Gettin' Crafty at Sustainable NYC

Photo courtesy of Gabby Manrique

The November installation of RePlayGround's monthly recycled craft series at Sustainable NYC, was especially exciting for us because we had RePlay's design-whiz Abby Kelly adding her skills and cheer to the group.



Crafty Cardboard is a fun workshop for us because we get to bring our popular Cereal Box Wallet to the table, and show people how easy it can be to re-purpose commonly trashed boxes. Images on cereal boxes or beer boxes are often cultural icons, and re-using them takes a playful spin on consumerism.



The Cereal Box Wallet is an inspiring project because of the ingenuity and simplicity of it's design, and that's really what we're all about at RePlayGround - using design to make upcycling a part of our every day lives!



Hurray for garbage!



Look out for our next FREE workshop Upcycled Holiday Ornaments, coming up on December 9th, from 6-7:30pm.

Your faithful Garbage Outreach Coordinator,
Carly

Have a nice day!

image by Diana Sonis via Time Out NY

The how-to on these easy DIY placemats from plastic bags can be found in this week's Time Out NY. Grab some bags and an iron and make a set for yourself. They're a great, free entertaining idea for this holiday season. No sewing involved. Just melting and cutting!

We're definitely on a plastic bag re-kick after the Halloween bag lady dress. What should we make next from those ubiquitous plastic bags? There's certainly no shortage out there.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Casting call for trash...

At Replayground, we love coming up with new ways to use old things. It's always an exciting day when we get some new trash in the mail. (See this page for guidelines if you'd like to send us something.)

Sometimes we're on the lookout for particular types of garbage. Right now we've got a project crying out for used plastic caps and pull tabs (like the kind you'll find on milk gallons, drinkable yogurts, and other assorted beverages). If you happen to have a few sitting around the house, won't you send your garbage our way and give it a new life?

Email us at moreinfo [at] replayground [dot] com for specifics before sending anything along. Thanks, and happy recycling!

the TerraCycle website gets a makeover

There's a fancy new website over at TerraCycle.net. Tom does a great job explaining how the garbage gets upcycled. Plus you can finally buy TerraCycle products online and it'll link you straight to the store - Shop Only Green. Check it out. Send in your trash. Buy some stuff made from trash. You'll be products-made-from-trash-deprived no more!

Talkin' Trash: November 3, 2009

Talkin' (Recycling)

On Tuesday, a Korean film crew joined me and Carly for a mini Talkin' Trash expedition.

The tools: recycled cardboard signs with speech bubbles and Replayground stamps; markers; tape; and a little creativity. Just like last time, our goal was to help the trash "talk" about its potential for a new, upcycled life.

It wasn't a bulk trash night and we didn't travel too far, but we still found lots of potential in just one pile of garbage.


This discarded exercise equipment (not even post- New Year's Resolution!) was in great shape. An ambitious trashpicker could use these raw materials for all sorts of things: put the seat on a milk crate for a storage stool, use the tubing for an umbrella stand or coat rack.



Six-pack caddies make great organizers for art, office or kitchen supplies. (You can cover them with wrapping or contact paper if the beer logo doesn't match your decor.)


Simple containers have such great overlooked potential!

Check out our Flickr set for more pictures and inspiration!

Happy after Halloween!

Looking for something to do with all of those candy wrappers leftover from Halloween? Try this trick from your Halloween treats – turn the wrappers into wearable gems. You can find the complete DIY over at the eco-fancy eco-fashion site Ecouterre.

Below is a pic of my own upcycled Halloween costume. I'm a Designer Bag Lady - the dress, purse, bracelet, and headband are all made from plastic bags. The dress turned out to be way more comfortable than I expected. Who new plastic bags could be so wearable? Any guesses as to how many plastic bags do you think it took to make my dress? I'll give you a hint - it's 3 bags thick all over.