There are plenty of simple ways to turn plastic into beautiful pieces of artwork. We will mention a creative idea that cut tops off empty bottles to make beautiful fountains.
Plastic waste is becoming the greatest contributor to the destruction of many environments, particularly the ocean. It is undeniably hard to get rid of plastic waste, simply because it’s non-biodegradable.
Thankfully, not every plastic bottle needs to end up in the trash. Let’s turn waste into something beautiful.
How to turn your empty plastic bottles into a water fountain.
Worry not, because it doesn’t require rocket science. It’s as straightforward as can be, and you’ll end up finding it so easy to do.
Gather the following materials before starting:
- Seven (7) empty plastic bottles of different sizes
- A marker
- Scissors and/or a box cutter
- Masking tape and packing tape
- PVC pipe, preferably the same length as the tallest plastic bottle that you have
- Elbow PVC pipe
- Waterproof Remote Controlled RGB LED strip
- 12v 3w submersible pump
- Glue gun and glue sticks
- Soldering iron
- 3 to 4 spoonfuls of dry cement
- 300g white cement
- 2 rolls of loose gauze and cloth pieces
- All-weather paint and acrylic paints
Step 1: Prepare a base for the water fountain.
According to the video description, the base for their water fountain was made of white cement. Arrange the plastic bottles in ascending order, with the shortest in front and the tallest at the back.
Stick them together using packaging tape then take them out of the base once done.
Put a marking on each, preferably at the neck part, and then cut it using a cutter or any cutting material that you have. Remove the excess parts from the cut-outs if there are any.
Step 2: Prepare waterfall spouts for each bottle.
Using the wire casing, make 7 equal parts of it and punch a hole in each bottle using a pre-heated soldering iron. After that, apply glue on the wire casing cuttings and insert them in every bottle (through the hole you’ve prepared).
Step 3: Put a hole in the bottom of the smallest and tallest bottles.
Combine the PVC pipe and the elbow PVC pipe, then insert the elbow PVC pipe in the hole that you made in the tallest bottle (from step 2).
Step 4: Wrap the RGB LED strip around the bottles
Also, make sure to wrap them with masking tape to avoid getting smudged on the following steps.
Pour an ample amount of cement mixture in the biggest bottle, just enough to hold the PVC pipe upright.
Step 5: Wet a roll of gauze then wrap the bottles.
Make sure that almost all of the outside parts are covered, also a decent portion inside, on the mouth part of each bottle. Once done, spray with water to make it stick to the bottles more, then carefully sprinkle it with some cement powder.
After that, wrap the bottles with some pieces of fabric/clothing dipped in white cement. Apply it the same way you did with the gauze.
Step 6: It’s time to paint the entire piece.
Pick your preferred color of all-weather paint. Though, in the video, they chose brown to make it look more like fountain rocks. You may also add a couple more colors by applying some acrylic paints.
Step 7: Connect an adapter to the pump and place the elbow pipe.
After that, connect the necessary parts of the RGB LED lights as shown in the video (if you will buy an RGB LED kit, then it will have all the parts).
Step 8: Put it back in the base and test the waters.
It’s that easy. Just like any other DIY, you can always tweak the steps and materials according to your preference. Be creative and playful in making this upcycled plastic water fountain.
You are not just reducing waste but also adding more accent to your lovely home.