I can't believe how many uses there are for used plastic bottles. We live in an area with impure water so we have to buy bottled water, sometimes we buy it in small bottles and sometimes in the large 2 liter pop-bottle size. When I'm done with the larger bottles I take a pair of old scissors and cut the top 1/3 off. What I'm left with is a bottom part that I use as a vase or a planter to start cuttings or seeds, and the top half is just the right size and shape to use as a funnel to add oil or tranny fluid to your car. You know, it seems we never have a funnel when we need one. But, now that I've figured this out I'll always have a large or a small funnel by just cutting the top off of a large or small water bottle!
These 2 liter sized plastic pop bottles also make great little greenhouses for starting seeds and cuttings, just cut the bottom inch off (with scissors or a serrated knife) and after taking the lid off, just set the rest of the bottle over your cutting for a more humid environment for it to root in. Be sure to keep this in the shade or it might get to hot for your cutting.
Another great idea for plastic pop bottles is to use them to keep nasty critters off of newly planted trees. What you do is cut the top and the bottom off of a small water bottle or a 2 liter sized pop bottle, then cut a vertical slice through it. I use this plastic strip to wrap around the base of the tree and I tie the plastic on with a piece of nylon twine or you can nail it on with tacks. You may need to stack one piece on top of the other for added height, but there's no shortage of plastic bottles! I especially like the way these bottles come in clear or green so they tend to blend in with the environment.
Of course you'll first need to remove any labels before you make any of the above projects and if you can't find a use for your plastic bottles, please just rinse them out, remove the label and recycle them! But if you can't find an additional use for the plastic, please buy your water in renewable and refillable containers or buy a filter for your tap Me? It seems I always seem to find a place to use them, especially when propagating.
By Cyinda from near Seattle
By
07/20/2008
Surely it is better to return all deposit bottles back for recycling and use other things that cannot be turned in to a recycling center for such projects. In our area we do not have a place to recycle plastics such as dishwashing soap or Mr. clean bottles. These would be usable for some of these projects.
By
07/20/2008
By
07/18/2008
Like ThriftyFun on Facebook
