Recycling Ideas

Contributed by Papemelroti Recycling Raffle participants

What can you do with an old CD, playing cards, tin cans and such?  Discover more than 70  ways to re-use your throwaways.  Thank you for sharing these ideas with us!  (These are the very best ideas from the Recycling Raffle participants from last month.)

We asked these questions:  What have you recycled in the past? OR  What do you want to see recycled in the shop?  OR  Tell us how to recycle something.  We got a lot of good ideas!  So good we want to share them with you!

I'VE RECYCLED ....

1. I've recycled an old shirt. cut the sleeves then voila, a new sando for me:) - Abegail Madera


2.... mostly paper... we don't throw paper unless both sides have been used.  Papers that we throw are separated and given to our "labandera" (laundrywoman),  as she uses them for outdoor cooking "pang-ningas"  - Aileen Barcarse


3. A tree (bonsai tree) for display out of plastic bottle at its leaves and pot and the combination of "alambre" (wire) and copper wire as its trunk and branch. - Aaron Roy Publìcò


4. I have recycled paper, magazines, and foil wrapping before :) - Danielle Denise Celones


5. I've recycled my students' theme papers before. I used some of their best sentences to decoupage my box.  It reminds me that my students are talented and seeing their works make me really proud!  - Anaphora Satibañez


6. Recycling for me is transferring an old thing into a useful work of art.  By means of recycling, we can eliminate a fraction of our waste and the damage we brought to this planet. YES I have recycled things like soda bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bags, and even old car tires.  Since my early school days, I was taught to have a loving heart to the environment.  Now, as a teenager, I personally witnessed the consequences of our bad habits especially in waste management. Today is the not the time to blame each other's fault, but to help one another for the improvement of our society. RECYCLING can save us, RECYCLING can enhance our living, and mostly, RECYCLING is good for our development, and to the environment! - Arvin Cainila Polintan


7.... CD's with Playing Cards and broken chimes. I turned those into a new wind chime or installation. - Ava L. P. Haine


8... tires, because I have seen a lot of recycled tires but I know that you can make something else aside from furnitures - Bagel Betorin


9. I recycled chalk dust and molded it back to chalk as part of a school project. This actually made it to the science fair.  - Bali Nguynguy


10. I want to see old cassettes recycled in a shop. Something that gives the customers a strange feeling of wanting to hear the sound it produces before. Something music lovers would admire! :)- Betita Zuñiga


11. I recycle magazines.  I donate them to a friend who had a cool restaurant and they cut the pages loose to use as placemats. I also use them to cover my recycled notebooks and gifts. - Cathy Madueno-Bolodo


12. I've recycled the cans of my daughter's milk, painted it and reuse it as storage can for her pencils and other school supplies - Ccm


13. I recycle tissue holder as creative pens holders. i cut them in different heights, colored with crumpled paper (mache) and colored.  Enjoyed doing this with my 4 year old daughter, reneah. thanks! - Charina


14. I recycle the plastic bottles by reusing them at our office. The tissue board I use it to store the cable wire individually. - Che Tan


15. I've been making sketch books from old magazines. - Christine Joy Gonzales


16. I recycled an old jeans into a buddy bag in a shape of a guitar. - Cristy Silvestre Andrade


17. Most of what me and my family recycle is paper.  Since it is one of our most used commodity, due to school stuffs. We also collect plastics bottles, those we sell to junkshops so they can be the one to recycle them. I also recycle some of my old things, those that I dont usually use anymore, I try to think of other ways to utilize them. :)  - Dacely Rocaverte


18. I've been saving empty cans of baby's milk and wine glasses. I made a money bank using one of the cans. The rest, I used it as art materials holder. I also recycle boxes, decorate them and use them as gift boxes. I really enjoy making them. - Daisy Lopez


19. During college, I made a bag out of my old pants. Jeans bag were popular during that time. It's really fun to make your own bag out of recycled pants. Though to be honest, it's also hard because I sew it manually. We don't have a sewing machine.  When I finished making it, it feels so great because you've accomplished something amazing! I will never forget doing it. :) - Danica De Ramos


20. I have recycle some old clothes/ rags and worn out socks by sewing and stitching pieces together to make a waldorf doll. - Darielle Maurice Donato


21. ... papers! i never threw away my college handouts. i cut them into same sizes, compiled them, and used the back portion as a notebook :) - Dianne Red


22. I've recycled old notebooks where I removed the blank pages and putting them all together to create a new notebook with my own design.  - Elaine


23. Last year I had this old planner that I wasn't able to use, so for me to save money I still used it and just put some decoration on it and change the days in the planner. Recycling it help me save money and enjoy the moment of having an art. - Erika Dela Cruz


24. I always recycle chipped mugs or storage boxes.. add some ribbonds here and there and you've got yourself a new cute and colorful storage  box for just about anything. - Feng Manlapaz


25. I love arts and crafts.  If I have nothing to do, I look for some old newspapers or magazines and make a picture frame and pencil holder out of rolled paper magazines.  I have also made  paper lanterns and this serves as our decoration during christmas season.     - Feninna Manuel Arciaga


26. I think it would be interesting to see metal and plastic to be recycled, although it's probably a harder to process...  Recycling paper is already up your alley, and it's always a delight to see the art that you produce using these materials. I would like to see more scrapbooking materials in the shop, like recycled wrapping paper and cut-outs. - gabie


27. I want to see recycled embroidered hoops into something that can be hanged in the wall. - Genieve Tigson


28. I've recycled my old extra thesis documents since the back paper has no print, I used them as notepads. - Germie Florendo


29. Old jeans - turn into a ripped jeans!  - Henley Virtudazo Tabal


30. I have been fond of recycling and recycling papers thru Papier-mâché  has been one that I've been doing for the longest time. I've used one time to  make a Christmas Tree which was a competition in our school and our Department won 3rd Place :D - Jamillah Gabion


31. ... milk cans.. we use those used baby formula milk cans as plant pots instead of throwing it away - Jenie C Rosanes


32. I recently recycled a box turning it to a jewelry box. Here's a link http://justmewithin.blog.com/2014/10/05/jewelry-box/  - Jenne Monfero



33. I always keep gravy containers and use it for other purposes. I put coins, or cut veggies, candies. Anything so I won't have to throw it right away.  - Jennifer Aguirre


34. How are you going to recycle something? The answer is pretty easy but may sound tricky. Recycling is breathing life into something that is worthy of being used again. In transforming something, you must be able to see it not as a useless waste but as a creative form that serves its purpose.Ingenuity goes beyond resourcefulness; creativity surpasses availability of materials. - Jin


35. I always do recycle recyclable stuffs such as papers, bottles, platics, cellophanes, etc. as long as its still useful. - JL Bac'z 


36. So far I have recycled cardboard boxes and bottlecaps and turnes them into toys. - Joan Z. M. Delgado


37. Turn old wood into wooden postcards! We postcard-loving people would LOVE that! :D Joyce Clemencio


38. I'd collected ballpens that ran out of ink and hot-gued them together to make plant pots! C:- Juan Dela Cruz


39. I've recycled tin cans into pencil holders before. :) - Julie Rimpula


40. I recycled magazine before. Each page of the magazine, I cut them into strips then I roll it and form a shape of bead. Afterwards, I sew them using a nylon then use some craft materials to enhance and look the key chain like a new one- Karole Nina Mandap


41. I recycled before a magazine and turned it into a keychain. I cut each page of magazine into strips then I roll it. At the end of the tip of the strip I glued it and form a bead. I sew each bead to form a design and made it a keychain. :) - Karole Nina Mandap


42. ... old shoe box turn into a kikay box i covered it with a wrapper from papemelroti. - Kikay Much Kristine Domingo


43. I've always been fascinated with the recycled box I always see when I get a chance to drop by on the shop. I want to see more recycled box with different shapes! :) Specially the heart shape, with it's different sizes. I want to  see more shapes like oblong, octagon, pentagon and many more!  It is a plus factor when I use those boxes when I'm giving a gift to a friend/special someone. They told me that the box is very cute, they'd really appreciate it and ask me where I got them. Hihi. More shapes, and sizes please! :) - Kimmeh Cruz


44. recycled in the past?  i recycled jars from mostly cheezwiz. i love to put kinds of things in jar. my creations came from pinteresing. haha. and also tin cans from a pint of icecream in yellow cab. for me its kinda useful. i love recycling stuffs and i use them, decorated them.  - Laine Gomez


45.  I recycled used illustration boards, pieces of printed cloths and ribbons to create a home made photo frames. sardine cans as pencil holders - Lei Creo


46. I have recycled boxes of pancakes and turned them into character bags for my little one. - Leovelyn Viñas Ramos

47. I used my old projects to make a scrapbook when I was in high school. I used the papers with printed words or pictures as a border.  I even cut it to make flowers, hearts and any design. Then, paste it in a colored paper. I even used the crumpled paper as a base or as a background.  I was able to reuse our magazines too to make a 3-D star.   - leslie anne rabino


48. I use the cardboard left in tissue rolls as pen holder, cable wire organizer, little animal puppets for my nice and nephews and even make a beautiful flower wall art - Lian Eloisa Martecio


49. In the past, we used to recycle dried Santan flowers and old crayons. We use those materials to make pretty bookmark by putting the dried Santan flower in a cut-out folder or cardboard and pour the crayon (melted) to the cardboard. Sometimes we put the melted crayon first and just press the Santan flower in the middle,  Santan flower in a cut-out folder or cardboard and pour the crayon (melted) to the cardboard. Sometimes we put the melted crayon first and just press the Santan flower in the middle, to make it look like emboss. We really love doing those as a kid because me and my cousin love books. - Maine Delima


50. ... Bottles turn into a piggy bank - Maria Corazon Letada


51. We usually use Pringles cans as containers for extra potato chips and snacks, but you can also use them as containers for uncooked spaghetti. - Marianne 


52. i still can't find a good way to recycle old CDs (in large quantities), i hope you can show me some ingenious way - - Mariecyl Valdez-Chua


53. i recycled beer bottle caps into charms! :) - Mariel 


54. I want to see recycled sala sets or dining sets in your shop. Llike mini chairs and tables for kids, recycled study table  recycled book rack and book ends, recycled jewelry or magic boxes.  - Marielle Megan Lazaro


55. I want you guys to have again the "machine" used in recycling papers. You used to have it but now, I can't seem to find one in your stores. i also recycle old boxes as an organizer to our different tools. - Mark Francis P. Eseo


56. i recycled empty pik-nik cans by covering them with gift wrappers to turn them into coin banks - Mary Jane Morandarte


57. I recycled the unused pages in my notebooks last year in able to create a new notebook for this year. - Mary Mariel Teodoro


58. i have recycled old phone directory (white or yellow pages) as a page for my scrapbook. o also use small colored wires as a spring to my scrapbook also. another is my family use an old pan to cover our outdoor fluorecscent bulb. with recycled bamboo lamp (sticks only) covered with clear plastic.  - Michelle Ann Nogar Jiongco


59. I have recycled many things in the past. But what really made me joyful was when I was able to recycle broken ceramic plates and incorporate it with some broken floor tiles to create a wonderful mosaic kitchen table top. It was a fun experiment and useful too! - Nancy


60. My most recent project was reusing toilet paper cardboard rolls. I collected around 10 pieces, cut them in half and connected them to one another in several rows using masking tape. I am using it now to organize our spice bottles and keep them upright in the kitchen shelf. - Norman Ray Villamayor


61. I recycle paper most of the time. I re-use the boxes whenever I can and use the back page of obsolete modules as scratch paper. i also bring old magazines and newspapers to the junkshop so they can maximize its use. - Olga C. Paguio


62. Old pens without any ink left in them can be upcycled to boxes or containers with enough adhesive, paint and patience. - Pamela Nery


63. I made a dreamcatcher made of old beads, piece of stem, old clothes, feather and string. - Raine Castro Andaya


64. I've recycled old clothes and re-purposed them into bags, headbands and Christmas ornaments. :) - Rengie Ann Bahia


65. i mostly recycle scratch papers into notebook pages, cake/food packaging to make scrapbook pages, i have used shredded paper for craft project embelishment.  - Rhen Estillero


66. I recycled an old book to a keepsake book which I was inspired by Papemelroti when I passed the store. - Rhoda Armea Pinsan


67. ... old newspaper - created a pencil holder out of it -  Ria Ramirez


68. In the past, I have recycled my notebooks from the past year. I would unbound my notebook, separate the used and unused pages.  I would then stitch the unused pages together to make a "new" notebook. I would use it for a subject or two for the next year in highschool. :) - Rob Mangahas


69. I recycled nice magazines and product brochures by using them as gift wrappers, i also recycle gift ribbons,   I make sure I keep the ribbons nicely rolled so next time i need ribbons for gifts,  ribbons all ready! - Ruthrimea R Ferriol


70. I have recycled makeup before. In fact, I still do it. My mom and i do. Makeup products can be really expensive and i don't even use them everyday so they end up expiring even if the container is still full! Cream pigments and products, i use for paintings and doodles. Powdered products, on the other hand, are magical.  :) Turn them into colored sand! The fact that they're sparkly makes it better. Use them for decorating cards or put them into tinybottles then add beads! They make lovely gifts for friends. And the best thing about those makeup products are the packaging. Oh. Don't get me started on how we recycle those compacts. - Sahjie Morante


71. Off the top of my head, I have recycled gift wrappers and used them again as gift wrappers, making sure they don't look recycled. I stash brown paper bags from stores and also use them as gift wrappers. I keep sturdy boxes that once store food items like puto and brownies, spruce them up and use them to store my accessories. We buy softdrinks by the case so we reuse the boxes to store stuff like old books, clothes and equipment. We recycle laundry water and use them to clean floors (had to be used soon as laundry water has a tendency to go stale and smell awful). We recycle bottles and plastic containers so we could use them to store candies, nuts, seasoning and craft stuff. We have recycled old, torn clothes into rags.   - Salmon Cat 


72. I want to see scraps of cloth that can be recycled as gift wrappers, or covers to scrapbook or notebooks :) I hink it will be a fun and innovative idea. - Samantha Miclat


73. Yes I have. I'm a preschool teacher and I showed them how to make different kinds of toys out of cardboard tissue rolls, and they loved it!  We made race cars, marble mazes, rocket ships, tiny monster figurines, and shakers! :) I'd like to see how else you can recycle old vinyl records, especially the ones that aren't playable any more, i mean aside from making them in to clocks. There must be other creative ways we can make use of them. :) - Thea Danielle


74. Scrap materials for our projects since we don't have sufficient funds to make them with new things. - Thomas Amparo


75. I am currently recycling old Starbucks Planner (Yr. 2009) as practice notebook for my calligraphy and watercolor drawings.  - Whe Garcia


76. I've recycled bottles in the past. I've used it as decoration. I removed the stickers from the bottle and decorated it with washi tapes. - Winnie Enrile


77. Not long ago I won a giveaway and my prize is inside a cute box. What I did was I picked my favorite color and design the whole box to make it more personalize then I glued a small mirror in the middle of the box and now Its where I put all my makeups to keep it organize. - Yna Bronozo