Recycle Berry and Tomato Baskets: Green Uses for Plastic Fruit and Vegetable Baskets

Going green isn't as hard as you think, and one way to become eco-friendly is to go green by recycling/reusing plastic produce baskets-otherwise know as berry baskets. Strawberries, raspberries, cherry tomatoes and other produce are placed in the plastic baskets to prevent crushing in shipment. However, once the produce is used, what good is the basket? Rather than throw the berry basket out, wouldn't recycling it be better for the environment?

Of course it would. And going green is a state of mind as much as it is an active pursuit of keeping our planet healthy. To that end, here are a few links with fun and creative ways to recycle and reuse those plastic berry baskets.

Suite101.com-Make Your Own Green Easter Basket: Instructions are given to weave construction paper or ribbons through the slats in the berry basket, and then attach a pipe cleaner as a handle. This easy craft is appropriate for young children, and is a great way to teach recycling.

MarthaStewart.com-Decorated Berry Baskets: Even Martha Stewart has jumped on the green bandwagon, and although her ideas are basically the same as the ones presented in Suite101.com above, I've included this link because the page has nice color photos so you can see how pretty these baskets can look when done with ribbons and bows rather than construction paper.

About.com-Plastic Berry Basket Crafts: The author of this article, Sherri Osborn, impressed me with the numerous creative ways she came up with to reuse and recycle produce baskets. The options included bubble blower, crazy paint (using the basket as a "stamp" while painting), snowflakes, dollhouses, and numerous decorative containers.

About.com-Bird Nest Craft: Another article by Sherri Osborn, she gives instructions for building a "bird's nest" for an egg carton bird by weaving fabric or yarn through the holes in the basket, filling it with shredded paper, and using it as a craft nest. What a fun way to teach kids to go green!

Reader'sDigest.com-Extraordinary Uses for Berry Baskets: This is a treasure trove of ideas for recycling and reusing berry baskets. The page contains eleven different recycling suggestions for everyday living. Some of my favorites included recycling the baskets by building an orchid planter, a screwdriver holder, using the berry basket as a mini-colander, a dishwasher basket, and to store soap pads and sponges. If you're looking for some "extraordinary" green ideas for those berry baskets that pile up during the summer, and you only have time to check out one of the links I've listed here, I'd suggest this as the one.

There you have it. Take this opportunity to visit the above links, green up your life, and recycle those berry baskets while creating something fun or useful at the same time. You'll be glad you did.

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