Turning trash into fun

FINDLAY — What looks like trash to some people is the mother lode for Chris Allen. The Hancock Park District program specialist can fashion a couple of empty toilet paper rolls into binoculars. She can turn a plastic water bottle into a flower and a gallon milk jug into a bird feeder. "I just really like recycling craft projects," Allen said. "There's just so much people don't think they can do." She will display her recycled items during the park district's "Earth Day, Fun Day" program Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Oakwoods Nature Preserve's Discovery Center. All ages are welcome. The event is free to attend, and registration is not required. "I have to say in some way, shape or form, the whole 16 years I've been a staff member, I have probably done the recycled projects, and before that as a 4-H parent co-leader," she said. Allen even recycles in her position as co-superintendent of the poultry department at the Hancock County Fair by reusing feed containers and feed sacks. At camp, she said, the children turned the sacks into vests. "I thought to myself, will these kids really put these vests on and wear them? And absolutely they did," she said. "Every one of those kids, they cut fringe on these feed sack vests, and they laced them together, and they hand painted them inside and outside. And they ran all over the park in them," she said. They also used feed sacks to make shopping bag totes. "You can take that feed sack and double it up and stitch it up and use your twine off your baling straw and weave that together as a purse handle," she explained. But probably the most fun people have had is creating bubble blowers using small Gatorade bottles, according to Allen. "All you have to do is take the bottom off (the bottle), put a baby sock, just a little half footie on the cut end, rubber band it, and you're done," she said. To blow bubbles, dip the sock end of the bottle in a mixture of dish soap and water, then blow gently. "And you can blow a snake bubble from here to the door," she said. She said the focus of the Earth Day program will be to practice the three Rs — reduce, reuse, recycle. Allen said she tries to use recycled items in many of her programs and camp sessions. "The three Rs are important, especially to our future and to making things last longer," she said. "It's just a way to save the earth." Allen said she finds most of her ideas online, on Etsy or in a recycling activity book. She said making a flower using a water bottle was probably her first project. For this craft, she suggested using a firmer plastic soda bottle, two liter bottle or water bottle, then cutting off the top down to the first ridge. Working with the top piece of the bottle, cut the number of petals you want. Round off the petals and then shape the flower by bending the petals backwards. Allen warned that the cut plastic can be sharp. "Then you can put a little pompom in the cap and you can hang it outside from a tree because it's plastic," Allen said. She noted that people are surprised when they see all of the items she's made by recycling. "Most of them are totally shocked, and most of them say, Oh, I would have just thrown that away," she said. "And it's like how many lids to an ice cream tub have you thrown away?" Those can be used to make suncatchers. Fill the lid with clear glue then add seeds, flowers or anything flat. When the glue dries, peel the circle out of the lid. In addition to viewing the items, attendees will get to create some themselves, she said. Recycled games will also be on hand to play outside, while educational materials can be found inside the center. Allen said she comes up with new ideas each year. "These get kids excited about recycling," she said. "They enjoy creativeness. When you're done with a program like this and you see their creativity, it's just fun. It's amazing." Allen will also tell visitors about collecting bottle caps and lids that can be recycled into benches and picnic tables. The program has provided over 80 park benches and 10 picnic tables for the fairgrounds. It takes 200 pounds of caps and lids to make a park bench and 550 pounds to make a picnic table, she said. The expected life of the bottle cap benches and tables is 50 years. Any plastic bottle cap can be used, said Allen. Some common caps come from pop bottles, water bottles, juice bottles, prescription bottles and detergent bottles. These caps cannot contain any medal or paper. The liner must be removed from those with a paper liner. Any plastic lid that is smaller than six inches in diameter can be used such as lids from cottage cheese containers and margarine lids. Items that are not accepted for the program include fast food drink lids for soda or coffee. 4-H youth have regular outings at the fairgrounds, sorting through the lids and caps and cleaning those that are dirty. The lot is then transported to Evansville, Indiana in early August, and the benches and tables are ready for use during the fair or any event held at the fairgrounds. "It is a great way to involve our youth in a worthwhile project," she said. The story, "Welcome April," will be read at 11 a.m.