Recycle Reuse Fruit & Vegetable Plastic Nets

Never again throw away the net bags that fruit and vegetables come in with this easy project. Recycle and reuse is one of my mantras so I’ve been saving all the nets for the last couple of months thinking of how to re-use them. Perfect craft project for both adults and children with a minimal amount of mess.

I’ve created coasters, placemats, buttons, paper clips, bookmarks, pin badges, fridge magnets and hooks. It really is only limited by your imagination as to what you can create with this. Anything you can form flat and then iron will work. I’ve plaited and twisted but you can use any method to tightly pack the plastic netting.

How to make

1. Cut the ends off the bags and then cut all the way through where it was originally opened. Stretch it out lengthways and if necessary tie several pieces of netting at the corners. For coasters I use two to three fruit or vegetable netting bags.
2. Tie and plait together three strands. Once you reach the end of the shortest fruit netting tie a knot at the end and trim the ends. Also trim off any ends that have come out of the netting while you were plaiting.
3. You can coil or tightly packed the plastic anyway you like. It’s important to make sure it’s tightly packed if you don’t want gaps. Use a thick needle and some of the cut-off parts to stitch together your creation.
4. Heat the iron to the highest setting and then sandwich between two pieces of greaseproof paper and iron for a few minutes until it’s melted and flat. Move the iron around so you don’t burn the plastic. Open the window to make sure the room is well ventilated.
5. If there are any gaps in what you’re making then just use the edge of the iron to squish down this part and then iron on top to flatten it out.

Recycle Fruit and Vegetable Nets Video

https://youtu.be/sOfiEy8rco8

I got the idea to recycle the fruit and veg from nets from hama beads. These are plastic beads that you place into a position on a mat then iron to melt and become solid. However rather than buying any new plastic why not reuse and recycle plastic that many people often have about the house.

I know some people would say that you shouldn’t buy plastic altogether and while I agree with this we aren’t in an ideal world and sometimes you do buy things that contain plastic. At least with this you can save up all of your nets for a rainy day to make a craft Project. I have found it difficult to recycle these fruit nets with my local authority so thought recycling in the home would be a better way.

I used a slab of marble as it’s solid and heat proof but you can use any hard surface you have that’s heat proof. As long as you put the greaseproof paper on each side it won’t stick to anything and will come away easily.