Upcycling our plastics
#DoGoodFeelGood
We believe that when you do good, you'll FEEL good in return. It doesn't have to take big changes, we're all about the small changes you can make in your everyday life to help make a better planet.
With World Ocean Day fast approaching, it got us thinking about ways in which we can stop plastic in its tracks. The best (and worst) thing about plastic is that it has a super long lifespan so even when it seems like it’s game over, it almost certainly isn’t.
Instead of being overwhelmed with what to do with plastic once it reaches the ocean, there are so many things we can do each day to make sure our personal plastic usage doesn’t even get to that point.
So we’ve taken a deep dive in to plastic upcycling and wanted to share our favourite finds with you. Trust us, there are some good ones!
- There are some shop-bought juices that we can’t resist, and like to treat ourselves to from time to time – but a lot of these come in plastic packaging. Try reusing them as dry food containers! A quick, inexpensive an easy way to keep things neat and organised whilst stopping your plastic from ending up in the Ocean.
Bubble wrap is often unavoidable because we can’t always control how our products come packaged. Instead of sending this straight to landfill, keep it in an arts and crafts box and use it to create paintings by covering in paint and pressing on to paper. It could also be used for ‘stomp art’ by putting it over little ones' feet, letting them stand in paint and then run all over some paper!
- The bottom of your big plastic bottles bought for fizzy drinks can be upcycled in to a planter and decorated any way you’d like. Make them that bit better and dig out some old string to have them hang up in differing heights!
- You finish up your kitchen cleaner and pop it on your next shopping list but that doesn’t mean you have to buy a new bottle. Our EcoDrop refills mean you can turn any bottle in to an OceanSaver bottle by refilling again and again and again. And we have you covered for a full house clean!
- Combine an art project and some garden nurturing in one and turn your milk bottles in to watering cans! By putting some holes in the lid, and adding some decorations to the side you can transform your milk bottle and make a seriously functional watering can that will last you ages. TIP: why not let the kids paint one so you not only get them busy with painting, then they can water your plants too!
There are so many great things we can do with the products we haven’t yet been able to escape from that prevent them from being seen as single use. We’d love to hear your tips and tricks on upcycling either in the comments below or over on our Instagram @oceansaverdrops.
This is the first in our series of things you can do to #DoGoodFeelGood so be sure to follow along as we share our best hacks, product tips and eco swaps with you.
I reuse small plastic bottles as plant cloches for seedlings. All you need to do is cut the bottle in half and you have two parts to protect the plants from slugs and frost. Big bottles work too as the plants grow. I don’t buy my own bottles but collect them from colleagues at work.
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