Recycled Plastic Bags by CraftyKathi: April 2008

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Made in NH

The weather is turning warm in NH and the last bits of snow are finally melting...yes there are still patched around town. :-) I found out this morning that a new Feature on Etsy is some great bright and cheery items from my fellow NH Crafters. Check it out!

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=39654

Thanks to Plymouth Congregational Church

I want to say a big thank you to the Plymouth Congregational Church. I got the opportunity to join them at there Environment Health Fair on Sunday. They have even been putting their plastic bags away for me to use. I got to speak with some other people who were doing there part to help the Environment. I really learned a lot!

Monday, April 7, 2008

So much fun!

Okay, this morning I was trying to get the weather. I watched GMA (water cooler piece) talking about this artist in NY that saw some tape swing in the vent breeze in NY. He came up with these great plastic bag animals that come to life when the breeze blows through the vent. So much fun! Check it out on youtube!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-a607j2dOo

The Plastic Bag...

Ahh, the plastic bag. Where once it was a choice at the grocery store has now become the way we carry home our groceries. Can you count how many you have used? 100's maybe 1,000's of plastic bags? You can reuse some of them by lining the trash can, picking up after the dog, lunch bag, and to carry misc. items but what about the other 100-1,000's of bags? Do you recycle them at your local grocery store? If so, where do they go? DO they get recycled? I read (at reusablebags.com) that 1-3% of the bags get recycled. Many of the bags from recycling bins do not get recycled. SOOO...what to do?

One summer my grandmother (who lives in FL) came to NH to visit our family. She had learned a new craft and wanted to share it with us. We each received a large bag. She had gathered about 73 plastic bags, cut them, strung them together and crocheted them into a reusable bag. I BEGGED her to show me and I have been crocheting plastic bags ever since. Friends and family save their plastic bags and I go to the local grocery stores (there are 6 of them) and gather plastic bags there as well. I recycle about 5,000 plastic bags a year making hundreds of products. They are quite strong and sturdy. I have carried home fruit and veggies in mine from the store. Every time I use one large bag I am reusing about 73 plastic bags!

Please consider my site the next time you need a unique gift that will not only be a big hit but be good for the environment as well. I have several colors and sizes to choose from (check out my slide show below for some examples).

Craftykathi.etsy.com

Kathi