DIY Fused Plastic Coasters
Have some spare plastic bags? Recycle them to make some decorative & creative coasters and reduce plastic waste disposal at the same time!
Equipment/material:
- 3 thick plastic bags
- Iron
Fusing plastic bags to make coasters:
- Set iron for 3.5
- Cut handles and bottom seam off bags
- Cut down one side seam
- Get 3 bags and cut them in half (6 layers)
- Lay a piece of un-printed paper on the ironing board, 6 layers of plastic on top and another piece of paper between the iron and plastic
- Work in a well ventilated area (fusing plastic emits fumes)
- Iron each section for 10-15 seconds
- In small sections, move the iron around as much as possible
- Iron in straight lines
- Flip the plastic over and iron the second side
- Find a round object and trace circles onto the fused plastic fabric
- Use scissors to cut out the circles
Source: creativejewishmom.com
The Environmental Impact of Plastic Waste
From clogging street drains to littering national parks and natural parks, plastic debris is found almost everywhere.
In Hong Kong, we dispose over 10,000,000 plastic bags per day.
According to the Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong 2018 published by the Hong Kong government, plastic bags account for 8.2% of the 16,096 tonnes of waste sent to landfills per day. Furthermore, plastics account for 18.5%, 23.3% and 20.5% of domestic waste, commercial & industrial waste and municipal solid waste respectively.
Worldwide, there is an estimated 270,000 tonnes of plastic waste floating in the world’s oceans. This severely threatens the 700 marine species living on water as wildlife mistakenly consume and become entangled in plastic debris. Furthermore, there is growing evidence that water pollution is increasing the rates of species extinction.
As most plastic is not biodegradable, plastic products and even micro plastics will remain in the environment for a long period time which severely threatens wildlife and their homes. Instead of throwing them away, do your part by recycling your spare plastic bags!
Source: forbes.com , Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong 2018
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