Many of us probably know by now that we ought to care about the environment, right? But no matter how ecologically friendly and active we are, there’s always room for improvement! Sometimes, all it takes is one good idea to open our minds to new possibilities.
The ‘Recycle, Reuse and Repurpose!’ online group is a popular community on Facebook that invites people to share their best eco-friendly and DIY projects and ideas. We’ve collected some of the most inspiring and creative ones to share with you today, Pandas. Scroll down, upvote your faves, and remember—every tiny step matters when it comes to planet Earth.
#1 A Border Collie Made From Horse Shoes
Image credits: Plus DIY
#2 Turned This Old China Cabinet Into A Poison Dart Frog Habitat
You could do that for any type of lizard, snake, or any other pet you put in a tank/cage like hamsters, ferrets, and guinea pigs. It gives them a lot of room and makes a great conversation piece. Not to mention it looks awesome
Image credits: KM Bagley
#3 Great Idea. I Will Start Collecting Pretty Leaves This Fall
Image credits: L and L Green Thumb Project
If more things end up getting recycled, reused, and repurposed instead of thrown away, that means fewer products are bought, transported, and made in factories. That, in turn, leads to less pollution, less energy and water consumed, and fewer greenhouse gasses produced.
Fewer resources get wasted while your average consumer saves money because they’re focusing on DIY, not shopping around. It’s a win for everyone who isn’t out to maximize their profits at any cost.
#4 A Basket That's Being Reused As A Hand Towel Shelf. It's Cheap, Simple, Charming, And Practical
Image credits: Alex Collins
#5 Another Bunch Of Cardboard And Colored Card Stock Strips Glued To A Piece Of A Once Amazon Box. No Paint Used
Image credits: Joe Faria
#6 My Dachshund ❤️ Made From Truck Sockets, Engine Parts, Galv Caps, Wire, Small Sockets, Nuts And Bolts
Image credits: Welded Wonders NSW Australia
Recycling doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You have to invest in the right infrastructure for the whole project to come together. And that’s a bigger headache than you might think at first: it’s expensive and requires a mind-boggling amount of planning. Urging your local community to recycle more is fruitless if the materials don’t actually get recycled and just end up dumped in some secret faraway landfill.
Remember, you’re not just aiming to recycle plastic chocolate chip cookie containers and soda bottles—there are a ton of different materials that you need to account for. Among them are aluminum, cardboard, electronics, food waste, glass, steel, tires, paper, textiles, yard trimmings, and wood, as well as a range of plastic, polyethylene, and polypropylene containers.
#7 Step 1 Get Giant Beach Balls Step 2 Paint Eyes On Them Step 3 Place In Tree Facing Neighbors House
Image credits: Angel Jacobs
#8 My First Quilt. For My Younger Sister Who Is 13 Years Old, She Has Always Been Vain, Loves Dresses And The Color Pink, She Loved This Gift Made With Our Father's Old Ties
Image credits: Cow lover
#9 Creative Decorating Ideas
Image credits: Plus DIY
Just as an example of the logistical complexity involved, the United States Environmental Protection Agency explains that there are 15 different types of recycling and other municipal solid waste infrastructure. These include material recovery facilities, anaerobic digesters, composting facilities, electronic recyclers, glass recycling facilities, glass secondary processors, and municipal solid waste landfills.
On top of those, you have metal, paper, plastic, textile, tire, and wood recycling facilities, as well as transfer stations and wood secondary processors. Each place needs specific machinery, technology, systems, and expertise to run properly.
#10 Tic - Tac Containers To Save Seeds.. Cute Idea!
Image credits: Cathy Strom Ledford
#11 Too Cute
Image credits: Carrie Latham-Puder
#12 I Got This Vintage Stepstool Chair For Free From Someone Who Was Throwing It Out. Restored It To Its Original Red And Used Marine-Grade Vinyl For The Seat So It Should Last For Years
Image credits: Jennifer Stewart
Let’s assume for a moment that you’ve got all the recycling facilities set up. Now, you somehow need to convince the population that they should start recycling. It’s a complicated task, though. It essentially involves changing how people perceive their relationship with the environment, spending, and consumption.
#13 I Used Exterior House Paint To Hand Paint It And It’s Still Holding On Strong. It Is Surprisingly One Of My Favorite Additions To Our Yard Especially Since I’m Terrified Of Snakes
Image credits: Lola Snyder
#14 Upcycled Whisky Barrel Cat Bed
Image credits: Neill Sage
#15 My Boys Are Getting Their Own Rooms And I’m On A Shoestring Budget. They Are Entering Their Moody Preteens And Want Dystopian Gamer Cyberpunk Type Of Rooms
One thing my youngest wanted was a toxic waste barrel (I didn’t ask, but I bet it has to do with video games). So this is his new bedside table. The barrel I got for free, and I had just enough leftover grey paint. He is over the moon about it. There will be a secret trap door for storage in the back made with leftover hinges and latches I’ve been saving from another project we cannibalized
Image credits: Mercy Fritz
Motivating someone to recycle (more) is as much a shift in a person’s mindset and philosophy as it is a physical act of separating your recycling and dumping it in the right container.
This involves cultivating more self-awareness while shopping and educating people about the impact their actions have on the environment. If you make the problem relatable and relevant, you’ll have more people on your side than by just appealing to some lofty, faraway goals.
#16 What A Great Idea For Repurposing Wellington Boots
Image credits: Ann Lucas
#17 So After Two Years Of Searching, I Finally Found My Cowboy Tub And Could Make The Coffee Table For My Front Porch Swing
Image credits: Cow lover
#18 Old Candle Chandelier Turned Onto Hummingbird Buffet
Image credits: Mae Anjie Bordonaro
First of all, you have to make recycling accessible and easy. The more difficult it is to do, the more people are not going to bother. So, you’ll have to set up lots of recycling containers and bins in people’s areas.
Few people are going to walk five minutes to throw out their bag o’plastic and paper if there’s a general waste bin a few seconds away from them. Meanwhile, you want everyone to have clear instructions about what they can and can’t recycle.
#19 This Was My Project Yesterday. I Like The Way It Turned Out So Much I Might Keep It Although It Was My Intention To Sell It
Image credits: Beth Coleman
#20 A New Scarecrow In Town
Image credits: Connelly Chris
#21 Here's The Great Seat My Clever Husband, Graham, Made From An Old Timber Bed That Had Been Put Out On The Kerb For Council Pickup
It sat in the garage for months because I couldn't bear to think of it going to landfill and eventually he said, "What ARE you doing with that bed?!" I asked if we might cut the end in half and use it to make arms for a bench seat. We have since added cushions and it's my favourite spot to curl up with a book. Someone suggested painting it white, but I just love the look of old timber
Image credits: Meg McGowan
Next, you’ll want to offer shoppers alternatives to excessive plastic packaging and bags. If you ban plastic bags or make them more expensive than durable paper ones, you’ll change consumers’ habits by appealing to their sense of frugality. Nobody wants to pay more for something of similar quality.
At the same time, companies need to take their eco-friendly stances seriously: though packaging can help protect products, there are egregious examples that show how wasteful and anti-environment some businesses can be.
#22 A Planter I Put Together
Image credits: Everything Vintage and Strange
#23 Re-Purposed This Clear Plastic Umbrella Into A Mini Greenhouse To Protect The Vegetable Plants From Rabbits
Image credits: Robin Shugar
#24 I've Always Wanted To Build A Castle With My Oatmeal And Pringle Containers
Image credits: bryanwiveshomestead
The Facebook group has a huge following from all over the world. Currently, 1.5 million internet users are members of this community. The core idea is for folks to share useful information about reusing, recycling, and repurposing things to inspire others to do the same.
If you feel motivated to join the group, all you have to do is answer a few simple questions so that the administrator team running the whole thing knows you’re not a bot or a spammer. And in this day and age, that extra layer of verification goes a long way to keep any online community more authentic.
#25 A Great Way To Reuse And Recycle Wine Corks
Image credits: Caroline Mary Cameron
#26 Log Cabin Home Transformation
Image credits: Midou Wlz
#27 Old Bunt Cake Pan As Plant Pot
Image credits: Beverley Lynne Harris
The R, R, and R admins urge everyone who joins the community to give more than they take. In short, the group isn’t the place for self-promotion, sales, or spam: the content and discussions have to be on-topic.
Meanwhile, all the members are expected to treat each other respectfully and with kindness. It’s only natural to have heated debates once in a while (this is social media, after all!), but this doesn’t mean that politeness can be yeeted out of the window entirely.
#28 This Antique Wine Rack Works Really Well As A Hand Towel Holder
Image credits: Life Hacks
#29 Check Out This Before & After Transformation! I Used Accent’s Urban Myth Low Sheen Black Paint, And I Couldn’t Be Happier With The Results
Image credits: Life Hacks
#30 A Giant Spool, Now It’s Our Patio Table
Image credits: Kellie Mann-Gilpin
Which of the R, R, and R ideas in this post caught your attention the most, dear Pandas? Which ones do you plan on replicating at home? What do you personally think we could all do to motivate people to recycle, reuse, and repurpose things more? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
#31 This T-Shirt Quilt Was Made With My College T-Shirts Repurposed
I had not worn them for a very long time and did not want to throw them away or donate them. The purple fabric and the back of the quilt was leftover fabric my Mom had. My Mom sews and has lots of leftover fabric from various projects. My Mom made this quilt for me and gave it to me for my birthday 5 years ago
Image credits: Margaret Griffiths Kent
#32 Got This Old Rusty Vintage Wrought Iron Chair For Free And Gave It Life
Image credits: Sharon Kingsley Valentini
#33 Don't Throw Away That Old Desk And Chair, Recycle Them Instead
Image credits: Creative Gardening Era
#34 My Older Brother Needed A Back Rest For His New Walk In Tub That Would Not Restrict The Water Jets In The Back
So I ordered these mesh lumbar supports online, doubled them up for added strength, then mounted them to the tub with suction cup hooks from Dollar Tree. I more recently acquired an old office chair my neighbor was throwing out. The back is mesh with a more sturdy reinforced plastic frame.  I just have to figure out how to securely mount it then I’ll have a good replacement for the one in the photo. I think I’ll just use bigger suction cups mounted directly to the chair frame. I actually have some in mind that clamp down very securely
Image credits: Ernie Blue
#35 Bangkok, Thailand
Image credits: Graham Seal
