50 million plastic bottles are thrown away each day in the United States. Plastic containers work their way into just about every aspect of our daily lives, from water bottles to laundry detergent, to how we squeeze out our honey. You’ll likely spot one of the 50 million if you do a simple scan of the room that you’re currently sitting in.
Our dependence on these materials makes recycling and reusing plastic bottles essential for the health of the planet. So, what can we do? Try some of our plastic bottle recycling ideas for a great way to minimize your environmental impact and even save money.
18 Useful Things Made From Recycled Materials
1. Create Recycled Plastic Bottle Supply Cups
Office building waste is one of the leading contributors to the rise of landfills. So, after guzzling down a cold soda to kick a 2 p.m. slump, don’t just toss the bottle when you’re finished. Reuse the plastic bottles to make cups for housing pens and supplies at the office, or craft supplies at home. Impress your co-workers and kids with your sustainable efforts.

Image via seaviewsanctuary.com
Bonus Recycling Idea:
Upcycle Plastic Bottles to Keep Your Kids’ Crafts in OrderKeep your little ones’ playroom organized using a few old plastic bottles, zippers and a hot glue gun. Cut off the top of one 20 oz. soda bottle, and the bottom of another. Hot glue the zipper pieces to both ends and connect them to create your own makeshift colored pencil case.
2. Reuse Coffee Cream Containers for Snack Storage
Looking for a sustainable way to organize your kitchen counters? Repurpose old plastic containers to save space on snack storage. Bottles make pouring incredibly easy, allowing you to take all types of food on the road. Recycled coffee creamers can also be used to store sugar, salt and similar products.

Image via buttons4crafts.com
3. Make a DIY Plastic Bottle Planter
Love cats, plants and sustainable living? Creating a cat planter is actually a way to reuse plastic. Spark your DIY spirit with a simple project that turns 2-liters into a useful and appealing indoor planter. Here are some simple step-by-step instructions for how to make a DIY plastic bottle planter:
- Cut the bottom third of a 2-liter bottle.
- Paint the bottle white or the color of your choice.
- Use parts of the rest of the bottle to cut out ears.
- Draw a face and other features on the bottle.
- Fill the bottle with seeds and soil.

Image via lynnpetersson.se
4. Upcycle Laundry Detergent Bottles Into a Watering Can
Don’t pay for plastic watering cans. Another creative way to recycle plastic at home is to reuse your laundry detergent containers. Clean out your empty containers, drill or punch some holes in the cap and you’ve got yourself a new watering can. Feel free to remove the label so your neighbors don’t think you’re weird for pouring laundry detergent on your plants.

Image via childhoodlist.blogspot.com
5. Turn a Milk Carton Into a Garden Scooper
Here is the plastic bottle recycling idea that both skim milk fanatics and 2% lovers can agree on: save your milk cartons after use. One of the easiest and most useful projects is to create a scooper from the empty carton. Whenever you need to plant something in your garden or even clean up after your dog, just scoop and toss. Check out this tutorial to turn a milk carton into a DIY scooper.
6. Start an Herb Garden With Empty 2-Liter Bottles
This plastic bottle recycling project gets you extra green points. Upcycling 2-liter bottles into sub-irrigated planters is one of the more creative ways to reuse plastic. Follow these steps to create an herb garden from a recycled bottle:
- Remove the label from the bottle and clean the inside.
- Take a sharp object and poke drainage holes in the top third of the bottle.
- Poke a hole in the side of the bottle about halfway down.
- Wrap a piece of paper around the bottle.
- Take a marker and trace a cutting line around the bottle.
- Cut along the bottle on the line.
- Flip over the bottle top and insert a strip of fabric.
- Make sure the fabric is in contact with the soil.

Image via ithinkwecouldbefriends.com
7. Create a Piggy Bank Made From a Reused Plastic Bottle
Repurposing plastic containers can save you money in more ways than one. Create a plastic bottle piggy bank and start cashing in on your craftiness. You can paint the entire bottle so the amount inside is a surprise. You can also leave it transparent so you can see how your savings is growing. Simply put, this is a project that makes a lot of cents. Find out how to make a DIY plastic bottle piggy bank with this guide.

Image via letsfixit.co.uk
8. Upcycle a Lotion Bottle Into a Charging Dock
It will be a great day when cell phones no longer have to be charged. Or even if battery life can get us through a three-hour social media scroll session. Until that day, we charge away. Make it easy on yourself and your guests by creating a recycled cell phone charging dock. All you need is a lotion bottle, a marker and a box cutter.

Image via makeit-loveit.com
9. Make a Beach Bucket From Laundry Detergent Containers
It’s hard to see a light at the end of the tunnel when a mounting heap of clothes is waiting to be washed. But as your washer powers through load after load and you come to the end of the detergent bottle, remember to stash it away for a rainy day. Similar to the scooper project above, it can be cut up and made into a beach bucket. So, there’s your bright spot: a repurposed plastic container beach bucket.

Image via funinthemaking.net
10. Recycle Empty 2-Liter Bottles Into DIY Water Filters
Have you ever been stuck in the wild with no source of clean water? Oh, you haven’t? Lucky you. Regardless, it’s good to filter the water you drink. And you don’t have to spend big bucks to get a water filtration system that’s effective. Follow the video below to convert a 2-liter bottle into a DIY water filter.
11. Turn Plastic Bottle Trash Into a Trash Can
A trash-trash can. That has a nice ring to it. There’s no bigger symbolic gesture of going green than creating a trash can out of recycled plastic bottles. Make a statement and create a container perfect for outside trash disposal. Just don’t throw away your other plastic materials inside it.

Image via instructables.com
12. Build an Outdoor Broom From Recycled Plastic Bottles
If we haven’t already proven that there are multiple useful things made from recycled materials, let’s settle it. You can turn a 2-liter bottle into an outdoor broom in just a few steps. The sturdy bristles make it easy to sweep up dirt and common outdoor items. Follow the video below for detailed instructions on how to build an outdoor broom from plastic bottles.
13. Craft a Lamp From Your Plastic Bottle Caps
We’ve given plenty of love to the bottle portion of plastic bottles, but what about the all-important cap? After all, it’s saved you from frying your hard drive and spilling on your new carpet. Follow this guide on how to make a lamp out of plastic bottle caps to complete one of the more time-consuming projects on our list.

Image via ThaitrickDIY
14. Make Airplane Toys From Shampoo Bottles
Keep your kids entertained during bath time with airplane toys made from recycled shampoo bottles. Talk about coming full circle. This project can be completed in a variety of ways, so use your creativity to paint, stick and glue different elements to the outside of the bottle.

Image via junkmailgemsblog.blogspot.com
15. Reuse Soda Bottles by Creating a Vertical Garden
Warning: You may need to recruit some family members to save their 2-liter bottles to knock out this project. Reusing your plastic bottles to create a vast and impressive vertical garden is a simple and low-budget way to beautify your yard. In addition to soda bottles, you’ll need clothesline, twine or picture wires. Check out these step-by-step instructions on how to create a vertical garden from recycled soda bottles.

Image via outhwickarboriculture.com
16. Create a Recycled Plastic Bottle Jet Pack for Kids
Waiting until the last minute to find a costume is a Halloween tradition for many households. If this sounds familiar to you, we have the perfect idea to show you how to reuse plastic while getting your child ready to fill their pillowcase with hundreds of fun-sized candy bars. Create a plastic bottle jet pack and lift the Halloween costume burden off your shoulders.

Image via themomcreative.com
17. Recycle Laundry Detergent Jugs Into Toy Cars
Sometimes the simplest toys are the biggest hit with kids. Test this recycling idea out and save yourself some money by repurposing laundry detergent bottles to build toy cars. You’ll need to save some extra caps for the wheels, and a big bottle should leave plenty of room for your kids to decorate.

Image via inhabitat.com
18. Reuse Plastic Bottles to Make a DIY Sprinkler
Who doesn’t remember the days of running through a sprinkler in the front yard? Make an easy DIY sprinkler with reused plastic bottles to recreate this memory for your kids. Simply poke holes in a 2-liter bottle and hook it up to your garden hose. You can also recycle ballpoint pens that no longer work to get a more effective spray.

Image via clevercraftycookinmama.com
Make Sure All Plastic Bottles and Products are Recycled
While we are fully behind your crafty spirit, it’s likely you won’t be able to use all of your recycled plastic bottles in fun, creative ways. Make sure you have a plan to recycle plastic at home for the items you haven’t used. It’s a good idea to set up sorting bins or containers to make it easy on everyone in your house to recycle bottles and more.

Image via laurasplans.com
Find More Ways to Reduce Your Environmental Impact
We hope you’ll take on one or more of the plastic bottle recycling projects we’ve listed above. If you’d like to build on that momentum, check out these other ways to recycle at home:
If you completed any of our DIY Projects to Reuse and Recycle Plastic Bottles, let us hear about it! Drop a comment below.
Great ideas- I use the bottom of the soda bottles as paint rays when I’m painting,
these are very cool ideas! me personally would have never thought of this great job!
The audio sounds wonderful but there should be a way you can save all these ideas to your phone, I could use some of these ideas in my church school vacation Bible School but you have no way to say that ideas
So glad you enjoyed our post!
You can always bookmark this page on your mobile browser to save these ideas for later. Hope this is helpful, thanks for reading!
Ur the best I have something for my project I picked #3 cuz it was SO CUUUUTE! Thank u so much and the Earth thanks u too!❤️
Emily,
I would like to learn how to make Trash Can with bottle, that is so cool.
Thanks
George Mpoyo
Pinterest
You can forward the article to Facebook and get it that way.
Me to they are cool but like we have to finish the can of water or throw to the plants but no soda
I think that it is a good idea to not only take plastic water bottles to a recycling center but also to use them around the house for home projects. That way you will save money on things that you need around the house while also recycling. I think that it would be fun to do these projects with my kids as well so that they can be more creative as well as learn how to recycle on their own. All of the ideas that you have posted are great things to try around my house. http://www.antpackaging.com.au/
ya me to
I will be sure to use these amazing ideas for my T.A.G. project or Genius hour.
Nice
I think those projects are amazing I will be sure to try them
Great ideas. Started the plastic planter this weekend with my son. Fun!!!
I’m trying to find a way to make name tags from plastic bottles. Any ideas please?
IF you are comfortable thinking ‘3D’, then here are several options for slightly curved name tags:
1) Name tags don’t have to hang down off your neck. Try making ARM Bands with your name on them (or your role, if using them for a game or workshop). From a 2 liter bottle, divide the main bottle into four quadrants. Cut out the four very long rectangles and then halve each of them. You should now have 8 curved rectangles. Punch 4 holes in each name tag with an office hole punch (or cut an X with a utility knife for each hole). Find stretchy cord or recycled sewing elastic to fashion two stretch loops for top (near shoulder) and bottom (near elbow). Knot the back sides behind the plastic. Now slide the name tag over your hand and up above your elbow, like an old-fashioned garter. In fact, for a wedding, you could glue lace around them, or weave a string of LED lights around the name tag. The plastic bottle tags could be painted white with acrylic paint first, before printing names on them or using a permanent marker. A quick way to paint one side of the plastic is to pour an amount of white acrylic paint into the bottle itself and roll it around till it has covered the interior. Let it dry, then proceed with cutting your eight rectangles.
2) Curved name tags could be used to identify beverage cups. For simple office style, use a paper clip to connect the tag to a disposable cup (maybe Red Solo cups?).
3) Curved name tags could be used to encircle cloth napkins that are folded with an upright design. Each name tag could be placed just in front of the napkin for a table setting. And if you attach a stretchy cord, the person can slip it onto their wrist. For a stylish flare, hot-glue a small flower onto the name tag as well.
Here is another option, for more traditional rectangular name tags you DO want to hang around your neck: I suppose one could flatten out bottle plastic in some way (perhaps very very lightly heating rectangles of the bottle first). If you have an old waffle iron or panini sandwhich maker, with flat sides facing in toward the name tag, you could try melting the plastic triangles inside. Use a silicone sheet above and below the tag, so that the plastic bottle material doesn’t directly touch your irons. Press gently and quickly, to soften without making a puddle. This method is used to blend various plastics to make a new product, but its fully melted. When you remove the tag, make sure you keep it sandwhiched between the two sheets of silicone first and let it cool inside of them. This should help the tags not to ‘curl’ in an irregular manner.
Nice! I like how you wrote it down!
yes use strips and heat them up to form name
Thanks for the ideas 💡
the Vertical Garden looks amazing its so cool
wow that is good
Those ideas were goo but tell me how to make a doll with bottle for teenagers pls
great ideas im fan of sprinkler and 10..
Great ideas.. loved them!
We’ve also made a DIY vertical garden using Recycle plastic containers. Made a video to share here.
What do you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3MqSL9wsow&t=2s
Awesome! Thanks
your ideas are so nice, can you guide me more using jar hair containers
Wanted to see the site on how to make a piggy bank out of a 2 liter and was re-directed to another site. What’s up with that?
Hi Mary, thanks for commenting. I checked the link in the post and it does go to the intended site, “Our Kid Things.” If you’re seeing a different site after clicking the link let us know and we’ll investigate further.
your ideas are so nice
Where can I donate all of my plastic containers?
Are they needle free?
You can donate your plastic containers to the recycling bin or reuse then carefully
I use the bottom portion of plastic soda bottles as a cradle for my cantaloupe and the top portion as mini greenhouses. The bottom portion could be used to keep any vegetables in your garden off the ground.
my favorites where the piggy bank and jet pack.🙃
Any ideas for a use for the little vials that the stem is pushed in to when you get fresh cut flowers from a florist?
These are good ideas to protect our environment ( save our environment )
these are amazing
your projects are amazing am going to try them
these ideas are very useful and creative its extremely good that you make videos to create things reusing plastic bottles!
They are very cool and i cannot just stop looking at it.
i like this websit
i like your ideas it helps me a lot
Who ever came up with this idea are very intelligent. I love them all.
asome ideas teacher refered page for project
I LOVE THIS WILL DO
this is…….amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great post. Enjoyed the read. – Medco.io
Very good I liked the jetpack one go on CREATIVITY!
I liked the jet pack one too.
Great ideas thank you! I know unwanted packaging materials can be donated on BoxGiver.
Nice, good!!!
That is great !!!!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
It is very nice to read your site, thank you very much for your work, it’s great!
In my state community disposable plastic bottle water is really affecting the environment but no means of recycling.
For plastic bag and clear bag. We wash it and reuse it.
Wow, these are so incredible! I am so inspired.
cool I love this
AWESOME!!!
These are very useful ways to recycle plastics! I love it👍
I’ve never seen so crafty ideas from plastic bottles
Very nice article. These are very useful ways to recycle plastic bottles at home.
Very useful ways to recycle plastics!
It is a great idea to reuse plastic bottles to decorate your home, for everyday use, etc.