(First published August 2007, updated February 2009)
According to some estimates, Between 500 billion and a trillion
plastic grocery bags are used globally each year. The WorldWatch Institute
states it takes 430,000 gallons of oil to produce 100 million plastic bags - so
that comes to a staggering 4,300,000 gallons or 16,277,270 litres of oil to make
a trillion bags.
It's been great to see a concerted effort by many individuals, some towns and
states to ban disposable plastic shopping bags; but even if you have e started
to kick the disposable plastic bag habit, chances are you may still have a few
(dozen/hundred) floating around the place.
If you're into crafts, you can put these bags to good use so they don't wind
up in landfill. Even if your house is totally a bag free zone and you have the
time to spare, get your friends to give you theirs - you'll be able to create
heavy duty reusable shopping bags they can take to the store so they won't have
an excuse for gathering more in the future :).
Firstly, you'll need to know how to create plastic yarn (Plarn) - there's
some instructions here.
If you'd like to learn how to fuse/weld plastic bags, there's a great
guide here.
Now that the base materials are sorted out, grab your knitting needles,
sewing machine or crochet hooks and check out some of these amazing creations.
How
to crochet a reusable shopping bag
Crochet
a beach bag
Plastic
bag handbag
Throw
rug instructions
Another
plastic bag rug
Plastic
Bag Raincoat - clever stuff!
Crochet
a Recycled Clothes Pin Bag
Recycled
Plastic Bag Purse
Dog
Leash from Braided Plastic Bags
Messenger
bag (video)
Plastic
bag sandals - amazing!
If you're looking for plastic bag craft ideas suitable for children - here's
a nice selection
Some other quick tips for using plastic bags:
Door snake: Sew a tube of cloth, cram it full of plastic
bags, then sew up the ends. Use it to prevent drafts from gaps under doors.
Packing: Use plastic bags as cushioning material when
packing instead of packing peanuts.
Stuffing: Good for restuffing footstools and cushions
Plastic bag litter isn't just unsightly, in a marine environment plastic bags
are particularly destructive, killing at least 100000 birds, whales, seals
and turtles every year according to PlanetArk. Many sea animals mistake the bags
for jellyfish, part of their diet. During my professional fishing days, I pulled
many bag fragments from the stomachs of sharks and tuna.
Even if the production of plastic bags was banned tomorrow, the legacy of the
trillions already created would haunt us for generations; so it's great to see
enterprising people putting them to good use!
Spotted or created something useful/groovy created with plastic bags and
would like to share the instructions or a link to instructions with other Green
Living Tips readers? Please add it below!
