7 ways to reuse all the plastic bags currently spilling out of your cupboards
Be mendy and make do, says Sam Wylie-Harris.
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Your support makes all the difference.Saying no to the offer of a plastic bag in shops and instead stuffing everything you buy into your rucksack or jacket pockets has become pretty routine for many of us.
But sometimes we’ve come unprepared, end up buying more than we can carry and guiltily take some, even though it’s bad news for our environment and oceans.
From today, all shops, including corner shops, in England must charge 10p (instead of 5p) for every single-use plastic carrier bag, giving us another push to get more organised.
But what if you have a stash already that you can’t bear to throw away and is spilling out of a cupboard at home?
Here are some ways to recycle those bags (so they are no longer single-use at least), and put them to good use….
1. Storage for clothing
If you haven’t packed your winter woollies away just yet – hardly surprising with such a gloomy May – now’s the time to reach for a supermarket bag. Wash it, cut the handles off and make a clean parcel to pop your jumpers in, and seal with string. There’s a heatwave round the corner (we promise) which means moths will be coming out of hiding, and will be on the hunt for something to munch.
2. Make bunting
Supermarket bags can be spun into summer bunting or tree tassels. It’s super easy: cut the bottom off a bag and cut three inch strips, leaving a border of approx five inches from the top. The handle can be used to thread colourful ribbon or string; and if you’re feeling crafty, draw a triangle on cardboard and use it as your template.
3. DIY plant pots
If you’re short on pots for your growing collection of houseplants, make your own with plastic bags. The marigold and green and white coloured ones (not mentioning any supermarket names) work especially well. Snip to the right height, place the container inside, scrunch the bag round and secure with string or twine. Cut a hole underneath and you’ll have drainage too.
4. Use them to line drawers
Having got everything just so, what better way to keep a drawer clean than by lining it with a plastic liner made from a recycled bag, cut to size. Placed at the bottom of a cutlery drawer, the liner protects the wood from damp knives and forks.
5. Bag and grow your own veggies
Leaf lettuce and root vegetables will happily plant themselves inside a plastic bag. Cut drainage holes in the bottom, add the potting mix, plant the seedlings, water generously and watch your garden grow. An added bonus, they can be carried around the garden without breaking your back.
6. Use them to stuff outdoor scatter cushions
Buy outdoor cushion covers without the inserts (less spendy), and pack a punch by stuffing them with as many plastic bags as you can squeeze inside. Sit back, and relax.
7. Turn wire coat hangers into a non-slip pad
Take those slippery wire coat hangers – most likely from the dry cleaners – and wrap them in plastic bags to pad out your suit jackets and flimsy dresses. It will take a few strips, but keep on winding them round the wire until you’ve got just the right amount of padding. Then tie a pretty bow at the neck of the hook to take it up a notch.