In any given year, the typical American family consumes over 100 gallons of milk. Milk containers are made from #2 HDPE plastic, which is easily recycled through most curbside recycling programs. Here’s some fun facts for you: Recycling one ton of plastic milk jugs saves enough energy to light a home for a year. Recycling just 10 plastic milk jugs saves enough energy to power a clothes washer for 11 hours. It’s easy to chuck that container into your blue bin, but if you’re feeling up for a creative recycling project, turn your milk jug into something cool. Hang it up in your garden, or cut it up to use the material in a bunch of different ways.
For Your Garden
For a simple, effective and totally awesome project, check out this wonderful tutorial for making your own watering can out of an old milk jug and its cap.
If you’re shopping for something “new” to spruce up your patio, keep in mind that recycled outdoor furniture does not absorb moisture, so it’s very resistant to weathering. That is perfect news for furniture that sits outside in the elements most of the year.
Old milk jugs are recycled into a rigid material that is used to make items such as benches, chairs, and fences. FYI: It takes 1,050 recycled milk jugs to make a 6-foot plastic park bench.
If you plan on having lunch at your recycled picnic table, try making this milk jug lunch box. All you have to do is give it a rinse, draw some lines and fold it into a handy box.
Here are some other interesting ways to recycle old milk jugs:
Light up old milk jugs to create a festive walkway.
Old milk jugs come in extra handy when you need a quick DIY Halloween decoration. Plastic milk jugs make up one of the largest materials going into landfills, so these are great ways to reuse them. They’re cheap and versatile- just take a look at this skeleton and spooky ghost lanterns!