Ways to repurpose the plastic bags you have

I think that most people can agree that adding to our landfills is a negative thing, and that recycling when possible is great.  However, it seems, in the craze of the green movement we have gotten so ambitious with our recycling efforts that we have forgotten the other two R’s along the way, reduce and reuse.

In the context of single use grocery bags reducing can happen by people using reusable bags, or by people forgoing bags altogether by using tote bins or some other reusable transport device.  But when it comes to it there are a large number of plastic bags in the world that have already been made and/or distributed.  What creative uses can we find for these bags, especially in areas that do not yet have ready access to plastic film recycling programs such as Bag 2 Bag.

There are a number of web pages dedicated to the reuse of plastic bag.  You can use old plastic bags to make a wide assortment of other things.  Some people turn bags into something they call plarn (plastic yarn) and then it can be used for most anything you would use yarn for like making rope.  Or you can fuse the old bags together and make new reusable bags for yourself, a great way to get a unique bag and depending on where you live you could make the bag for free.  And here is a video on how to fuse plastic to make a reusable sandwich bag, allowing you to convert one plastic waste to avoid creating another.

I hope you can use these ideas to help you find a way to reuse the plastic bags you may already have in your life, beyond just using them as trash can liners.  And remember the three R’s; Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle in that order.