I supposed to do with all of this stuff?”  Well, here are a few ideas.

Click here for my Earth Day post with another use for non-recyclable plastic lids and non-recyclable #6 plastic containers.

 Here are some great websites that Tiff T. found (thanks Tiff!) after I requested ideas for projects with recycled materials…

Multiple kid-friendly projects at Kinderart, Kid at Art, A Recycling Revolution, and Trash to Treasure Crafts.

Plastic berry basket projects, a Halloween graveyard, and woven baskets all made from those non-recyclable berry containers

Build a glider from a styrofoam fast-food container

An awesome listing of recycled craft projects at HGTV.com

More fun sites that talk about ways to reuse those non-recyclables:

Click here for (believe it or not) a great GOVERNMENT-sponsored site that gives some great ideas for re-purposing all kinds of things that would normally end up in your garbage.  I love that word RE-PURPOSE.  Maybe that should be my one little word for 2008? 

More crafty ideas for what to do with those discards can be found HERE.

Try Care2 Greenliving for some other crafty ideas.

I can’t wait to try all of these fun things!  Here is my one little project for you…

Plastic Water Bottle Cap Magnets

This is a fun little project to re-use those non-recyclable plastic caps from your water bottles…It’s easy enough for your preschooler to participate.

What you need:

Plastic bottle caps (clean and dry)

Dimensional adhesive – I’ve used Judi-Kins Diamond Glaze and Aleene’s Paper Glaze with success.  I’ve also used my favorite product Mod Podge, but it takes a VERY long time to dry and doesn’t necessarily dry completely clear.  All of these products can be found at your local craft store.

“Little items” to place inside your bottle cap – I’ve used seed beads, little acrylic accents leftover from scrapbooking projects, stickers, sequins, buttons, etc.  Let your imagination be your guide.

Magnetic “buttons” (also found at your craft store) – I prefer the 1/2 inch variety, but really any magnet will do.

White glue – my favorite is Aleene’s Tacky Glue.  It’s cheap and can be used on so many other projects that you will get your money’s worth.

1.  Using your white glue, adhere 1 magnet to the back of your plastic bottle cap.  Let dry, OR move on to Step 2, being careful not to disturb your magnet.
2. Pour enough Dimensional Adhesive into your bottle cap to cover the inside circle.
3. Add your “little items”, arranging them how you’d like them to appear once the project is finished.  You can use tweezers if you need, but I like to just move things around with my finger — it’s a little sticky but you have more control.
4. Pour enough Dimensional Adhesive over your “little items” to cover them completely.  At this point, you can add more little touches, like seed beads.  They will stick but will be bumpy, or you can cover them with another layer of the Dimensional Adhesive.  You do NOT need to let the adhesive dry each time you add a layer.  Keep building until you are done, and then let your little gem dry.

Share your fun ways to use up those non-recyclables by posting a comment.