Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

They say an army marches on its stomach and for the want of a horse shoe nail a battle was lost. Well, what playgroup runs without using some kind of junk?

In this day and age, it's also, I guess, a responsible thing, especially if there's bits and pieces that we just cannot put into local recycling schemes.

Reduce, reuse, recycle.

We use a fair amount of recycled bits and pieces and here are some of our favourite:

1. Play-doh pots

We use Play-doh every week at our playgroup. We like to put our fresh pots every so often and it's quite surprising many we get through. Once, emptied and cleaned, they make great pots for keeping lots of bits and pieces, but I love using them as glue pots, for PVA glue. If you keep the lid and put it on the top, once you've finished, and if you've  put the lid on properly, it helps keep the glue from drying out. This also helps prevent glue wastage.


2. Ready meal trays 

The black plastic trays are apparently the worst for recycling. It seems they are difficult for recycling machines to separate. in our area, the local authority won't collect them. However, at our playgroup we often use them as pots to put out bits and pieces for craft, or as trays for holding paint, for craft activities. They can be washed out and used again, if you need to.

Re-purposed ready meal trays being used for printing.

3. Plastic bottles

These can be used in all kinds of ways. Either for junk modelling or making into skittles. My use for plastic bottles, however, is for a craft - turning them into instruments.

Once decorated with stickers and or washi tape, they can be transformed.

The bottle tops can also be re-purposed in various ways - wheels on models of vehicles, for example.


4. Cardboard tubes

Who hasn't made something using a cardboard tube at some point in their lives? These days, I'd recommend using kitchen roll tubes rather than toilet rolls, as I consider them more hygienic. However, I have heard that a quick blast in the microwave can make your toilet rolls hygenic.


5. Glass jars & dessert pots

Obviously you have to be careful, when using glass around young children. Nobody needs or wants broken glass around. However, occasional use, when warranted, is also the perfect opportunity to teach little ones about handling things carefully. 

We love using little glass ramekins, bought containing desserts, as Christmas candle pots and glass jars can make great nightlight holders.

A little decoration can transform a plain glass ramekin.

6. Bubble wrap 

We use bubble wrap for printing. It can be used to great effect, when wrapped round a cardboard tube.


7. Wool

Odds and ends of wool can be used to recreate hair, as seen in this farmer craft.

8. Buttons

Embellish crafts with buttons. Sometimes they can also be used as a feature. In this Poppy craft, buttons worked well in the centre.

And in this Snowman craft, they made great buttons down his front, but black buttons could also have been used for the mouth, although in this case we used stickers.

9. Plant Pots

Whenever we have a planting activity, we like to reuse the smaller pots that you get when you buy bedding plants. A simple clean in a bucket, makes them suitable to use once more.

Plastic pots like these cannot be recycled, so why not reuse them?

Do you recycle?

I would love to know what you reuse, in your craft activities and also how you transform it!