Over the past several years I’ve done several interesting recycling and reuse projects. Below is a list of some of the more interesting items I’ve made.
A cardboard boat
I got the idea for a cardboard boat from the many photographs and videos on the web of cardboard boat races. But while many of those boats are designed to stay afloat for a few hundred yards, I wanted to make one that would be durable enough to last a few years. So I took some ideas from the internet along with some ideas of my own, and made a single-person cardboard kayak. It’s been several years and it still floats. I’ve made videos of the boat in action on Meadow Grounds Lake, the Juniata River, and the Potomac river. I wrote a blog post about the construction that includes some frequently asked questions and a video explaining the construction. I also have a YouTube playlist that contains several videos of the boat, from construction to fishing out of it.
Solar ovens
I’ve made solar ovens out of anything from cardboard boxes to old satellite dishes. In the case of the latter, I have recorded a video of the construction. And they can cook just about anything. Probably the easiest solar oven to make is one based on the CooKit design. I recently made a video of me cooking a whole chicken using that solar oven. My other solar cooking videos are below:
Compact Disc UFO
This little craft makes use of an old CD or DVD, a Styrofoam egg, and a couple of golf tees. This video explains the construction process, and this blog post will give you details and a materials list.
You might want to resist the urge to throw these things like a Frisbee, though, because the edges can be a little sharp. A better idea is to use fishing line to attach them to the ceiling for decoration.
Soda Bottle Broom
Like many of the others, this idea wasn’t original with me. I found a picture of soda bottle broom on the Internet, but the instructions were vague, so I made one and recorded a video of the process as well.
Do you know of any other cool recycling projects? If so, put your ideas on the comments below.
First, I constructed the lid according to the plans, but instead of leaving the cardboard cut-out attached for use as the reflector, I removed it completely. Then I measured entire width and length of the cover and purchased the glass cut to size at my local hardware store. Then I made a second lid to fit snugly over the first one, with the glass trapped in between them as shown in the diagram.
that is designed for grills.
to work very well for cardboard projects. I bought a roll years ago, and I have built two solar ovens, a cardboard footstool, and a cardboard boat and there is still plenty of tape left on the roll. You just cut the length you need, brush on some water with a foam brush, and stick it on. It is very strong, paintable, and presumably less toxic than plastic packing tape would be.
, but they use proprietary parts. That means if something breaks outside of warranty, you may find it difficult or impossible to find replacement parts. With a standard mini-itx system like this one, parts availability should not be a problem for several years.
