Transforming Trash into Treasure - Zero-Waste Craft Projects
Is environmental sustainability a top priority in your home? Perhaps you revel in finding innovative solutions to reducing your household waste. While you may already steer clear of single-use plastics and recycle everything you can, there are always improvements to be made. One way to help reduce the strain on landfill sites is to embrace your creative side - even better if you have younger household members with wild imaginations. After all, who says waste management can’t be fun? Here are some excellent zero-waste craft ideas for you to try.
Tin Can Desk Tidy
Tin cans are one of the most commonly recycled materials in the UK. While throwing empty, thoroughly rinsed cans of beans, tomatoes, tuna and soup into your recycling bin might seem like a good idea, contaminants like food residues or non-recyclable materials can reduce the quality of recycled metal and may lead to higher energy consumption during processing. However, a fun project you can do with some old tin cans is to glue them together, paint them with vibrant colours or patterns and use them as a fun yet rustic desk tidy.
Jar Candles
Not only are homemade jar candles an excellent way to use old jam and pickle jars, but this project is an effective way to make use of the existing candle dregs you have lying around. Bring a large shallow pan of water to a gentle simmer and carefully add your various candles to melt the remaining wax. You can then decant the molten wax into a new jar along with a wick (which you can purchase online), creating a brand-new candle free of charge!
Recycled Paper
Making recycled paper from scraps, such as newspapers, magazines and letters, is a fun project for all ages. For this project, you will need a good-quality blender and a fine mesh screen, which you can either buy online or make your own out of an old picture frame. Making recycled paper can take a bit of trial and error to get the best results, but by following a step-by-step online tutorial, you can create stunning textured paper, perfect for cards, journals and scrapbook pages.
Egg Box Monsters
There are numerous things you can do with old egg boxes. The obvious option is to recycle them. You can also donate them to local farms that sell their eggs. However, there are many creative ways to repurpose an old egg box, which are ideal for younger family members to let their imaginations run wild. For example, grab some paint, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and whatever else you have lying around, and make some spooky yet adorable egg box monsters!
Recycled Robot
A recycled robot is another excellent environmentally sustainable craft project for busy little fingers. This is also a fantastic project for getting rid of surplus cardboard boxes, tins, toilet roll tubes and anything else you can’t fit into your recycling bin. All you need is some double-sided sticky tape and a lot of imagination. Help your younger family members create a robot (or any sculpture they like) out of the gathered scraps by experimenting with shapes and composition. They can then paint or decorate their creation for a finishing touch.
Plant Pots
Almost any receptacle or container can be repurposed as a plant pot - tin cans, plastic containers, broken mugs, jars, and even old shoes. If you love gardening and take pride in your thriving plot, reusing household junk to propagate seeds and cuttings is an excellent way to expand your collection and improve biodiversity. You could even paint or decorate your old containers to make them more visually appealing. Here are some more fun and creative ideas for recycled plant pots.
Cardboard Bird Feeder
Enticing birds to your garden is yet another way to benefit the environment by encouraging biodiversity. The best way to do this is to provide them with food and shelter in the form of bird feeders and plenty of shrubbery. While you can always grab a few bird feeders from a local pet store or garden centre, making your own using household scraps is an excellent way to reduce waste. Simply coat an old toilet roll tube with peanut butter and roll it in birdseed. You can then use twine to hang your homemade bird feeder from a tree in your garden.