Parent Circle / December 201140

We have all heard about recycling but how many of us actually practise it in our day to day lives? Only a few

would answer in the affirmative. Polythene bags, plastic bottles, newspapers, empty cans, snack- wrappers and packing cartons are the most common items finding their way into a trash can. Trash can be put to better use, as I found out.

One morning several years ago, I just could not find anything to put the roses in. Just then, a shining empty plastic bottle caught my attention. I slashed the top part neatly and used it as a vase. It occurred to me that this was one way of reclaiming trash and saving nature from such a harmful invention.

It disheartens me to see plastic bottles floating in the sea, lying in public places or even in the refrigerators of some homes. I have always had a passion for Art. I became aware of the spectrum on the glittering surface of the white plastic bottles. The plastic bottles resemble glass and glass paints work well on them. I took to this ‘art’ possibility with great fervour.

Today, this is more than just a hobby for me; it has become a cause.

I use all the trash I can and convert it into a thing of beauty. I preserve plastic bags and bottles, newspapers, milk packets, egg cartons, all types of packing material, vegetable and fruit peels, dry leaves and flowers, kids toys wrappers, cosmetic cans and sweet boxes - you name it and I have it!

The next time when you are about to dump a plastic bottle, a plastic bag or a newspaper, just pause for a moment and think if you can recycle them by doing any of the things listed in this article.

1 Turn the bottles into flowerpots, vases and flowers.

2 Make fashionable earrings and bangles using the plastic bottles. (Plastic Bottles, cut into the shape of leaves and painted with glass paints. Fevicol is used to stick the beads).

3 Egg shell artworks. (Mosaic done with eggshell and clay dough. On a handmade paper base, the centre structure (clay dough) is pasted with fevicol piece by piece. Egg shells are stuck (with fevicol) all around).

4 Discarded CDs can be turned into various artworks. (An old CD painted with acrylic paints and polymer clay, Kabah placed in the centre, decorated with glitter and beads.)

5 Make toy gadgets using packing boxes. (This is a Laptop made by my son Zayd. He calls it Gamebox 2).

6 Design colourful brooches, mats and key chains using paper. (Newspaper rolled into this shape and wooden beads in a thread sewn through the newspaper coil).

7 Hang a bottle in your lawn or balcony in the shape of a Birdfeeder. (Acrylic paints used for this).

8 Pencil shavings pasted on Pepsi bottle pieces. (No paints applied. Earring hoops, a safety pin, and some thread used).

9 Pebble turned into a tortoise paper-weight. (Clay and beads used to cover and decorate it. Good brands of clay dough last longer. Heat and humidity

BY SALMA BANU

1 Plastic bottles flowerpots

2 Plastic Earrings

3 Eggshells Artwork

4 CD 3D Artwork

5 Cardboard Toys

6 Newspaper Brooch

7 Bottle Bird Feeder

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2 Plastic Earrings

4 CD 3D Artwork

affect these artworks, but if preserved well, they could last more than two years.)

10 A picture made of clay. After applying fevicol on a handmade paper, clay shapes are pasted. (Literally stretching the imagination to fill in the details)!

11 A collage, 25 by 23 inches original size, this picture has eggshell clouds, a plastic bottle sun, plastic bag trees, fruit packing – hay roof house made up of egg cartons, plastic bottle and clay bushes, milk

packet grass, pencil shaded hills and sky.

12 A flowervase (Twirl newspaper. Fevicol is used for sticking. The flower is also rolled-up newspaper).

13 Plastic carry bag with a sunflower and carbon footprint design. (Yellow coloured poly-bag cut into petals, stuck into an old magazine page cut into a round shape. Thread for the stem and fruit-packing material for leaves and painted with acrylic paint. Feet cut and stuck from black paper or black polybag.

14 A peacock shaped seedpod rattle (acrylic paints used).

You could make wall decorations, wreaths, Christmas stars and more with an old magazine. Brighten up your kitchen with colourful patterns

on the cabinets, pots, jars, shelves, and windows with plastic bottles. Make your own paper tote bags and say ‘No’ to plastic bags. Give a 3D look to a picture by using the pet bottle chips. Make showpieces using any junk and boast about your creative excellence.

The list is endless and you can add your creativity to it. Join hands in saving the globe by recycling!

THE HAZARDS OF PLASTIC Plastic bags if not disposed properly may find

their way into the drainage system resulting in the choking of drains, thus bringing about an unhygienic environment and causing water borne diseases.

Recycled/coloured plastic bags contain certain chemicals which can leach into the ground and contaminate soil and sub-soil water. Some

of the plastic bags which contain leftover food that get mixed up with other garbage are eaten by animals, resulting in harmful effects.

Because of the non-biodegradable and impervious nature of plastics, if disposed in the soil, they could arrest the recharging of ground water aquifers.

Turtles consume plastic bags in the sea, thinking that they are jelly fish. They choke and die.

Plastic bottles also contain chemicals that can be harmful to human health.

As plastic bottles are made of fossil fuels, their production results in greenhouse gas emissions, which is the main culprit in man-made global warming.

OTHER WAYS OF RECYCLING Plastic bottles can be reused and recycled in the following ways: Use them for gardening: The lower half can be used to sow seeds and grow saplings till they are ready to be transferred to the soil. A large bottle with holes in the lower half can be used for watering the plants. As toys: Collect similar bottles and paint them for a set of skittles. My sons make boats and whales out of them and believe me it’s a wonderful water game. As Artworks: Cut them down and paint them with glass colours to decorate your home with flowers, vases, wall hangings and paintings.

Parentspeak

My daughter Shruti is nine years old and has a mind of her own. After she learnt how to make nice things out of waste, she has been collecting waste materials. She preserves them in her cupboard and later makes something out of them. She does not allow me to throw away even the vegetable peels. She tells me that even these can be used to make something nice. She has always been this way. Some time ago, she had made a stethoscope out of a tube. I am very happy that she is interested in recycling at such a young age. MEENA S

SALMA BANU IS A FREELANCE ARTIST, A RECYCLER

AND A ‘GO GREEN’‘' PERSON’. SHE CONDUCTS ART WORKSHOPS ON RECYCLING WASTE CALLED ECO-ART.

12 Newspaper flowervase

13 Plastic Design

14 Seedpod Peacock shaped rattle

9 Pebble Paperweight

10 Clay shapes Picture

11 Egg shells, plastic, clay Collage

8 Pencil shavings Earrings