A creature with a hinged box head that opens on a bottle bodyOne bottle, one small lidded box, tape. The lid is the jaw: tape it on one edge. Card teeth inside.
A flat spiral coaster wound from tightly folded magazine pagesSix magazine pages. Fold each into a narrow strip, coil the first tightly and glue each new strip to the last tail.
A peacock with a jar-lid body and a half circle of fanned capsOne lid, fifteen blue and green caps, card. Lay the fan in two arcs before gluing. Draw the head and feet.
A card crown studded with bottle-cap jewelsEight caps and a card band. Biggest cap at the front, sizes stepping down each side. Tacky glue; tape the band to fit.
A cardboard car that rolls on four cap wheelsFour caps, a small box, two skewers. An adult pierces the caps and trims the skewers. The box is drawn on, not painted.
A clock face with twelve caps for the hours and two card handsTwelve caps and a paper plate. Glue the 12, 3, 6 and 9 caps first so the rest space evenly. Fastener for the hands.
A garden of cap mushrooms on cork stalks in a clay lawnSix red caps, six corks, modeling clay. Dot the caps white. Vary the heights by pushing corks in deeper.
A jar-lid nest lined with shredded paper and holding three bead eggsOne lid, paper shreds, three beads. Wind the shreds round a finger first so they curl. White glue.
A jar-lid porthole with a paper fish behind clear wrapOne deep lid, clear food wrap, paper. The fish hangs on a thread inside so it moves. Tape the wrap behind the rim.
A lid weather dial with a paper-fastener arrowOne large lid, a card circle, a fastener. Draw sun, cloud, rain and snow on the card, fasten the arrow on, glue it in the lid.
A map of an invented solar system with a lid for every planetNine lids of different sizes on black card. Biggest lid is the sun, off-center. Draw each orbit in chalk.
A peacock with a jar-lid body and a half circle of fanned capsOne lid, fifteen blue and green caps, card. Lay the fan in two arcs before gluing. Draw the head and feet.
A set of jar-lid medals on ribbon, each for a different invented awardFour jar lids and ribbon. Draw the award on a paper circle glued inside each lid. Tape the ribbon to the back.
A train of lid wagons with cap wheels on a drawn trackFive lids, ten caps, long card. Draw the rails first. Each wagon carries a different drawn load. White glue.
Jar-lid coasters with torn-magazine collage sealed under glueFour matching lids and magazine scraps. One color family to each lid. Brush two coats of white glue on top.
Plastic bottles and jugs 12
A bottle vase wrapped in torn magazine strips of one colorOne bottle, magazines, white glue. Tear strips of one color only and overlap them from the base upward.
A bottle whale lying on its side, wrapped in blue paper, with a curled paper spout in its neckOne bottle, blue paper, tape. Wrap the bottle, tape on a paper tail and push curled strips into the neck.
A bowling set of ten bottles painted as ten different charactersTen matching bottles with their caps on. Paint each a face and clothes; no two alike. Nothing is joined.
A city of bottle towers wrapped in paper with drawn windowsSix bottles of different heights, paper, tape. Wrap each and draw windows in rows. Stand them close together.
A dragonfly with a bottle body and clear plastic wingsOne small bottle and a clear lid or tub. An adult cuts four wings. Draw the veins in marker; tape wings under a band.
A giraffe from a tall bottle wrapped in yellow paper on four tube legsOne tall bottle, four tubes, paper. Tape the legs under the bottle. Tear brown paper patches for the coat.
A jug watering can painted with daisiesOne handled jug with its cap. An adult pierces the cap. Paint white daisies with yellow centers round the middle.
A pair of striped shakers from two small bottles of dry beansTwo small bottles, dry beans, tape. Fill each a third, cap it and wrap bands of colored tape.
A row of jug lanterns with drawn faces, lit by battery candlesThree clean jugs, a marker, battery tea lights. An adult cuts a hole in each back. Draw a different face on each.
A trumpet flower from a bottle's cut-off top on a stick stalkThree bottle tops, three sticks. An adult cuts the tops off. Paint inside the trumpet so the color shines through.
A water-bottle yacht with a stick mast and a card sail flying your own flagOne bottle, a stick, card. Tape the stick mast along the top. The sail carries your own flag design.
A wind spinner cut in one spiral from a clear bottleOne clear bottle and markers. Color it first. An adult cuts the spiral from neck to base. Hang it by its cap on string.
Cardboard tubes 14
A castle of four tube towers with notched tops round a small boxFour tubes and a box. Snip notches round each top. Slot the tubes over the box's corners. No glue.
A forest of tube trees with green card crowns slotted into slitsSix tubes, green card. Cut two slits in each top and push a cloud-shaped crown in. Vary the heights.
A honeycomb of overlapping circles printed with a tube end in three colorsOne tube, three saucers of paint. Print a row, then set the next row in the gaps. One color per row.
A marble-run city with tubes taped to a box wall as chutes between painted buildingsEight tubes, one big box, tape. Test each chute with a marble before taping the next.
A parliament of tube owls with ears folded down from the top rimFive tubes. Push the rim in from both sides to make the ears. Paint each owl a different expression.
A portrait of your household with one tube for each personOne tube per person. Hair of yarn or paper. Line them up by height; pets get half a tube. White glue.
A row of tube lanterns with paper domes and window slits, hung on a threadFour tubes, paper, thread. An adult cuts the window slits. Tape a paper dome on each and hang them in a row.
A snake of tube rings joined with string so that it wrigglesFour tubes cut into rings, string. Paint the rings in two colors by turns. Thread them and knot each end.
A tube butterfly with card wings slotted through its bodyOne tube, colored card. Cut one slit each side, slide a double wing through. Mirror the patterns on both wings.
A tube octopus with its lower half cut into eight curling legsOne tube. Cut eight strips halfway up and curl each round a pencil. Paint it and add two paper eyes.
A tube racing car with card wheels on paper fastenersOne tube, card, four fasteners. Cut a seat hole in the top. Number the car and add a stripe down its length.
A wall flower of tube rings pinched into petalsThree tubes flattened and cut into rings. Pinch each ring to a point and glue six round a center ring. White glue.
Tube binoculars for a pretend safari with a string strapTwo tubes, string, tape. Tape them side by side and cover the join with a band of paper. Draw animal prints on it.
Tube cuffs slit open and covered in foil and paper jewelsTwo tubes, foil, paper scraps. Slit each tube down one side so it opens. Wrap in foil; glue the jewels in a row.
Newspaper, magazines and junk mail 12
A city in which every building window is the window of an envelopeTen window envelopes and dark card. Cut out the windows with a border and stack them into towers. Glue stick.
A color wheel of twelve wedges, each filled with torn magazine pieces of one hueOld magazines and a card circle. Sort the torn pieces into twelve piles before gluing any.
A flat spiral coaster wound from tightly folded magazine pagesSix magazine pages. Fold each into a narrow strip, coil the first tightly and glue each new strip to the last tail.
A found poem of cut-out headline words pasted in the shape of its subjectOne newspaper, scissors, glue stick. Pick twelve words first, arrange them, then choose the shape.
A garland of fans folded from junk mailTen leaflets and string. Pleat each leaflet, pinch its middle and tape the two halves into a circle. Tape to the string.
A mat woven from two catalog pages cut into stripsTwo pages with different colors. Cut one into loose strips and slit the other, leaving a border. Weave over, under.
A monster covered in eyes cut from magazinesOne magazine and paint. Paint a blob, cut out every eye you can find and crowd them on. Big eyes in the middle.
A newspaper tree with rolled-paper branches and comic-page leavesNewspaper and one comic page. Roll and twist sheets for the trunk; tape branches on. Leaves are torn, not cut.
A night sky cut from the patterned insides of security envelopesEight envelopes with printed linings. Cut hills and sky from different patterns. Stars are punched holes. Glue stick.
A set of postcards cut from cereal-box fronts and drawn on the gray sideThree cereal boxes. Cut each front to postcard shape. The printed side stays as the picture's back.
A swarm of butterflies pleated from bright magazine pages and bound with twist tiesTwelve bright pages and twist ties. Pleat each page, pinch the middle and bind it with a tie. Spread the wings.
A zebra whose stripes are columns of newsprint spaced on black cardOne newspaper page and black card. Cut wavy strips of text. The black gaps between them are the dark stripes.
Sculpture: robots, creatures and towers 12
A city of the future on a tray with foil roads between tubs and tubesTen tubs, tubes and lids, foil, a tray. Lay the roads first. Tallest buildings at the back. Poster putty.
A creature with a hinged box head that opens on a bottle bodyOne bottle, one small lidded box, tape. The lid is the jaw: tape it on one edge. Card teeth inside.
A flamingo with a pink bottle body on two straw legs in a clay-filled lidOne small bottle, two straws, a jar lid, clay. Push the straws into the clay. The neck is a bent straw.
A giant insect with six tube legs taped to an egg-carton bodyOne egg carton, six tubes, two lids. Tape three legs to each side at a slant. The lids are its eyes.
A long-necked dinosaur with a jug body, a tube neck and box feetOne jug, three tubes, four small boxes. Tape the neck tubes at a slant. Tear paper scales for its back.
A robot musician with a tub drum on its bellyTwo boxes, a small plastic tub, tubes, lids. Arms are tubes; drumsticks are straws.
A robot pet on a string lead with a box body, lid wheels and a straw aerialOne small box, four lids, a straw, string. Lids go on with tacky glue. Draw the face; add a name tag.
A robot whose chest door opens to show a heart of caps and tube ringsOne box, tubes, caps, lids. An adult cuts the door on three sides. Leave the box unpainted so the labels show.
A sea monster in three separate humps that sit apart on the floorThree jugs or tubs and paper. Paint all three the same green. A head on the first, a tail on the last.
A space station of tubs linked by drinking-straw corridorsSix tubs, twelve straws. An adult pierces the tubs. Push the straws in so the station holds itself up.
A stack of four boxes with a face on every side, to turn and re-stackFour boxes of different sizes. Draw four faces on each. Nothing is joined, so the stack changes every time.
The tallest tower you can stand up from one bag of recycling, painted whiteOne bag of mixed boxes, tubs and tubes, tape. Widest things at the bottom. White paint makes it one piece.
How it works
These 62 recycled art ideas, or garbage art ideas if you prefer, are sorted by what you saved from the bin. Each says what to collect, how it joins and the one choice that makes it a picture.
Read the full guide
Art from recycled materials ideas, by container
Bottle caps and lids, Cardboard tubes and Newspaper, magazines and junk mail mostly need scissors, tape and white glue. No piece marked Kids can do has a step for an adult.
Plastic water bottle art ideas
Plastic bottles and jugs holds a bowling set of ten painted characters, a city of paper-wrapped towers and a giraffe on four tube legs. Where a bottle is cut or pierced, the hint says an adult does it.
Where a hint says so, an adult does the cutting or piercing.
Questions and answers
What are recycled art ideas for kids?
The 42 marked Kids can do, such as a parliament of tube owls, a card crown studded with bottle-cap jewels, a newspaper tree with comic-page leaves, and the tallest tower you can stand up from one bag of recycling.
What are some toilet roll art ideas?
Cardboard tubes holds 14: owls with folded-down ears, a castle of four notched towers, an octopus with eight curling legs, a marble-run city, and a wall flower of tube rings pinched into petals.
What are recycled art sculpture ideas?
Sculpture holds 12 robots, creatures and towers joined from mixed finds: a long-necked dinosaur with a jug body, a giant insect with six tube legs, a space station of tubs linked by drinking straws.
Are there recycled art ideas for adults?
Yes. The pieces without the Kids can do mark need a sharp tool or more patience: a wind spinner cut in one spiral from a clear bottle, a flat coaster wound from folded magazine pages, a night sky cut from the linings of security envelopes.