Did you ever think of plastic grocery bags as the main component in art making?
I tutor students in creating with recycled cast-offs, watching them become enthusiastic green artists, using plastic grocery bags and other recyclables to make delightful sculpture.
I challenge kids to discover the world of form and design through direct contact with nature. Together we become a band of explorers, discoverers, and detectives. As they learn about the environment and biodiversity they create what they would like to protect: hermit crab, otter, sea horse, egret, starfish and much more, all made with recycled plastic bags,newspaper and cereal box cardboard.
We experiment with whatever materials are collected and donated to our art center,utilizing items that would otherwise end up in landfills.
We find ways to use things that are safe and free but which our culture discards.
This post was submitted by Donna Iona Drozda.
I had a coworker who used plastic bags to crochet yoga bags for her yoga mat, purses, etc. I thought it was ingenious! A great way to reuse these bags, with a creative twist. Better yet - I am now using just cloth/reusable plastic bags now.
Comment by Alanna St. Laurent — February 14, 2010 @ 1:09 pm
One of the great mistakes of the environment movement was to make capitalism aware of the environmental aspects of plastic shopping bags. Some of the problems that have arisen from trying to get rid of the disposable bag are, as I see it…
1. Shopping bags have become a stratified consumer market. From free disposables, through recycled fibre bags for a buck, to “premium” re-usable vinyl or plastic bags, people are still throwing them away irresponsibly, or at best, consuming too much plastic “luggage”.
2. Disposable plastic shopping bags make really good kitchen bin liners, and modern land fills require rubbish to be bagged to contain it more effectively. With many communities banning the bag, people are forced to buy purpose-made bin liner bags instead. A better campaign would have been to promote responsible re-use of shopping bags as bin liners, seedling protectors (stretched around wooden stakes to protect plants from wind and grazers) and any number of other uses.
Sadly, now plastic bags are even more proliferated, have become even more of a commercial product than they were (more entrenched) and are being disposed of just as much, whether bought (and using MORE resources) or free, and have become a greater environmental problem.
This happens quite frequently in green politics because people see a problem, but don’t research the market the problem exists in, before assuming banning is the solution.
Comment by @crunchysteve — October 20, 2010 @ 5:40 pm
you can also make furniture out of rolled up newspaper and for table tops you can glue a couple of layers of cardboard — plus you can make baskets to carry groceries out of plastic bags any shape or size just by weaving them together- you are on the right path as you saw you thought you were alone but look at all those that are coming to you for guidance. 1 person does make a difference because someone needs to start and to lead. Good luck.
Comment by Missy — October 22, 2010 @ 8:40 pm
I love the knit yoga mat carrier! I have been knitting my “Plarn” into hanging baskets for my plants.
Comment by Janel — December 30, 2010 @ 8:04 am