How To Reuse Plastic Bags

There has been growing concern over the use of plastic grocery bags, which in many cases can't be recycled. Some grocery stores will accept them back for recycling, but there are other ways, if you don't have such a program, that you can reuse plastic grocery bags, sometimes repeatedly, to cut down on using more. Of course the simplest solution is not to use them at all. Many grocery stores now sell reusable bags of cloth or recyclable materials that you just have to remember to bring back to the store when you shop.

First, you can of course reuse plastic grocery bags by bringing them back to the store the next time you shop. You may be able to use a grocery bag several times before it breaks and is no longer useable. Alternately, many people suggest, since most of us line our garbage cans with plastic bags, that they may great liners for small garbage cans.

You can also reuse plastic grocery bags for many things around the home. They are perfect collectors for cat and dog waste, though you can only use them once for this purpose. You can keep old magazines in them, yarn for your knitting projects, child's crafts materials, or a host of other things in plastic bags. Cover your sweaters in them and tie them tight to prevent moths from eating them during summer months, or protect plants from bitterly cold nights by placing them over plants during frosts and freezes.

The bags are also easy to use outside the home in a variety of ways because they're light and portable. You can reuse plastic grocery bags as trash bags in your car, to bring camping supplies on a trip, or to get rid of a baby's dirty diapers just about anywhere you go. Take them to the nearby swimming pool to hold wet towels or clothes, or to the beach to pick up shells. Give them to the kids for collection of Halloween candy instead of buying another bag. Hang them on the doors of your kids' rooms for laundry collection too - provided they're old enough not to put the bags over their heads - and send PE clothes in them back and forth to school.

There are also creative ways to reuse plastic grocery bags, and some people have turned their bags into art, or sturdy household items. One suggestion is to cut the bags into strips and reweave or crochet them into essentially two-ply bags that will hold up well for multiple uses at the grocery store. More artful projects suggest fusing the bags together with burning to make various items. Do be wary of this suggestion. When burned or heated, plastic bags can produce toxic fumes.

Use plastic bags to protect Christmas decorations while storing.

An Everymom standby: Use grocery bags to make schoolbook covers your kids can label and decorate to their art's delight. They'll protect the books from the mozzarella that falls from the pizza or the exploding highlighter in the backpack.

Use for puzzles or other items which have small parts that may get lost. My elementary-age sons enjoy putting together (and taking apart) 500-piece puzzles. Unfortunately, some of the puzzle boxes have become worn out. I keep the puzzles in the boxes with a rubberband around the box. To prevent pieces from falling out and getting lost, I then place the puzzle inside a bag.

Place frozen ice packs in a plastic bags to prevent condensation from "puddling" in your lunch bag. When we travel, we freeze some water in our water bottles before filling them up with cold water. The bottles produce so much condensation, that it looks like a little lake in our cup dispensers. To prevent that, pack water bottles in a plastic bag.

Make place mats kids can color on while waiting for dinner, just like in those family-friendly restaurants.

Keep several in your car, especially if you have children. If someone gets unexpectedly sick while on the highway and you're unable to stop, use double bags. You can knot and dispose-better in the bag than all over the car.

Use for organization in a deep freezer. I stock up on frozen vegetables and place like vegetables together in a plastic bag. (Rotate by putting newest vegetables on the bottom of the bag.) I usually place my vegetables in the freezer in alphabetical order. Doing this helps me know exactly where to find certain vegetables. You can also use various colored bags to sort vegetables.

I like using bags to ensure no vegetables get "lost" in the freezer. Plus, I know exactly how many bags I have of each item, and unloading the freezer to defrost and clean is so much easier. Another hint is to list the contents of your deep freezer on a magnetic dry erase board (or keep a paper on top with a magnet). Every time you take out something, delete an item from the list. If you are diligent about this, you will know exactly what needs replacing when you go to the store.

Place unripe peaches, plums, or green tomatoes in a bag. The closed bag traps ethylene, the natural gas released by the ripening fruit (while still allowing a little ventilation), which helps it ripen faster.

Make a kite. Punch a hole in each corner of the open end of a bag. Tie a long piece of string in each hole, gather the ends, and glue some streamers onto the open end. The natural shape of the bag will catch the wind, which will lift it into the air.

Place your wet swim suits or other wet clothing inside plastic bags until you arrive home and can launder or hang out to dry.

Protect work surfaces at arts-and-crafts time. Slit bags up the sides, spread them out flat, tape them together, and lay them across any table or surface your kids are getting creative (i.e., making a mess) on.

Use plastic bags to thaw out meat. Place the meat that you wish to be thawed in a plastic bag before putting it on the counter. This will eliminate any mess that may come from thawing out meat.

Use them to pick up animal waste. Simply stick your hand in the bag, pick up the waste and then turn the bag inside-out. Plastic bags are great for this.

For easy cleanup, place a plastic bag inside a bucket or pot next to your sink when you peel fruits or vegetables. You can quickly dispose of the bag or place peelings in a compost pile.

Double line a bucket with plastic bags. When removing the skin and fat (or even bones) from chicken or other meat, place in bags for easy cleanup.

Save money by using plastic bags as trash can liners.

When packing a suitcase, use them to keep shoes from soiling clothes and dirty things from clean ones.

Wrap drinking glasses and other fragile items when you're moving. A layer of three or four bags around each piece provides enough protection and won't leave nasty newspaper ink or annoying pieces of Styrofoam all over everything.

To protect small outdoor plants from frost at night, cover them with bags and tie the handles tightly around the pots. Be sure to take the bags off in the morning.

To add an extra layer of weed deterrence to your garden, place plain bags, with no dye, on the soil around plants before adding mulch.

For starters, make sure the bags are clean and dry. Do not use bags that contained raw meat or fish or dairy products that may have leaked. Also, avoid bags that carried any type of chemical. If a bag smells bad, you can try washing it with soap and warm water. If the bag still has an unpleasant odor, stick the bag in your recycle bin and try another. Preparing your bags depend on which method of crocheting you are planning to use.

Loop Method

1. With sharp scissors, cut the handles off your bags.
2. Starting at the top of the bag, cut across the bag horizontally. Each cut should be about two to three inches wide. This will form the loops.
3. Fold the loops lengthwise to make the plastic stronger for crocheting.
4. Join the loops together by putting one inside and inserting both ends into one another until knots form at the end of each loop.
5. Continue to do this until you get your desired length.

Continuous Strand Method

To prepare your bags you should:
1. Cut the handles off the plastic bags.
2. Starting at the top, cut the bag at an angle and keep cutting until you get one long continuous plastic "yarn" strand.
3. If you are using thinner grocery bags, make the strips about two to three inches wide so they can be folded over to create a stronger plastic strand.
4. Roll your plastic loops or strands into a ball, like you would knitting yarn or crochet thread. To add color to your project, alternate between white plastic bags and colored recycling, garbage or bread bags. Now you are ready to go.

Here is a tutorial which shows how to make yarn from plastic bags. It comes handy in making other crafts from plastic bags. Click for HERE full instructions.

Make good use of leftover plastic shopping and grocery bags with these quick-to-crochet tote bags. Click HERE for instructions.

Consider making a rug reuse plastic bags. It will cost nothing and is ideal to make it with your kids. Click HERE for instructions.

Use your favourite hat pattern to make a lovely hat out of reused plastic bags. Click HERE for instructions.

Materials needed

To make this recycled plastic dog leash, we used about 20 plastic bags that we had gathered up over the year. These bags weren't just grocery store bags, but non recycleable plastic bags that once held newspapers or had been used as shipping or hotel laundry bags.

Additional materials include a scissors, iron, and 2 sheets of used aluminum foil.

Instructions

The project begins at the ironing board. While the iron is preheating, cut the plastic bags apart, lengthwise. For extra thick bags, such as shipping bags, you may have to cut the bags in 6 inch widths.

Once the iron is hot, you can begin fusing the ends of the plastic bags together. Remember watching those old jail break movies where the criminals knotted sheets together to escape from a 10 story building? To make our rope, we'll be knotting plastic bags in the same way. Where ever the knots meet, we'll fuse the plastic together by gently melting it with the iron.

Since plastic can ruin an iron, the plastic should be sandwiched between two sheets of aluminum foil. Gently press the hot iron over the knot for a count of 2 seconds. Remove the iron, and peel the aluminum foil away from the fused bags. Continue fusing the bags from end to end until you have approximately an 8 foot section of plastic. Repeat to make two more 8 foot sections.

To create a loop for the leash, it's important that all 3 lengths of knotted plastic both begin and end with a loop handle.

Braiding the Leash

To braid the leash, simply grab up all three sections of rope and slip the handle loops over the door knob. Take the right section of rope and place it between the middle and left pieces. Then, take the left section of rope and place it between what is now the middle and the right piece.

Repeat these steps until you get to the end of the plastic.

Bring the braided rope back to the ironing board, and gentle fuse the beginning and the end of your rope to prevent it from unraveling. Your rope is now finished!

A leash made of plastic bags is surprisingly strong and doesn't look half bad. Best of all, it is absolutely free and uses materials that couldn't have been recycled otherwise. Don't limit yourself to making just leashes! Plastic rope has many uses around both the house and garden.

Do you have loads of grocery bags under your sink, or perhaps smushed into a drawer? Ever wanted a cheap and easy use for them? One that leaves you with an intriguing and useful homemade craft supply? Do you have an iron? Why don't you fuse them together?

What you'll need
Plastic bags (thin, flimsy ones work best)
Parchment paper, freezer paper or plain old copier paper
Iron (and your favorite ironing surface)

Learn how to fuse those extra plastic bags and find out how to make incredible crafts. Click HERE for full instructions and have fun.