If you’re an enthusiastic pop or soda drinker, then you know how often 2 litre pop bottles are recycled, but have you ever considered reusing them at least semi-often? Most people who create a lot of empty 2 litres aren’t even aware of just how many amazing things they can create with them, or just how many awesome things they can use those bottles for.
Check out these 15 awesome DIY projects that upcycle 2 litre pop bottles in ways that you’ll actually benefit from!
1. 2 litre bottle apple picker
Do you have an annual family tradition with your loves ones that involves the whole group going apple picking each fall? Do you get tired arms and sore muscles each year from lifting the littlest members of your family up to reach the high brands where the best apples are so they don’t feel left out? Grit is here to save the day with this extended apple picker idea made from a recycled 2 litre pop bottle!
2. Irrigation reservoir
Have you tried planting strawberries before but they dried out too quickly and were either very high maintenance for you to maintain, or they failed all together due to lack of moisture? A Piece of Rainbow had a similar experience, so they solved it using a 2 litre pop bottle! They tell you how to do it.
3. Blooming garden light
Instructables shows you how to create a blossom shaped outdoor lampshade for a porch or walkway light out of a 2 litre shampoo bottle! Choose a light bulb that won’t heat up badly against the plastic and follow the tutorial to make the stand.
4. Plastic bottle charging station
Make It, Love It shows you how to make a hanging phone or iPod charging station that will help you keep your cords from getting tangled or bent no matter where you decided to charge your devices. This particular version isn’t made from a 2 litre pop bottle specifically, but it could be if you don’t have a shampoo bottle like this one available!
5. Soda bottle birdhouse
Cool 2 Craft guides you through the process of making an adorably rustic birdhouse and feeder out of a 2 litre pop bottle, but you could make a similar design out of any reclaimed plastic bottle you have access to.
6. Instant mini greenhouse
A Piece of Rainbow shows you how to set up large plastic bottles like miniature greenhouses for specific plants in your garden. This idea is perfect for you if you have a few plants that would benefit from being grown in a green house, but not so many that it’s worth actually building yourself a green house for!
7. Soda bottle cat planter
Bru DIY teaches you how to make adorable little planters shaped like sleeping cats using the bottom half of a 2 litre pop bottle that you’ve painted. You could switch up the design and create any look you like, but these kitty planters caught our eye immediately.
8. Painted bottle passive heating system
If you do have a green house and you’re looking for a way to keep it heated even during the night when there’s no sun, a large bottle can save the day! Follow How Does She‘s footsteps by painting a group of bottles completely black, filling them with water, and letting them sit inside the greenhouse all day as the sun heats it. The water will heat up throughout the day and, come night time, the bottles will radiate heat and keep your plants around them warm.
9. Plastic bottle watering can
Are you more likely to have an empty 2 litre milk carton than a pop bottle? Put that bottle and its handle to good use by poking some holes in the lid of the jug and using it as a water can for your house plants! A Journey to Dream shows you how they made theirs.
10. Pop bottle sprinkler
Is it the kind of how day outside that calls for immediate cooling down but you’ve realied you don’t actually own a sprinkler anymore? Sure, you could just hose yourself down, but sprinklers are a lot more fun! Grab the nearest empty pop bottle (or poor you and all your guests an iced drink) and repurpose the bottle into a sprinkler just like Clever, Crafty, Cookin’ Mama did here!
11. Zippered pop bottle pencil case
Doodlecraft guides you through the process of making yourself or your kids a zippered pencil case that lets you see through so you know what’s inside! This is a novelty way to avoid buying extra pencil cases for your art supplies around the house and upcycling is always a good way to stay green.
12. Hanging planters
Are you looking for a unique, shabby chic way to display your plants and upcycle at the same time? Bit Rebels has an awesome solution for you! Turn some 2 litre pop bottles on their sides, cut a section out, and fill them with dirt and seeds. Next, display them by attaching them across a wall or fence to create an awesome plant wall once everything has started growing.
13. Plastic bottle greenhouse
Are you really feeling open to a challenge and do you have a lot of space in the back yard to work with? Master Gardening guides you through the process of making an entire green house out of recycled pop or water bottles. Besides upcycling bottles en masse, you’ll create yourself a lush, green space!
14. Coloured pop bottle canopy
Do you love the idea of upcycling many plastic bottles at once but you don’t have the space or the need for a green house? Try something a little more decorative but still with some function! Tree Hugger guides you through the process of making a plastic bottle car canopy that brightens up the whole street with differently coloured water in the bottom of each!
15. Plastic bottle kayak
Are you looking for a way to keep your teenagers busy in the summer that’s just fun and silly enough to amuse them? Instructables shows you how to create a whole kayak boat out of all the Gatorade or pop bottles they’ve been drinking all summer!
Next time you get your hands on a plastic bottle, there is much more you can do than just add to the pile of local plastic waste. All you need is some creativity and you can create almost anything out of these pop bottles.
