How can I reuse or recycle plastic tablecloths?
After last month’s straw placemats and coasters post, I got thinking about plastic “disposable” tablecloths – the type people buy as a cheap way to decorate their table for children’s (and other) parties.
They’re usually thin sheets of plastic, either brightly coloured or covered with character pictures – so they seem like ideal candidates for upcycling — any specific ideas?
They’re also good as table/floor/everything covers for during messy crafts sessions – or use a no sew poncho pattern to turn them into splash-proof ponchos for very messy art activities!
Of course, it would be better to reduce in the first place – buy multi-purpose washable textiles or easy-clean oilcloth ones. Or if you don’t want a bunch of 5 year olds to ruin your best linen, cover tables with cheap blank newsprint/sugar paper and let the kids decorate it themselves — the best bits can be cut out and kept as a memento and the rest can go into your paper recycling.
As for actually recycling plastic ones, they’re usually made from HDPE (resin code 2) like carrier bags – so can be recycled alongside shopping bags.
Any other ideas for reusing and upcycling them?
It’s our third Easter here on Recycle This so this is just a quick post harking back to previous Easter-ish posts:
We’ve had an email from Ang, asking:
This isn’t a real post just an advert for those who are currently feeling slightly sick after eating too much chocolate this morning.
Unless you’re very good and don’t eat every scrap of chocolate as soon as it passes the threshold of your home, I think we’re about a week late on this one. But anyway…
