4 different ideas to create boxes made with recycled plastic bottles

Here are 4 different ways to create boxes made with recycled plastic bottles. Turn your unwanted rubbish into treasures by using plastic bottles to make gift boxes, pot holders, pencil cases, candle holders and more with these different methods.

Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles
Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles

Plastic bottle Pencil case

Plastic bottle pencil case
Plastic bottle pencil case

This pencil case is made using 2 recycled plastic bottles and a zip. All you need to make it are two small bottles of the same diameter, a small zip and a glue gun. I also used some washi tape to neaten up the edges once I had finished gluing.

What you need
What you need

First clean out your bottles and cut the tops off, leaving just the straight part of the bottle. Make your cut as straight as possible.

Cutting the plastic bottle
Cutting the plastic bottle

Once you have prepared the two halves, use a glue gun to glue your zip to the bottles. Don’t glue the zip too close to the plastic, and try to avoid using too much glue to reduce the mess, and the chance of the bottle melting and warping. I found this was a little messy, so once I finished, I stuck washi tape along the join to neaten up the edge.

Glueing the plastic bottles to the zip
Glueing the plastic bottles to the zip
Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles
Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles

Experiment with different sized bottles to make smaller or larger zipped containers in the same way.

Plastic bottle gift box

Plastic bottle gift box
Plastic bottle gift box

This simple box is made using the body of a straight edged plastic bottle. You can use any size bottle, but try to find one that is mostly straight. A large 2l bottle works well.

Clean the bottle and cut off the top and bottom, leaving a tube of flat plastic.

Cut off the top and bottom of the bottle
Cut off the top and bottom of the bottle

Fold this down to make a flat rectangle.

Fold the plastic tube
Fold the plastic tube

Unfold, and fold again exactly half way between the first fold to give your tube a square cross section. Measure the width of this square, and then divide it by 2. Use this measurement to cut slits in your plastic on the folds, on both sides of your tube. These slits make the flaps of the plastic box.

Plastic bottle box
Plastic bottle box

Fold down the 8 flaps. And then curve off each flap. Interlace the flaps together to close the box.

Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles
Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles

Cut a square piece of card to put in the bottom of the box to help it keep its shape. Use the boxes to store small items, or as gift boxes. Try decorating the boxes with paint, paper, or sharpies, or by finishing it off with a ribbon.

Plastic bottle pot

Plastic bottle pot
Plastic bottle pot

This pot can either be used open, as a pot holder or a place to put pencils or other tools, or closed as a way to stash small items. You will need one large bottle – a curved shaped Coca Cola bottle works well – décopatch paper and glue and some scissors.

Making a plastic bottle pot
Making a plastic bottle pot

Simply cover the bottom part of the bottle with décopatch paper and glue. Once it has thoroughly dried, cut the top off the bottle and fashion four flaps that join to close the box. You can glue on a small bead or button with superglue to act as a handle to the box.

Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles
Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles

Plastic bottle nightlight

Plastic bottle nightlight
Plastic bottle nightlight

This simple nightlight is made using the bottom section of a large plastic bottle. A design is cut into the plastic, before it is spray painted with an opaque paint. When a light is added inside the pot, the light shines out through the holes creating an interesting pattern.

Cutting the plastic bottle nightlight
Cutting the plastic bottle nightlight

I drew my pattern using a sharpie, then cut it out using scissors and a scalpel. I then spray painted the pot, before adding finer details with some POSCA markers.

Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles
Boxes made with recycled plastic bottles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>