Who would have thought a plastic bag or a plastic water or soda bottle could be upcycled into something so unique and beautiful? Check out these unique upcycled products made by talented artists and I think you'll agree that one person's trash can definitely be another person's treasure.
unique flowers made from the bottoms of soda bottles (above and below) by Michelle Brand
What is PET?
PET aka polyethylene terephthalate is a highly recyclable plastic product made from oil. It is what water bottles and soda bottles are made from. Above is the recycling classification mark that is shown on the bottoms of bottles and other PET products. These products should always be recycled.
2-liter bottle boxes (above and below) by Zitta Schnitt
Plastic bottle table lamp by SarahTurnerEcoDesign via Etsy
DIY How to make "wire" from plastic bottles for use in jewelry and crafts
Plastic bottle beads by the frugal crafter
Lampshade (above) and Fruit bowl (below) made from melted recycled plastic by Frozen Plastic via Etsy
PET Plastic bottle stick pin brooches (above) and bowl (below) by gulnurozdaglar on Etsy
PET plastic bottle jellyfish by Miwa Koizumi
DIY jewelry stand made from recycled plastic bottles
Handbags made from recycled plastic bags
Recycled plastic bag chickens
and snakes
Lampshade made from recycled plastic bags by Zipper8Lighting via Etsy
Mandala made from plastic bags by Virginia Fleck
Tote made from fused plastic bags by Lousupcycles via Etsy
Landfill decomposition rates:
Milk carton: 5 years
Plastic milk jug: 500 years
Aluminum can: 80 to 200 years
Plastic drinking bottles: hundreds of years
Plastic bags: hundreds of years
Cigarette butt: up to five years & leaches toxins into the ground
Newspaper: 2 to 4 weeks or longer
Glass bottles: tens of thousands of years
Styrofoam: no sign of ever breaking down
(figures from ecocomic.com)
What do you think?
