Don’t throw away those plastic bottles – put them to good use with these plastic bottle crafts for kids! Perfect for World Environment Day!

World Environment Day was on 5th June, and we heard a lot about conserving our environment and preventing climate change. These may seem like things that are outside your control, but there’s another aspect where you can directly make an impact – the use of plastic bottles.

We use hundreds of plastic bottles every year, and don’t even think twice before tossing them in the trash. However, these bottles are piling up – and it’s not a pretty picture.

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Facts about Plastic Bottles:

Bottled water is one of the top beverages in the U.S., with the average American consuming 217 bottles a year
A plastic bottle takes up to 450 years to dissolve
80% of plastic bottles in the world never get recycled
In America alone, 38 million plastic bottles are sent to landfills
Manufacturing plastic bottles uses up thousands of liters of oil

So why are we talking so much about plastic bottles today? It’s because Plastic Free July is coming up, next month. This is a movement founded by the Plastic Free Foundation in 2011, and since then, millions of people from around the world have taken multiple steps to reduce plastic waste.

These efforts have seen results – in 2024 alone, overall plastic consumption was cut down by 390 million kgs! Now you can do your part too, by recycling plastic bottles according to the instructions of your government. Else, you can go the fun route, and simply turn them into plastic bottle crafts for kids!

15 Playful Plastic Bottle Crafts for Kids

1. Plastic Bottle Jack-o’-Lantern Craft

If you can collect a bunch of plastic bottles by Halloween, you’ll have the perfect materials to create a little pumpkin display on your porch! You can also make treat bags or pen holders out of these – the sky’s the limit!

2. Recycled Plastic Bottle Planters Craft

If you truly want to do something for the environment, Craving Some Creativity has a solution that is a double-win. First, you can recycle plastic bottles into planters, and second, you can add more greenery to your space!

3. Water Bottle Flower Craft for Kids

If you can’t keep real flowers alive, there’s no need to buy the plastic ones from the store – you can make these pretty plastic bottle flowers from Kid-Friendly Things To Do instead!

4. Recycled Water Bottle Piggy Bank

We love plastic bottle crafts for kids that are actually useful, which is why we love this cute little piggy bank from One Little Project! They also show you how to get your money out once you’ve saved up a bit.

5. Plastic Bottle Fish Craft

Welcome to Nana’s has a creative plastic bottle craft that’s a great addition to lessons about the ocean or underwater life. Or you can make many little fish and stick them on a giant canvas for a truly custom art piece!

6. DIY Plastic Bottle No-Sew Zipper Cases

Who knew you could add a zipper to a plastic bottle? Well, Make It Love It shows us that it can be done, and we think this would make a fun back-to-school gift or as a treat bag idea for a birthday party.

7. Pop Bottle Firefly Craft

Isn’t it amazing how fireflies can glow in the dark? Well, you can learn more about how they do this as you turn empty plastic bottles into fireflies! One Little Project has the instructions on making this fun craft.

8. Recycled Bottle Bee Craft

If you can make firefly plastic bottle crafts for kids, then why not bees? DIY Thought gives us the instructions to make a cute little bumblebee craft out of a plastic bottle.

9. Plastic Bottle Wind Spiral Mobile

Some of the best home decor pieces are the ones that have a little whimsy about them, especially when they’re handmade. The Mad House shows us that you can make it better – use recycled items like plastic bottles!

10. Plastic Bottle Butterfly Craft

We’ve seen plastic bottles being used to make fireflies and bees, so what’s next? How about some butterflies? If you’re wondering how to go about it, check out all the steps at One Little Project.

11. Plastic Bottle Turtle Craft

Our oceans are getting filled with plastic – studies show that more than half of all the turtles in the world have eaten plastic waste. Eating plastic is dangerous – some of it can block the turtle’s digestive system, leading to starvation and sharp plastic can rupture the turtle’s organs. Find out more as you make these turtle crafts from Krokotak.

12. Upcycled Plastic Bottle Flower Vase

We saw that you could make flowers out of plastic bottles and now B-Inspired Mama has another addition to our list of plastic bottle crafts for kids – colorful, funky flower vases!

13. Plastic Bottle Bird Feeder

Instead of hurting ocean animals, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could use plastic to help our creatures? Well, that’s exactly what Easy Peasy Creative does, by making a bird feeder out of a plastic bottle!

14. Plastic Bottle Bowling Tutorial

If you’re too lazy to go to the bowling rink, don’t worry – you can make one right at home! U Create Crafts shows us how easy it is once you’ve lined up a bunch of plastic bottles, so make sure you’re collecting them!

15. Upcycled Bottle Gift Boxes

This is another fun way of using plastic bottle crafts for kids for birthday parties – turn these boxes from Red Ted Art into containers for party favors! They cost nothing, are super easy to make and look unique.

Despite all the awareness programs we have today, I personally think we are still underestimating the damage plastic is doing to our environment. We need to learn more about it so we can make educated decisions about our plastic usage and disposal, and crafts are a fun way to get the conversation started!

If you’d like to check out more recycled crafts, take a look at these: