19.7.11

Recycled, Upcycled Plastic Bags

It takes 1,000 years for ONE PLASTIC BAG to degrade 
(and contaminate our soil and water)


My friend S has been making these cool upcycled creations out of plastic grocery bags.
She cuts up strips and uses it as if it were a yarn to knit these little pocket books.  She then uses vintage buttons to complete the piece.  Each bag takes a few hours to make but can be used indefinitely.  They are surprisingly sturdy and can even be machine washed.   




I use the minimal plastic bags I do get as small trash bags or poop and scoop bags-
I am in the habit of bringing my own bags with me wherever I go.

To read more creative tips on how to reduce your plastic use
Read about The Plastic Coalitions Pledge

I wrote a post here about about a hotel made out of beach trash and about the Pacific Garbage Patch 

How do you reuse your plastic bags?



19 comments:

Unknown said...

Pretty clever! I always reuse our bags for kitty litter and I hardly ever throw other ones away. There's recycling at Walgreens and other places so I'm going to try and take the overgrown collection there.

Lenore @ Lather. Write. Repeat. said...

Neat idea! I bet it takes patience though...I do the same - reuse my bags for the pup!

XO
Lenore

Pat Tillett said...

Very creative! We try to always remember to use our own bags for grocery shopping. We don't always remember yet, but we try. We also reuse every plastic bag we get.

k said...

oh wow those are cool!

jeanette from everton terrace said...

I take my bags to the store but still there are those times when I didn't have enough or am out without them and sometimes have to bring home a plastic one. I either save them for when I'm dogsitting for my mom and use them for doggie waste or I take them back to the store because our grocery store has a recycle bin for them :)
I love that she uses vintage buttons on her amazing creations!

Nat said...

Brilliant recycling!
I tend to reuse any plastic bags I still have for household bins... from an old stock. I've been using canvas Bags For Life for nearly 5 years now.

A Crimson Kiss said...

How clever! It's hard to find a plastic bag in SF these days, but we use them for garbage can liners!

erleichda said...

we have plastic recycling here in norway- so i just through the bag to the right bin- your way is much more creative to put it this way ; )

David Toms said...

How clever! This is such a great idea which there is definitely a market for!

Pearl said...

I love that! I would buy that, if I came across it at an arts and crafts fair.

My plastic bags get either recycled (Rainbow Foods) or used to clean the cat box. Either way, I feel they could do more, and I love your friend's idea...

Pearl

Getrealmommy said...

Very cool. Of course with a dog and two cats we find many uses for our plastic bags!

Mia said...

Brilliant! Exactly the kind of creativity our earth needs!

Mama Gone Green said...

Cool! In the film Addicted to Plastic, they feature a lady who makes awesome purses from discarded bags.

Brissa said...

this is incredible!! i would have never thought to use them this way. granted, if my plastic bags were as cute and colorful as hers, i'd do more than just reuse them.

Linda said...

This is amazing!

Clair said...

In our home we use bags I patterned off the regular plastic ones used in grocery stores. I sewed them with fabric purchased from Ikea. Washable, sturdy and colorful. I really like S's idea to knit up bags. They are cute, strong, washable and can be made up in any size. Hummm-I do know how to knit.
Thanks for the idea!

cpcable said...

Even though I'm very diligent about bringing my bags wherever I go, plastic bag still somehow end up in my house. I keep a few on hand to transport things (Goodwill donations, for example) and the rest get recycled.

Reina said...

yeaaa, ick, 1000 years. And how many plastic bags are being made right now???
ahhhahaa, we use our plastic bags for kitty poop

Plasticplace.net said...

These are a perfect example on how to reuse and recycle plastic materials with style. If you have those plastic bags at home, you can reuse it and just dispose it properly when you want to get rid of them.

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