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Tag: recycling

Recycled Egg Carton Fire Starters

Cindy3 Comments

Recycling egg cartons into fire starters is easy and a very frugal way to start your fire. Whether you are starting a fire in a wood stove or campfire, fire starters are always a handy thing to have on hand. I love making my own fire starters from recycled materials I have on hand.


I use old egg cartons for my base and then add bits of burnable materials such wood shaving from a chain saw, pencil sharpener, or a miter saw. I put some wood shavings in the bottom of the egg carton holes and then added bits of cut up cardboard and scraps of cut up yarn. The added scraps of materials make your fire starters easier to light and help the burning process to produce a great fire starter.


Next I melted leftover wax from an old candle in the glass container it came in. I placed the glass jar in some water in a sauce pan. Over gentle heat, warm the wax until it melts. I added more bits of old wax to the jar as needed to cover the materials in my egg cartons. I used an old spoon to dribble the wax over each fire starter in the egg carton.
Click on photos to supersize

I added some lint from my dryer in one egg carton set as shown above. Dryer lint burns well and is a wonderful material to use for making fire starters.


I dribbled more wax over my fire starters and here is the final results. Now just separate the individual filled egg holders from each other which results in 12 very wonderful fire starters.

Closeup of the finished fire starters made from recycled materials.

Newspaper Bags Recycled into Plarn

Cindy19 Comments

This tutorial shows how you can recycle plastic newspaper bags into plastic bag yarn or plarn. Converting these narrow plastic bag sleeves into yarn is very similar to cutting retail bags to make plastic bag yarn. I have create a picture tutorial outlining the steps below. This method can be used for any narrow plastic bags like newspaper sleeves, English muffin bags, packing pillows and any other skinny plastic bags. The result is short plastic loops that can be joined into one long continuous strip for crocheting, knitting, or weaving.

First step is to take the newspaper bag which measures 7-1/2″ wide x 21″ long and flatten it out.
Click on any photo to supersize

Step 2 is to fold it in half lengthwise.

Step 3 is to fold it once more lengthwise. Now you are ready for the cutting stage.

Step 4 you cut strips 1 inch wide across the short length of the bag. This creates 1 inch wide loops of plastic.

Step 5 is closeup of the 1 inch wide plarn loops. Because the end is sealed off, cut a very thin strip at the end of bag to open up the last loop.

Step 6 shows how you interconnect the loops and then pull the knot tight.

If you cut the strips about 1 inch wide, it will result in about 19 loops per newspaper bag. Once joined together, this nets about 3-3/4 yards of plastic bag yarn per newspaper bag. Continue to add loops to your chain of plarn rings to make your recycled plastic bag yarn for whatever crafting project you may have in mind.

VCR Tape Designer Bag

Cindy25 Comments

This is my first vcr tape designer bag. This bag was a custom order from a customer of mine that sent me a picture of a specific purse she wanted crocheted from recycled vcr tape. I crocheted the shell and added the two handles as outlined in the description that accompanied the photo. I lined the purse and also added a removal insert that I created from plastic canvas to give the bottom of the bag a sturdy base.

I took several photos of the project as it progressed. I hope you will find the photos useful as you craft this recycled vcr tape bag. You could also use the crochet pattern below to make the bag using plastic bags (plarn) or bulky yarn. Just adjust your gauge and work the pattern to create your own unique recycled designer bag.

Free Pattern for Crocheted Video Tape Designer Handbag

Materials needed:
2) VHS video tapes recycled into yarn
4) 3/4 inch D rings
1) 1 inch Button
2/3 yards of fabric for lining
50 inches of 3/8 inch cording
1) Magnetic closure
1) 15″ long by 4″ wide piece of plastic canvas for bottom insert
Small amount of super glue

Hooks: N (9 mm) and J (6 mm) metal crochet hooks
Description: VCR designer handbag measures 15-1/2 inches wide, 10 inches tall and 4-3/4 inches wide at base with 22 inch handles.

Directions:
Using N hook with 2 strands of vcr tape held together, Ch 28.

E-Waste and Mobile Phone Recycling

Cindy2 Comments

What comes to mind when you think about recycling? We all know the importance of recycling when it comes to plastic, glass, tin, and paper but what about electronic trash. Electronic waste is defined as discarded, surplus, obsolete, broken electrical or electronic devices.

Electronic waste or e-waste includes computers, entertainment device electronics, television sets, and mobile phones just to name a few of the most frequently found e-waste items.

Today I want to focus in on mobile phones. Each year nearly two hundred fifty million phones cell phones are discarded and many get thrown away and end up in our trash and landfills. Cell phones contain toxic chemicals and hazardous materials such as copper, lead, arsenic and zinc products just to name a few of the concerning materials.

So what is the answer? Well mobile phone recycling of course. Not only can you turn your e-trash into cash, you can be helping our environment by keeping them out of our landfills. By recycling your old mobile phones you keep them from leeching into our Earth, contaminating our water aquifers, poisoning our animals and thus harming all of us.

One company in the Uk is making it easier to recycle some of those 68 million old mobile phones found in the UK. Sell My Mobile is the UK’s number 1 mobile phone recycling price comparison site. They help you to turn your trash into cash by providing an easy to use search box that will help you identify the make and model of your mobile phone. Then by comparing all the UK’s leading mobile phone recycling companies and with daily updated price checking, you can choose the best deals possible when you sell mobile phones.

Is your old cell phone broken? Never fear — Many of the merchants listed even pay out for broken phones. You could still receive up to 90% of the original working phone offer depending on the level of damage your phone has. The reason is that even damaged mobile phones can be repaired back to factory standard and parts can be reused and refurbished by retailers.

So whatever type of e-waste you may have, please consider recycling it rather than allowing it to end up in the trash. When you choose to reuse, refurbish and recycle, you are making a positive move in making our world greener. A greener world is definitely a goal that we all can support and reach towards. Remember every little bit helps.

Recycling Plastic Six Pack Rings

Cindy7 Comments

This project involves recycling those plastic six pack rings you get from cans into useful towel holders. The rings are cut apart and trimmed with scissors. You may not have noticed but once the rings aren’t around the cans anymore, they aren’t completely round. Using the shape as a towel holder worked out great. It has a natural bend in the ring which accommodates a folded towel over the ring.

Of course I wanted to keep this a recycled crocheted project, so I used t-yarn or tarn to make this towel holder. T-yarn is the yarn created from recycled t-shirts and cut very thin into strips to cover this plastic ring.

Once you crochet a few rounds, you can slide your towel handle around on the plastic ring. The last photo shows about where you want to place your center over the curve in the plastic so your holder is centered. I used a thin tea towel to insert in the ring as it fits better than thicker towels.

Here is the free crochet pattern below. Enjoy!

T-Yarn Towel Ring Holder

Materials needed:
2-3) ozs of white T-shirt cut into 1/4 inch wide strip and stretched to curl into t-yarn
Here is my t-yarn or tarn tutorial on how to make yarn from recycled t-shirts.
1) plastic ring cut from a plastic six-pack holder
1) 5/8 inch button
Small amount of fingering or thread yarn for trim

Hook:J (6 mm) size metal hook

Description: T-yarn Towel Ring Holder
Holder measures 4 inches wide and 7-1/4 inches long when buttoned

Directions:
Row 1
Attach your t-yarn with Sl St around trimmed plastic ring. Sc loosely around the ring and join with Sl St to beg Sc. (Approx 34-36 Sc)