Why add to the landfills when you can turn trash into treasure? Check out our mega list of 100+ recycled crafts for kids to make, play and gift!

Have you ever weighed how much trash your family generates every day? Well I guess you can eyeball a figure, since you know how full the trash can gets!

Now what if I told you that you could actually put most of that to good use? Those used egg cartons, plastic eggs from Easter, empty tin cans, Styrofoam takeout containers and much more – it can all be turned into something that’s either useful, or pretty or both!

You don’t need a specific day to recycle, but these projects would be great to spread some awareness on Earth Day or Environment Day. So gather your friends and your craft supplies – there’s a lot of fun stuff to be made!

Trash to Treasure: 100+ Recycled Crafts for Kids

10 Recycled Plastic Egg Crafts

1. Plastic Egg Whale

Here’s a cute little whale that is an excellent use of a blue plastic egg! Add a little spout of water at the top to make it look as realistic as possible!

2. Plastic Egg Cupcakes

Having a make believe tea party? Be sure to serve up these delicious looking plastic egg cupcakes from Chica Circle! They can also double up as table decorations for a real tea party too!

3. Plastic Egg Unicorn

If you were wondering what to do with plain white plastic eggs – don’t worry. Glued to My Crafts has the perfect project for them – unicorns! Those glittery cones and pink hair make them so cute!

4. Plastic Egg Frog

“Ribbit, ribbit” Who’s that? It’s this little guy that you can make with a green plastic egg! Green pom poms and googly eyes turn into the frog’s characteristic bulging eyes, and a strip of paper represents that long tongue.

5. Plastic Egg Wobbly Ninjas

Ninjas are supposed to be focused and razor-sharp – so wobbly ninjas? There’s no other way to describe these cute ninjas from Frugal Fun for Boys and Girls, made out of plastic eggs!

6. Plastic Egg Russian Nesting Dolls

You must’ve seen those adorable Russian nesting dolls, and now you can make your own! Chica Circle has the full tutorial on how to make these, complete with the cute faces.

7. Plastic Egg Bird

This Plastic Egg Bird Craft is perfect for spring, Easter or lessons about animal babies. The best part is that you can use real feathers and mix and match colors to create your own birds of paradise!

8. Plastic Egg Hot Air Balloons

These hot air balloons from Snowdrop and Company look so dreamy, I wouldn’t mind floating up in one of them! Use pastel colored translucent plastic eggs to get that lovely ethereal effect.

9. Plastic Egg Owls

These owls from Crafty Morning look so dressed up, don’t they? This project is a great way to make use of not just plastic eggs, but all your paper and fabric scraps as well.

10. Plastic Egg Alien Craft

The aliens have landed – and they’re as cute as can be! This project is a great way to make use of bright or neon colored plastic eggs, especially if you have pipe cleaners in colors to match!

20 Recycled Tin Can Crafts

Don’t throw away those tin cans – clean them up and make these recycled tin can crafts for kids instead! Whatever the shape or size of your tin cans, you can make something – from drums to pen holders!

20 Recycled Egg Carton Crafts

Egg cartons are incredibly versatile, you can make anything from flowers to boats to Darth Vader! Use your creativity and turn old egg cartons into some cute little egg carton crafts for kids! Now that’s smart recycling!

25 Recycled Styrofoam Crafts

Styrofoam finds uses in packing material as well as in disposable crockery. Styrofoam is easy to cut and paint, and with a little bit of creativity we can turn it into something fun and useful, like these Styrofoam crafts for kids!

15 Recycled CD Crafts

Wondering what to do with old, scratched and scuffed CDs or DVDs? Turn them into something pretty! Have a look at our list of recycled CD crafts and we’re sure you’ll be itching to try out at least a few of them!

15 Recycled Crafts for World Environment Day

On World Environment Day, organizations and individuals the world over raise awareness on various topics related to our environment. We can increase awareness in our own little ways too, and one of the best ways is to make recycled crafts with kids!

When using recycled materials to make crafts, it’s important to ensure that they’re clean and safe first. For instance tin cans can have sharp edges that can cut fingers. Cracked plastic eggs can also cause injuries and egg cartons need to be checked if they’re clean before crafting with them. As you make more and more recycled crafts, you’ll be inspired to try out projects with other things lying around your home!