Today’s blog comes from Grace, one of our Education Specialists! If you want to create less waste in 2016 get started today with one of our tried and true zero waste crafts! If you like what you find here, be sure to come to our next free workshop this Saturday, February 20th to learn first-hand from our educators like Grace!
The average person in San Diego County makes 1,825 pounds of trash in just one year – that’s 5 pounds a day! This abundance of trash can have a variety of consequences, including filling up our landfills and harming animals if this trash makes its way into our environment. In an effort to inspire San Diegans to kick-start a zero waste lifestyle, I Love A Clean San Diego has incorporated the following DIY repurposing projects into our Sustainable Living Series workshops. Repurposing projects not only save items from the landfill, but also reduce the amount of new resources that need to be purchased by upcycling the resources we already have.
Planting succulents in repurposed containers: This project utilizes drought resistant succulents that are perfect for our dry Southern California climate. Your succulent “pot” can be anything from an antique tea cup to a shoe.
Supplies:
- Repurposed container
- Drill (optional)
- Charcoal (optional)
- Rocks
- Succulents
- Soil
Instructions:
- Select your repurposed container.
- Some drainage in the container is preferred. If possible drill a hole in the bottom of the container. A diamond drill bit may be needed depending on the material OR cover the bottom of the container with a thin layer of charcoal to absorb excess water.
- Add a layer of river rocks at the bottom of the container.
- Fill container ¾ with soil.
- Arrange succulents to your liking.
- For indoor arrangements, widely space plants in the same container for maximum exposure to sunlight.
- Once complete, give your succulents a soak with a spray bottle.
Repurposing glass bottles: This project takes your empty glass bottles from one party and upcycles them into decorations for your next! Any sized bottle can be transformed into a vase or centerpiece.
Supplies:
- Glass beverage bottles
- Goo Gone
- Paint or Spray Paint
- Twine
Instructions:
- Remove labels and clean residual glue from bottles with Goo Gone.
- Swirl the inside of the bottle with paint OR Spray paint the outside of the bottle.
- Wrap selected areas of the bottle in twine.
- Variations can include using newspaper, old book pages, metallic markers, tissue paper and ribbon.
Try your hand at a DIY project at our next Zero Waste workshop! Register for our Zero Waste Shopping workshop on February 20th at Ocean Knoll Farm.
At our first Sustainable Living Series workshop – What to Know about H2O – I Love A Clean San Diego staff set out to tackle that very question. After reviewing the history of water in San Diego, participants rolled up their sleeves and dug into our repurposed planter activity. Using items salvaged from Goodwill as pots, we planted succulents, saving water and saving items from the landfill in one fell swoop.
