- checking login information
Loading...18 Ways to Reuse Plastic Bags
- Becky Striepe
- August 2, 2011
- 5:05 pm
- 222 comments
Here in the U.S. alone, we use around 100 billion plastic grocery bags every single year. While some cities have banned the bag, most of us aren’t lucky enough to live in a town that’s nixed those ubiquitous, flimsy grocery bags.
Despite always bringing a reusable bag to the store, plastic grocery bags seem to make their way into my life. Maybe a well-meaning friend uses one to bring over snacks for a night of board games or I accept a used one to tote some goodies home from an unexpected garage sale.
No matter what the reason, I can never bring myself to get rid of all of that plastic. If you’ve got an ever-growing collection of plastic bags making you feel guilty, too, don’t despair! Here are some practical and crafty ways to use those bags over and over, and you can share your favorite ways to reuse plastic bags in the comments!
1. Dirty Clothes – Stick a plastic grocery bag into your suitcase to tote home your dirty clothes while you’re on vacation. It’s nice to be able to separate your clean clothes from dirty ones, and this lets you do it without taking the plastic bag that most hotels provide.
2. Make Plarn – You can cut those bags up and make yourself a ball of plastic yarn for use in all sorts of knit and crochet projects. How cool would it be to upcycle a flimsy plastic bag into a well-made, crocheted one?
3. Fuse It - You can use your iron to turn those plastic bags into durable fabrics.
4. Scoop the Litter Box – Flushing cat litter is a bit controversial, since cat waste contains toxins that’s harmful to aquatic life, and unfortunately, scooping is a fact of life for cat owners. You’ve got to put that smelly litter somewhere. You’re probably using a plastic bag already, so you may as well RE-use one instead.
5. In the Glove Box – If you or someone in your family is prone to car sickness, you can keep a plastic grocery bag in the glove box, just in case you’re not able to pull over in time to avert disaster.
6. At Concerts – Amphitheater shows and multi-day music festivals come with a lot of waste, and the trash and recycle bins seem to always overflow by the end. Instead of piling your empties on top of an overflowing bin, use a plastic grocery bag to take your recyclables home at the end of the show.
Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by groundsel
Read more: Conservation, Crafts & Design, Crafts & Hobbies, Family, Green, Home, Household Hints, Materials & Architecture, Reduce, Recycle & Reuse, Surprising uses for ..., creative reuse, DIY, how to reuse plastic bags, plastic, plastic bags, reuse, reuse plastic bags
Becky Striepe
Becky Striepe is a freelance writer and vegan crafter living in Atlanta, Georgia. Her life’s mission is to make green crafting and vegan food accessible to everyone! Like this article? You can follow Becky on Twitter or find her on Facebook!
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
people are talking
TY
don't give in to the marketing hype
beautiful!
Love the video; makes me feel Irish; of course, I am Irish. The kittens are special.
Nice, thank you.
222 comments
+ add your ownLove these! I included them on my blog too.
http://dontmesswithmama.com/2013/02/25/why-you-need-to-ditch-plastic-bags/
I use a great product called Handi Hanger to reuse grocery bags for trash or storage. Check it out at handihanger.com. It's an earth friendly product that also saves you money.
www.handihanger.com
www.facebook.com/OriginalHandiHanger
Good ideas! Thanks!
I am fascinated by plarn I actually was given a bag as a gift that was made of bags and i love it! I'd like to try this one day; also bags can be used in fashion--Trash Fash--especially during Halloween here on the Big Island they have a fashion show of trash clothing many use trash bags!! Thank you and keep posting fun reuse and refab articles like this one!
Thanks! Will do!
I am using product called LOOP-A-CAN to reuse grocery bags as trash can liner, Playantra.com is selling them, check it out, its a great eco-friendly product
http://www.playantra.com
Great ideas! Thanks! Will do!
Put them on your feet and secure with rubber bands as protection for projects such as tarring gardening muddy feilds and in slushy weather they`re great to have in pocet or purse secured with rubber bands.
Put them on your feet and secure with rubber bands as protection for projects such as tarring gardening muddy feilds and in slushy weather they`re great to have in pocet or purse secured with rubber bands.
I use the plastic sleeve bags (that the newspaper comes in) and make wreaths out of them, I use the different colors for each holiday...ex: for Valentines day I used shades of pink and pearlescent and formed a metal/wire coat hanger into a heart shape. Cut the bag into 1 1/2"- 2" strips and just tie them to the frame until full..Let your imagination run wild....The hook at the top of the coat hanger is ready for hanging....
login to add your comment
use your care2 login
add your comment