How can I reuse or recycle plastic strapping?
We’ve had an email from Amanda:
All 3 of my children are involved in paper routes here in Canada & as such we are left with 50+ plastic strappings twice a week. Our town says they are not recyclable & have to add to my already restricted garbage output. Whilst we are pushing the paper company to change the way they deliver & bundle the papers, we need to find ways to keep these strappings from the landfills.
I’ve never been enough of a morning person to have a paper route and I initially thought Amanda meant cable-tie-esque bindings but Google suggests they’re more like the straps I’ve seen around flat-pack furniture or the like – quite tough strips that are impossible to tear by hand but are reasonably flexible lengthwise. It is quite possibly polypropylene but I wouldn’t swear to that (just putting two and two together after reading a number of websites).
I’ve got a bit of a thing for weaving stuff like that so would be tempted to make them into a bag or something – but anyone else got any other suggestions?
If you know anyone who sews (or have a school with a costume department nearby), they work great as boning in corsets, fitting bodices, and other tailored garments.
Could they be coiled into a hot plate, plant stand or coaster? A bit of strong glue at the very end and a clamp until it dried would probably do the trick. Depending on the colours, a bunch of them strung together could make for some cool (and durable) outdoor ornaments for the winter when the landscape it looking bleak.
You could use them to weave bags or waste paper baskets…
http://www.instructables.com/id/Packing-Strap-Bag/
woven into a placemat
Sure, glue in tight spirals using heavy duty glue and clamps, when dried glue or wire them together to make a trivet, a wall decoration, a boot mat outside your front door etc.
You could weave them into lawn chair seats!
Or weave them into firewood carriers
I work for a strap maker in Europe, and have to say it’s disappointing that your town will not recycle this strapping. It is polypropylene, which is normally 100% recyclable. Complain to them – other places worldwide are not so un-cooperative! Sadly, the idea of winding them and glueing them won’t work – PP is one of those shiny plastics that doesn’t glue well. Weaving can look cute though. The good news is that your 50 straps a week could be a light as, say 0.15Kg/week, less than 8Kg per year. This is why newspapers use them, as the most efficient and environmentally efficient way to secure these bundles of papers.
I’m the master recycler at PCI and wonder is there a eaisy way to chip/shred poly banding to reduce the volume? I have a company that will recycle – but want to reduce the space they take up. Thanks Alan
You can buy a strap chopper – they designed for steel strap, so they’re noisy and over specified for plastics. Try one of the big players like Samuel Strapping or Cyklop – they should be able to help you.
When I was in Japan for a work placement at a ski resort the Japanese girls women would fold these straps up into a woven goldfish. I wish I still had one to use as a template, they were a neat craft, I now work in the school district and wish I could find instructions so that I could teach the students how to make them, so they could learn a skill and to recycle at the same time. Sound familiar to any Nihon-jins (Japanese people) out there??
There was a craftsperson Lois Walpole who used to make baskets with them in the 90′s
She might have some images on her site
http://www.loiswalpole.com/
Look up strip folding or palm crafts to find out how to do the Vietnamese fish. (Scroll down to the ribbon fish)
http://www.origami-resource-center.com/strip-folding.html
I tie them up and toss them to my cats… they LOVE to chase them around and chew on them. lol
I have just started using them in my fascinators, can also be used as boning for corsets.
Also perfect if you trim to size for turning of the panic alarm on an alarm system at home or work.