Ideas for Recycling Plastic Food Trays and Lids

What to Do with Those Leftover Deli Trays

If you have a favorite restaurant that serves you with plastic plates and lids you may well have collected quite a few of them by now. What to do with all of them? Well, there are plenty of ways to use them for home decor, toys, and much more.

One simple thing to do with the deep, clear plastic lids is to make a basket to hold hairbrushes and toiletries or spices and kitchen tools. Purchase a piece of foam that is a quarter-inch wide and cut it to the height of the basket, minus an inch. You can also use cotton or batting. Complete wrap the sides of the basket with the foam, using spray adhesive to hold the foam in place quickly.

Cut a large piece of fabric, the shape of the basket, but much bigger. If the clear plastic top is a square, cut a square piece of fabric - oval, cut an oval piece. The piece should be large enough to come up to the edge of the basket, plus five inches.

Press the edge of the fabric down two and a half inches, all the way around. Glue or stitch the hem into place if you want, but it's not a necessity for this project. Cut a piece of ribbon to 10 inches longer than the circumference of the basket. Pull the fabric up around the foam-covered deli lid and tie the ribbon around the circumference to secure. The easiest way to do this is to wrap the ribbon around the basket and fabric, then hold the ends loosely. Begin positioning the fabric, around the edge, to where it puckers evenly. Continue this from the front, around the back, and to where you began. Tie the ribbon securely and you have a beautiful catch-all basket.

Use other clear, plastic lids - such as the ones that come with a birthday cake - to make a doll swimming pool. The lids, whether round or rectangular, are perfect for a Barbie pool party. There's no need to decorate or otherwise enhance the pool. Just fill with water and you're all set.

These kinds of lids are also great for storing lots of CD's, Roms, and DVD's, magazines, sewing notions, and much more.