Many Ways to Reuse Plastic Bags

image by quinn.anya

• Miniature garbage bags. Rather than purchasing another roll of plastic garbage bags for your trash cans at home, why not consider using a plastic bag from the supermarket? You’ll be saving yourself money on trash liners, while finding another use for a bag that will ultimately end up in the landfill.
• Suitcase organizers. Over the course of a week’s worth of vacation time, many traveler’s suitcases begin to look like a tornado hit them! Plastic bags can be a great way to keep dirty clothes cordoned off from your clean garments, and stay organized throughout your trip. Furthermore, plastic bags are a great tool for wrapping wet swimsuits after a long day at the beach.
• Spill-proof liners. Even containers that are supposedly spill-proof will leak from time to time, potentially making a sticky mess you’ll need to clean later. Use a plastic bag wrapped around such containers in lunch boxes, diaper bags, and gym bags to ensure that any leaks will kept away from your other possessions.
• Doggie Duty. Perhaps one of the best known ways to recycle extra grocery bags, many dog owners use these bags to clean up after their puppies. Many communities have ordinances in place, which make cleaning up after your pooch a necessity. Carrying a plastic bag with you will ensure you’re ready to scoop up any mess your dog may leave behind, and will ensure your hands stay clean and free of any contact with your precious pup’s little gifts.
• Protective Shipping Filler. Instead of purchasing expensive filler to protect a fragile package you may be shipping, use extra bags you may have around the house. In addition to being cost-prohibitive, commercial fillers are made with plastics and chemicals that further pollute the environment. Reusing a plastic bag gives new life to a discarded product, and eliminates further waste.
• Reuse your bags for groceries. Though few consumers actually do so, plastic bags can be reused for the very purpose they were created for: carrying groceries! Take several plastic bags to the store with you on your next visit, and request that the sacker use the old bags instead of new ones. You may get a few odd looks, but take comfort in knowing you’re helping out the environment.

Recycling and reusing old bags is just another way to minimize your environmental footprint. In the event that you still have excess bags around the house, consider recycling them at your supermarket. Most stores provide receptacles near the entrance.

Sarah Danielson writes for Trucker to Trucker where you can find information on commercial truck financing and check out the latest deals on trucks across the country.

Step 1: Gather up Your Used Plastic Bags

2/ You will need the following, an iron, an ironing board, a pair of scissors, some paper (wax paper or parchment paper works best).

3/ Start by setting up your ironing board in a well ventilated area, open all the windows and setup a fan to direct fumes away from you, and lay a sheet of paper down to cover the ironing board.

4/ Choose a plastic bag to start with and if it has handles cut them off, also cut a strip of plastic from the bottom of the bag to make it open ended.

5/ Fold the plastic bag in half and then fold it in half again, this will give you an 8 ply piece of plastic, i.e. it will have 8 layers. Place this on the paper on the ironing board and lay another sheet of paper on top to completely cover the piece of plastic.

6/ Start applying heat from the iron to the paper – plastic – paper sandwich! Keep the iron moving to provide an even heat, do this for 10 – 15 seconds and the plastic should then be “fused” together. Watch this video below for a tutorial of how to fuse your plastic bags;

7/ Once you have a decent collection of fused plastic sheets you can start to design some clothing, or a bag or anything else you can think of! Check out Urban Woods Walkers coat creation below;

A Large Piece of Fused Plastic Fabric

Plans for a Reused Plastic Coat!

The Finished Fused Plastic Fabric Coat

The Wonderful Finished Plastic Coat

Please use caution whenever around a hot iron and when ironing plastic, always make sure you have the plastic completely covered with paper before applying the iron.
We hope you were inspired to go reuse some of those old plastic bags and perhaps turn them into something beautiful and wearable…