Blogs - Rural Extension with Africa's Poor

Post Grid #6

Reusing Local Resources

Reusing Plastic Bottles

Editor08/03/2010

There are countless ways of reusing plastic bottles. Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Many bottles are artistically shaped so the bottom can make an attractive bowl.

Photo of hanging vegetable garden — Hanging vegetable garden

Ultra violet light kills bacteria and this is used in solar distillation “SODIS“ where the water is put out in the sunlight in plastic bottles for at least six hours to make it safer for drinking

The bottle on the left has been used as a safety measure to stop people hurting themselves on a stake.

The tippy tap enables families to have hand washing water easily and economically available. There are various designs of the basic idea.

Bottles can be cut in many ways for toys, teaching aids and other useful containers at home and in schools, such as these ideas from *Footsteps*

Larger plastic containers such as those used for oil also have many uses like this tippy tap.

They can also be used to redirect water as on this rainwater gutter, making it easier to make use of the water.

Children make ingenious toys out of them.

Creative uses including this fly trap for putting on top of a vent

Bottles can be used in many ways as funnels

Bottles can be used in many ways for redirecting water

Creatively cut bottles have many uses such as for this bird feeder at a tourist site

A small hole in the bottom of a bottle enables the bottle to hold water for washing at home and outside the latrine

Many containers including bottles can be cut and used in developing a plant nursery

A bottle with the bottom cut off is very useful for helping get water to the roots of newly planted trees. The water is not wasted on the surface and getting the water lower in the soil encourages good root growth.

Moulds for Soap — When making soap, the bottoms of plastics bottles make good moulds that give interesting shapes to the soap produced

Bottle used for spraying a cow small — By making small holes in the top of a plastic bottle it is easy to create a spray which makes spraying livestock an accessible and easy task

Plastic bottle vase made from plastic bottle — This attractive vase is made from a discarded water bottle and is easy to make

Fly trap — An effective fly trap can be made from two plastic bottles for details see our Teaching Leaflets page under Resources for how to make this

Reusing Local Resources

REAP Newsletter: Autumn 2009

Newsletter: Summer 2009

Newsletter: Spring 2009

Post List #3

Leaflets

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Women

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