How to Re-use Plastic Soda Bottles

Plastic bottles can take up a lot of space. Why not recycle those old bottles into something useful and easy to make? The directions for a bird feeder and a candy dish are easy enough for a grade schooler to construct.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 20-ounce soda bottle
• Scissors
• Two 16-inch pieces of ribbon
• Water soluble marker
• Paper punch
• 2-liter soda bottle
• 20-inch piece of string
• Masking tape
• Margarine tub lid
• Craft knife
• Birdseed

Soda Bottle Candy Dish

1. Wash and dry a 20-ounce soda bottle.
2. Using a marker, draw a line 2 1/2 inches straight up from the bottom of the soda bottle.
3. Poke a hole in the soda bottle 4 inches from the bottom.
4. Push the tip of the scissors through the hole. Cut down to the marker line and follow that line around the perimeter of the bottle.
5. Use a paper punch to make holes around the top of bowl. Space the holes 1/2-inch apart.
6. Weave a ribbon through the holes. Finish by tying the ends of the ribbon into a bow.

Soda Bottle Bird Feeder

7. Wash and dry the soda bottle. Cut 2 triangles on opposite sides of the bottle, between the neck and the main body of the bottle. The triangle sides should be 1/2-inch long.
8. Place a piece of masking tape over the triangles.
9. Poke two holes, one on each side of the bottle, 1/2 inch from the bottom of the bottle.
10. Run the string through the two holes. Tie the ends of the string together.
11. Remove the lid from bottle. Trace the outline of the soda bottle cap in the middle of the margarine tub lid. Use craft knife to cut along the outline, making a hole in the tub lid.
12. Insert the neck of the bottle through the hole in the tub lid. Make sure the lid can not come off the bottle.
13. Carefully funnel birdseed into the bottle. Replace the cap on the soda bottle.
14. Hang the bird feeder outside. After hanging, remove the tape so that the birdseed flows onto the margarine lid.