Every day we let out some or the other form of waste out of our houses. Earlier, it used to be a gooey not so endearing mix but then we started with segregating the dry and wet wastes. Then came further segregations of the waste products and the waste started looking not so waste after all.

Out of this segregation was born a very beautiful creative domain. The domain of DIYs or Do-it-Yourself projects solely based on waste management. In this blog, we will talk about 10 such smart projects which can convert your trash to treasure- quite literally!

Ice-Cream Stick Bookmarks

Next time you buy ice-creams, don’t throw those sticks away. They can serve as some really amazing and aesthetically pleasing, bookmarks. Just wash and dry those sticks. Leaving 1/4th of the stick empty, wrap around your favourite ribbons in shapes you like. And for the decoration of the leftover part, use googly eyes and draw a mouth or just colour them or do whatever you want!

And Voila!! Your Bookmarks will be ready!!

Take-away containers for microgardening

Your weekend takeaway containers can do better than ending up in the dustbin!! You can put it in to use as a  pot for micro-gardening, i.e. setting up a small garden inside your place or on the balcony. All you need to do is to wash the containers and tap them dry. Fill these containers with manicured soil. Put a bed of the soaked seedling over it, followed by a thin layer of soil covering them. 

Water this setup properly that day and for the rest of the days. You will witness their growth within a week or so.

Another good idea, you can also hang up these containers on your entrance wall, just like all these fancy hotels do! It will need a lot of work but it will be a great waste management option for you!!

Vase from Glass Bottles

You must have seen all those fancy coloured bottle lamps at your favourite eateries. You can replicate the same for your place too using this DIY waste management solution.

For this, wash the old wine and glass bottles, in case you have plastic bottles then that will work too! Paint the bottles in the colour of your choice or let them be in their original colour only. Alternatively, you can also use masking tape to make patterns. If you are painting then do at least two coats so that the bottle turns translucent to opaque. Add flowers or hand these bottles from your ceilings or cut them into half and use as lamp-shades!! 

CD Coasters

When it comes to CDs and DVDs, we all have a supreme nostalgia attached to them but they are hardly being used now and hence end up in trash cans! However, you can put them to better use and make coasters out of them as a smart DIY waste management project for your place!. Just trace the outline of the CD on a cardboard and cut it. Each coaster needs two such cardboard cutouts. Glue the cut out cardboard circles on each side of the disc so that the hole is covered. Glue the top of the cardboard and stick the fabric scraps. Your coasters are ready to use. It really is that simple and amazing waste management hack.

Tin Can Lanterns

For those romantic, cosy nights, which are meant just for cuddles, this DIY waste management craft is the most ideal one we will say! To make this project a success, you will need a tin can, duly washed and dried. Poke two holes in the can, one on each side. Insert a rope or wire to make a handle. Do make a few more holes just so that the light can get out!. Paint the inside and outside of the cans in fun, vibrant colours of your choice. For the smaller holes that you made, stick out the bulbs of fairy lights from them! Or you can simply let them be inside and just have the glow come out!

Now, imagine- isn’t this setup wonderful?

Beach In a Bottle Idea

Especially for the travel bloggers or travel addicts out there! How about bringing your favourite beach with you back home? 

And guess what, this DIY waste management idea can help you reduce plastic wastes too! So, pick up a plastic or glass waste bottle from the beach OR if that makes you uncomfortable, do not throw away your water bottle and use it instead! Clean the bottle till all the residue and glue is removed. Fill the bottle with enough sand to cover one side with the bottle places horizontally. Add some small seashells and rocks. Separately, mix some water with a blue dye till you get a colour similar to the blues of the ocean. Pour this blue water with sand up to 2/3rd parts of the bottle and fill the remaining 1/3rd with oil. Glue the cap and leave the setup to dry.

T-Shirt Bag

Ever thought what happens to the old t-shirts you throw away? Well, they either end up in landfills or into the oceans and become what we call as non-biodegradable wastes! So, why not make a DIY waste management product out of them too?

To begin with, this project, take any of your old t-shirts and cut a circle along the neckline. Remove the sleeves. Turn the tee upside down. Chop off the rim at the base of the shirt. Make fringes of about 5cm each at the bottom and tie them together to seal the base of the bag. Turn the t-shirt inside out and there You have a brand new bag!

Bottle Cap Mosaic

This DIY waste management project can really bring out the artist in you! All you need is to take up random bottle caps and stick them together in whatever way you want!! If you don’t have enough bottle caps, collect from your friends and neighbours. Amp up your home décor aesthetics with this waste management project and you will definitely thank us later.

DIY Kitchen Storage Containers

Not every DIY waste management project has to be about fun and aesthetics! Sometimes, they can be about a lot of usabilities too. For instance, you can convert your pasta and pizza containers into storage containers for pulses or rice. Honestly, for an Indian household, we do not even have to mention it but for our audience from Europe and the Americas, this one is definitely worth a try!

And since we mentioned that, you can also create pen stands out of these containers or reprocess them to make lampshades maybe!

DIY mobile Charger baskets

As we begin writing for the last DIY waste management project in this blog, we seriously feel that plastics are really great when it comes to repurposing them! Apart from everything that we had mentioned earlier, plastic bottles can also be repurposed to make mobile charger baskets. All you need to do is to cut them into small pieces, provide a slot for the charger cable to pass and voila! we are done!! Read more how waste management is done in India.