54 Recycled Crafts for Kids
These craft ideas for kids with waste material will keep them busy and keep items out of the recycling bin!
Recycled crafts for kids can be a valuable tool of entertainment and distraction after a long school day. These crafts cost almost nothing to make and you can use materials from around the house, like oatmeal containers, toilet paper rolls, aluminum cans, and more!.
If you're looking for recycling projects for kids that are perfect for Earth Day, this is a must-have collection. Save up those drink cartons, plastic bottles, and even paper plates; you can use all of these items for these projects.
Even if Earth Day is nowhere in sight, save this collection for a rainy day and have kids get creative on a gloomy afternoon. If you're a teacher, you'll find great school projects made from recycled materials below as well. Kids will love making their own games, organizers, and even birdfeeders.
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Table of Contents
Mason Jar Crafts for Kids
Start with a classic material! Use jars that pasta sauce came in or you can even splurge and pick up a few Ball jars from the local craft store. These adorable projects are too cute to pass up!
This completely darling project is cute for the animal lovers you have in your household! Basic craft supplies, especially that adorable pom pom nose, are all you need.
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How bright and fun are these jars? Any kid would love to have these in their room to hold all sorts of knick knacks!
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Baby Food Jar Dinosaur Treat Container
These treat containers can be used for your child's lunchbox or even as party favors! Have him or her pick their favorite dinosaurs to include.
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Grab the puffy paint and decorate a plain old jar to make an adorable vase for springtime!
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Bug Jar That Glows in the Dark
Make a jar specifically for catching lightning bugs when you decorate it with glow in the dark stickers!
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Tin Can Crafts for Kids
With the tutorials below, you and the kids can make all sorts of exciting projects from cans. Create a funny cow, pig or bear using empty soda cans, paint and felt. Recycle crafts for kids are a great tool for teaching kids about recycling. Find more recycled can crafts below.
Show your appreciation for all they do! Follow this sweet tutorial to make the loveliest teacher gifts.
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Aluminum Can Crafts
As with most of the aluminum can crafts below, you'll want to help your kids and supervise since these projects all involve shaping or cutting aluminum cans.
I love this Soda Can Mosaic Heart Plaque! This is a darling project to make for mom.
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Whether it's raining, snowing, or just a few days off from school, these extra recycled crafts will help keep kids and adults alike occupied and entertained for hours. Get the collection: 1000+ Recycled Crafts
Drink Carton Crafts
You'll find great tutorials below using drinking cartons. For example, make your own bird feeder or gift box using this useful material!
Kids Summer Crafts House Project
A juice box can become a beautiful scenic project with this darling craft! Make it into a house with a popsicle stick fence and other lovely embellishments.
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That milk carton is going to be your next birdhouse! Decorate a milk carton with outdoorsy elements to welcome the birds into your backyard.
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Toilet Paper Roll Crafts for Kids
Toilet paper roll crafts are such classic crafts for kids because they are maybe the easiest, inexpensive craft supply to come by! If you're concerned about how sanitary toilet paper rolls are, you can opt for using paper towel rolls instead. Find more paper tube crafts below.
Toilet Paper Roll Paint Stamps
Make abstract art with your toddler! Make stamps and use them to create artwork with your little one.
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China can be expensive, but with this tutorial your little one can make teacups for pennies! This is the most darling project for tea parties with the teddy bears.
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Kiddie Blocks Toilet Paper Roll Craft
There is nothing more thrilling than building with blocks. Toddlers can build towers with this craft.
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Turning toilet paper rolls into pillow boxes is a fantastic project for giving small gifts. As a special bonus, these boxes are Minions inspired!
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Toilet paper rolls and paper towel rolls allow you to make the ultimate organizer with little cups in different heights for your office supplies.
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Super Scout Cardboard Tube Craft
Kids can make their own action figures out of cardboard tubes and other basic craft supplies.
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Winter Penguin Toilet Paper Roll Craft
Isn't this the cutest penguin craft? With the right embellishments and especially an adorable ribbon, transform that cardboard tube into a sweet wintry bird!
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Find even more toilet paper roll crafts in our collection for kids and adults alike:62 Toilet Paper Roll Crafts
More Crafts with Cardboard
It's seriously amazing what you can make out of recycled containers. So long as you properly clean the inside of grease, decorate the outside and store anything you like inside. Did you know you can make art out of pizza boxes? At a glance, it's impossible to tell that the lovely artwork came from a pizza box! Scrap paper, CDs, and more make for a fabulous project.
Pringles Can Storage Container
Those tall potato chip cans are a treasure trove for craft ideas! The Pringles Can Storage Container is ideal for storing pens, scissors, coloring supplies, and all manner of tools. Anything you might use a tube for is ideal for this craft.
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This crazy cute project is great for kids and parents (or grandparents!) to work on together. Learn how to make the sweetest little fairies out of egg cartons!
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If you need a container and you need it quick, this easy project is great fo rthe kids to work on! It just takes a few basic materials to have a new storage solution at your fingertips.
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These planters are made from yogurt containers! Learn how you can dress them up. Your kids will love making the containers and growing the flowers inside them!
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Here you'll find projects that look great and help the planet at the same time. There's never a bad time to use recycled materials, so dip into your discards and gather up supplies. You won't believe how much you can make with so few supplies. View the collection: 70+ Ways to Reuse Materials for Crafting
Plastic Bottle Crafts
You can make all sorts of things out of water bottles. Recycle water bottles into pink flower bracelets for fun green crafting ideas for kids. Find more ideas below.
Isn't this project just the cutest? Together with your child or grandchild, you can make darling fairy lights with this water bottle craft tutorial.
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More Plastic Crafts
You can craft with the most obscure plastic containers. Find more recycled crafts below made from various plastic containers, such as CD cases, bottle caps, and more.
This easy tutorial is a great way to reuse plastic spoons for crafting! All you need to do is decorate the spoons for some super easy garden markers.
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Paper Plate Crafts for Kids
You can craft with paper plates and other paper dishware. For example turn a paper bowl into a turtle! You'll save your trash can from filling up and your kids will get a chance to make a recycled reptile.
Perfect Paper Plate Town Kids Craft
How absolutely adorable is this project? Use construction paper shapes to make a little scene inside the plate.
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This is adorable! Instead of buying a dream catcher at the store, you can make one yourself with this tutorial.
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Spring Crafts for Kids: Cute Bunny
Don't just craft with paper plates: make an entire darling scene featuring a bunny in a field of daisies! Tissue paper and cotton balls are a few of the basic materials you'll need to make this art.
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Kids Paper Craft Tucan: Fun craft for kids
This awesome project is great for older kids who are able to cut out these basic shapes. The tropical leaves and flowers make the most wonderful border for this project.
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Miniature Christmas Tree DIY Decoration
This project is so cute and easy! It is one of the best Christmas crafts and comes together so easily.
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More Recycling Crafts for Kids
We have more miscellaneous recycled crafts below. For example, use old newspaper to create big, circular beads. Kids will love painting and decorating recycled paper beads.
Super Seashells Picture Frame Craft
Collect seashells at the beach and the use them to make a darling picture frame! It's easy to decorate a frame when the materials are so easy to come by.
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DIY Painted Jugs and Spring Flowers
Paint milk jugs for the most darling spring vases! These are some of the cutest recycled crafts and they are just so simple. Coordinating colors will make these milk jugs your new favorite centerpieces!
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These Upcycled Glove Animals are also SO adorable, it's hard to pass them up! I love the dinosaurs. These are an absolutely adorable recycling projects for kids, and it's a fun project to make when you've lost a glove and don't know what to do with the other one!
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Does your planter need an upgrade? All you need is a little leftover fabric or even fabric from an old shirt you never wear anymore to complete this project!
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If you adore making crafts out of recycled materials, you are going to love reading our full how-to article on how to make sure your recycled materials are ready for crafting:
Up Next:
Toilet Paper Roll Crafts: 62 Uses for Toilet Paper Rolls
What are your favorite recycling ideas for kids?
Read Next54 Recycled Crafts for Kids
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Morehouse17
Mar 31, 2018
So I do recycle and I encourage others to recycle as well. I have a few kids in the neighborhood that from time to time will have to sit with me until a parent comes home. I like to have something for them to do while we wait instead of looking at TV. This is a great collection of quick craft projects. Thanks.
Delphine Bryant
Mar 29, 2018
What a wonderful grouping of projects for kids to make. The projects range from really quick and easy to something that may take a while to complete. Where to start?
mulberrygalprinces s
Jan 28, 2018
This ebook is wonderful. I take care of my grand kids when they have any week days off. We always make things and they are really recycle minded. They will love doing these. I will let them each pick one of the projects and see how proud they are when done.
lisamarie365
Jan 06, 2017
I have 3 special needs kids that are going to love these crafts. We love doing crafts and are always looking for new ideas. When we have snow days or rainy days, these activities are perfect. Cant wait
sandyandrews74 837 0297
Apr 19, 2016
this is a really interesting website, rainy day projects for children.
Rosetta Manton
Mar 30, 2016
Found some lovely ideas here. This post is a great source of projects. My girls will surely love these ideas. Thanks for sharing! Rosetta from http//rubbishcollectionsouthkensington.co.uk/ )
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