What better way to recylce trash than transform it into art?

1. circle
of life
1 Plastic bottles flowerpots
The next time when you are about to
dump a plastic bottle, a plastic bag or a
newspaper, just pause for a moment and
think if you can recycle them by doing
any of the things listed in this article.
2 Plastic Earrings
1 Turn the bottles into flowerpots,
vases and flowers.
BY SALMA BANU
2 Make fashionable earrings and bangles
using the plastic bottles. (Plastic Bottles, cut
W
e have all heard about recycling but into the shape of leaves and painted with glass
how many of us actually practise it paints. Fevicol is used to stick the beads).
in our day to day lives? Only a few
would answer in the affirmative. Polythene bags, 3 Egg shell artworks. (Mosaic done with 3 Eggshells Artwork
plastic bottles, newspapers, empty cans, snack- eggshell and clay dough. On a handmade
wrappers and packing cartons are the most paper base, the centre structure (clay
common items finding their way into a trash can. dough) is pasted with fevicol piece by piece.
Trash can be put to better use, as I found out. Egg shells are stuck (with fevicol) all around).
One morning several years ago, I just could not find 4 Discarded CDs can be turned into various
anything to put the roses in. Just then, a shining artworks. (An old CD painted with acrylic
4 CD 3D Artwork
empty plastic bottle caught my attention. I slashed paints and polymer clay, Kabah placed in the
the top part neatly and used it as a vase. It occurred centre, decorated with glitter and beads.)
to me that this was one way of reclaiming trash
and saving nature from such a harmful invention. 5 Make toy gadgets using packing
boxes. (This is a Laptop made by my
It disheartens me to see plastic bottles floating in the son Zayd. He calls it Gamebox 2).
sea, lying in public places or even in the refrigerators
of some homes. I have always had a passion for 6 Design colourful brooches, mats and key
Art. I became aware of the spectrum on the glittering chains using paper. (Newspaper rolled into 5 Cardboard Toys
surface of the white plastic bottles. The plastic bottles this shape and wooden beads in a thread
resemble glass and glass paints work well on them. sewn through the newspaper coil).
I took to this ‘art’ possibility with great fervour.
7 Hang a bottle in your lawn or balcony in the shape
Today, this is more than just a hobby of a Birdfeeder. (Acrylic paints used for this).
for me; it has become a cause.
8 Pencil shavings pasted on Pepsi bottle
6 Newspaper Brooch
I use all the trash I can and convert it into a thing pieces. (No paints applied. Earring hoops,
of beauty. I preserve plastic bags and bottles, a safety pin, and some thread used).
7 Bottle
newspapers, milk packets, egg cartons, all types Bird Feeder
of packing material, vegetable and fruit peels, dry 9 Pebble turned into a tortoise paper-weight. (Clay
leaves and flowers, kids toys wrappers, cosmetic and beads used to cover and decorate it. Good
cans and sweet boxes - you name it and I have it! brands of clay dough last longer. Heat and humidity
40 Parent Circle / December 2011

2. affect these artworks, but if preserved well, of the plastic bags which contain leftover food
they could last more than two years.) that get mixed up with other garbage are eaten
8 Pencil shavings Earrings
by animals, resulting in harmful effects.
10 A picture made of clay. After applying fevicol on a
handmade paper, clay shapes are pasted. (Literally Because of the non-biodegradable and impervious
stretching the imagination to fill in the details)! nature of plastics, if disposed in the soil, they could
arrest the recharging of ground water aquifers.
11 A collage, 25 by 23 inches original size, this picture
has eggshell clouds, a plastic bottle sun, plastic Turtles consume plastic bags in the sea, thinking
bag trees, fruit packing – hay roof house made up that they are jelly fish. They choke and die.
of egg cartons, plastic bottle and clay bushes, milk
9 Pebble Paperweight
packet grass, pencil shaded hills and sky. Plastic bottles also contain chemicals
that can be harmful to human health.
12 A flowervase (Twirl newspaper.
Fevicol is used for sticking. The flower As plastic bottles are made of fossil fuels, their
is also rolled-up newspaper). production results in greenhouse gas emissions, which
is the main culprit in man-made global warming.
13 Plastic carry bag with a sunflower and
carbon footprint design. (Yellow coloured poly- OTHER WAYS OF RECYCLING
bag cut into petals, stuck into an old magazine Plastic bottles can be reused and recycled in the
10 Clay shapes Picture
page cut into a round shape. Thread for the following ways:
stem and fruit-packing material for leaves Use them for gardening: The lower half can be used
and painted with acrylic paint. Feet cut and to sow seeds and grow saplings till they are ready to
stuck from black paper or black polybag. be transferred to the soil. A large bottle with holes in
the lower half can be used for watering the plants.
14 A peacock shaped seedpod As toys: Collect similar bottles and paint them for a
rattle (acrylic paints used). set of skittles. My sons make boats and whales out of
them and believe me it’s a wonderful water game.
You could make wall decorations, wreaths, As Artworks: Cut them down and paint them with
11 Egg shells, plastic, clay
Collage Christmas stars and more with an old magazine. glass colours to decorate your home with flowers,
Brighten up your kitchen with colourful patterns vases, wall hangings and paintings.
on the cabinets, pots, jars, shelves, and windows with
plastic bottles. Make your own paper tote bags and
say ‘No’ to plastic bags. Give a 3D look to a picture Parentspeak
by using the pet bottle chips. Make showpieces using My daughter Shruti is nine years old
any junk and boast about your creative excellence. and has a mind of her own. After she learnt how
to make nice things out of waste, she has been
The list is endless and you can add your creativity collecting waste materials. She preserves them
12 Newspaper to it. Join hands in saving the globe by recycling! in her cupboard and later makes something out
flowervase
of them. She does not allow me to throw away
THE HAZARDS OF PLASTIC even the vegetable peels. She tells me that
Plastic bags if not disposed properly may find even these can be used to make something
their way into the drainage system resulting in the nice. She has always been this way. Some
choking of drains, thus bringing about an unhygienic time ago, she had made a stethoscope out of
environment and causing water borne diseases. a tube. I am very happy that she is interested
in recycling at such a young age. MEENA S
Recycled/coloured plastic bags contain certain
13 Plastic Design chemicals which can leach into SALMA BANU IS A FREELANCE ARTIST, A RECYCLER
the ground and contaminate AND A ‘GO GREEN’‘' PERSON’. SHE CONDUCTS ART
14 Seedpod Peacock shaped rattle
soil and sub-soil water. Some WORKSHOPS ON RECYCLING WASTE CALLED ECO-ART.
www.parentcircle.in 41