Cheap projects

I have found a few sites that have some projects you can make with cheap, recycled materials.  Instead of spreading out the projects over the course of the next few days (which I guess would be the easy way to finish Found Object Art Month), I will post the links to the sites and set you off to explore on your own!


kinderart.com/recycle has tons of projects using household refuse... my favorites are the egg cup flowers, handmade paper, and paper bag kites.

make-stuff.com/recycling has a list of projects to make with recycled materials, such as a frisbie bird feeder, things you can make with old berry baskets, and things you can do with plastic bottles.


These sites have resources for either finding reusable materials or buying usable things from people using reusable things (say that 5 times fast).

The ReStore takes usable building materials from construction sites that would otherwise be junked and sells it (very cheaply). On their site, they say: "Since its inception, The RE Store has turned building material waste into a viable sustainable business venture that diverts close to 4 million pounds of waste per year from needless disposal while employing over 25 full time employees." Pretty cool.

ecobusinesslinks provides a list of artisans and businesses that use recycled materials in their products... anything from gifts to furniture to ... well, whatever!


I don't have a fun image to accompany this post, so instead I will quote a pertinent episode of Futurama (Season 1, Episode 8: A Big Piece of Garbage)

Leela: Fry, what the hell were you people thinking back then? How could you just throw your garbage away?

Fry: Hey, hey, gimmie a break! What do you do with it?

Leela: We recycle everything. Robots are made from old beer cans.

Bender: Yeah! And this beer can is made outta old robots.

Leela: And that sandwich you're eating is made of old discarded sandwiches. Nothing just gets thrown away.

Fry: The future is disgusting!