What to Make with Empty Plastic Bottles

The best way to keep plastic bottles out of landfill is to recycle or reuse them. As the old saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. So here, we’ll tell you what to make with empty plastic bottles.

There are lots of creative and imaginative ideas in the world of upcycling plastic bottles, so let’s take a look at a few of them!

Just a quick note of caution. Some of the plastic bottle upcycling ideas below require the use of scissors, paint, glue, and other things from the toolbox, so please take care and ensure an adult undertakes these tasks. The ideas below are just that, ideas. Feel free to exercise your creativity and imagination, that’s the fun of making things out of plastic bottles!

While you’re thinking about what to make with plastic bottles once they’re empty, don’t discard the caps. They come in lots of different sizes and colours and if you save up enough, you can make a beautiful mosaic by glueing them onto a board or putting them in a box frame.

When the kids ask ‘what can you make with plastic bottles,’ you’ve got a ready-made answer! Cut the pop bottles in half and you can either paint them or wrap them in twine so they look like funky plant pots. Then, you can plant flowers or herbs as you would normally. For an added bit of fun, you can glue wobbly eyes and a bobble nose onto the pots.

This is a great addition to your garden and if you’re into upcycling plastic bottles, a bird feeder is a fun one to do. All you need to do is cut the top off a bottle of pop or milk, make a hole in the front big enough for birds to get their beaks into and a smaller hole to poke a stick out of so the birds can land. Paint the bottle any colour you like and include drawn-on windows and a welcome sign! Then, all you need to do is add seed and your garden visitors will be extremely happy!

We’ve all got loads of stuff lying around so why not take the opportunity to get organised! Cut the bottom three or four inches off your pop bottles and spray paint them any colour you like. To protect you from the sharp edges, cover them inside and out with a thin layer of felt and once they’re dry, you can fill them with all sorts, like paper clips, pins, or indeed anything small enough to fit! This is certainly one of the classic plastic bottle upcycling ideas.

What can you make with plastic bottles that will fuel your kids’ imaginations? A jetpack of course! Spray or paint two large fizzy drinks bottles silver and cut out some red and orange felt from leftover fabric to make the flames. Get the kids to paint all sorts of space-related images on them. You can attach them to a rucksack or make one from cardboard and some straps and the sky’s the limit!

The indented bottoms of fizzy drink bottles make perfect stencils to create some really beautiful wall art. On a long piece of wallpaper, fabric or art paper, paint the trunk and branches of a tree and then dip the bottom of the pop bottle into some brightly coloured paint and gently dab it over the painted tree. If you’re looking for the answer to the question ‘what to make with plastic bottles’ that’s creative and fun, we’ve got you covered (in paint!)

What can you make with empty plastic bottles that will really help around the house? A dispenser for small food or freezer bags is a brilliant idea! You need to top and tail the drinks bottle and you can spray it, paint it, cover it in stickers or stencils and then fix it to the inside of a cupboard or on the wall. Fill it with the small bags and pull one out of the small opening at the bottom every time you need one.

So if you want to know what to make with plastic bottles, these are just a few of the many creative and fun ideas out there. Next time you finish a bottle of pop and before you put it in the recycling, think about some plastic bottle recycling ideas!