Did you know that your garbage and the contents of your recycling bin can be home to the most creative toys and kid supplies? When we introduce kiddos to upcycling and repurposing materials from an early age, it can model the virtue of resourcefulness and get kids thinking about ways to produce less waste.
With that said, I don’t want your household to be overflowing with trash (or what looks like trash). So, below you’ll find a list of materials that can be upcylced into toys and utilized for crafts in the following play categories: Dramatic Play; Fine Motor Development; Sensory Play; Intro to STEM; and Art & Crafts.
Feel free to explore the categories that align with your kiddos interest. I also encourage you to check out a category that your kid is least likely to gravitate towards— perhaps these materials will spark their interest in a fresh way and strengthen their play muscles.
✨ Dramatic Play
✨ Fine Motor Development
✨ Sensory Play
✨ Intro to STEM
✨ Art & Crafts
✨ Dramatic Play
Kids learn so much from dramatic play. Through role-playing. caregiving, and using their imagination, they quickly create new worlds where they process emotions and experiences, often through mimicry. Rather it’s through mimicry or trying out something they saw on Bluey, these playful activities support kiddos in developing fine motor skills, language, and endless curiosity.
🧻 Toilet Paper Rolls
Toilet paper rolls are a good base for crafting binoculars. By simply taping a couple rolls together and adding some string to hang around the neck, toilet paper rolls can quickly be transformed into glorified magnifying binoculars. Suddenly, kids have the ability to spot a tiny ant all the way on the other side of the yard. And if you’re lucky, perhaps they’ll use them to spot toys during clean up time!
I’ve seen little ones inspired to go on bug expeditions, nature expeditions, and even use their binoculars for bird watching. This simple craft encourages nature play and curiosity about the earth.
Tip: toilet paper rolls from companies that source toilet paper from bamboo tend to have the sturdiest tubes (Reel and Caboo)
Developmental Skills: fine motor skills; visual sensory exploration; promotes language development via storytelling
Teaches: curiosity; appreciation of nature; imaginative thinking; mindfulness; observation
🏴☠️ Paper Towel Rolls
As for paper towel rolls, while you might just see another empty roll that no one has replaced, a toddler might see it as their new pirate telescope!
Kids can decorate the rolls with markers, stickers, or even glue on jewels to add some flair. In the past, I’ve wrapped a little border around the top and bottom of the paper towel rolls using washi tape to give the toy a little pizazz. Feel free to do the same, plus, now you have a reason to pull out the 13 rolls of colorful washi tape collecting dust in the craft drawer!
Developmental Skills: fine motor skills; visual sensory exposure; promotes language development via storytelling
Teaches: imaginative thinking; creativity: exploration; awareness of the environment
🧋Plastic Cups
There are many different ways to upcycle plastic cups! Kids can try cup stacking to build towers or reuse them as pins for a game of bowling. One of my favorite use cases was a few years ago, when we did a camping theme in our classroom of 3 year olds. Our toy props included a set of four Dollar Tree lanterns… but we had 8 kids. Yes, it’s important to teach kids to share and take turns, but the amount of arguing and tears over the lanterns was unbearable.
In the toy closet, we had a bunch of battery-operated tea lights. We also had a few clear plastic cups leftover from a holiday party. So, I pulled out a hole puncher, punched a couple holes on both sides of the cup, and connected a pipe cleaner to make a handle. Then, I turned on a tea light and dropped it inside the cup— ta dah, a lantern! The kids were thrilled and everyone went off to the tent or under the loft with their very own lantern.
Since then, I’ve replicated the same craft using clear to-go cups from restaurants. As you can see, it’s quite simple to do and only takes a few minutes to make!
Developmental Skills: fine motor skills; hand-eye coordination
Teaches: curiosity; perception; shadows; light & dark; sensory play
💳 Used Gift Cards
The vast majority of gift cards are made with PVC and require extra effort to recycle properly. Instead of trashing them, hand them over to your kiddo. I guarantee you they’ll be thrilled to go shopping in their DIY grocery store using their credit cards, as toddlers like to call gift cards.
Through the images of groceries, coffee, ice cream, and logos (think: Target, Amazon), kids are prompted to recreate shopping experiences.
Developmental Skills: vocabulary and language;
Teaches: negotiation; storytelling; imaginative thinking
Food Packaging
Empty food packaging items breathe life into a kid’s grocery store or play kitchen by providing realistic shopping and cooking experiences. Little ones can learn about different food groups, practice organizational skills by arranging the products on shelves, and even use the items to prepare meals for their stuffies, siblings, or grownups.
Developmental Skills: fine motor skills; language development; counting; planning
Teaches: imaginative thinking; creativity; cultural awareness; encourages mimicry and deep play
🌶️ Condiment, Topping, and Spice Containers
Empty condiment, topping, and spice containers are ideal for bringing a touch of realism to a standard play kitchen. Kids can pretend to be experienced chefs as they season their meals with familiar spices and maybe even act out trying out a spice or topping that they’ve been hesitant to try in the past. Plus, playing with these items can introduce kiddos to spices from other cultures.
🧁 Sprinkles
The easiest way to make pretend sprinkles is to add rainbow dyed rice to an empty bottle of sprinkles. In an effort to be less wasteful, I’ve also recreated a bottle of nonpareils sprinkles by mixing together different colors of floam (I ordered an off brand in hopes it would be a decent consistency, it turned out to be too sticky).
📦 Cardboard Boxes
Cardboard boxes are priceless to kids! Huge boxes (think: washing/drying machine boxes) are gold, but harder to come by. Honestly, any size box will bring hours of entertainment, especially if you let your kiddo go wild with markers and stickers!
Developmental Skills: fine motor skills; spatial awareness; self-awareness
Teaches: creativity; storytelling; imaginative thinking
🔸 Ideas for Extra Large Boxes (Refrigerator boxes, washing/drying machine boxes): spaceship, house, castle, fort, submarine, a Time Machine for fans of Dragons Love Tacos
🔻 Ideas for Medium Boxes: Air conditioner box, diaper box = car or boat
🔹 Ideas for Small Boxes: small world play (football stadium, soccer field, zoo or habitat for animal figures); Barbie/Action figure swimming pool
🔺 Ideas for Long & Narrow Boxes: car ramp, ball ramp, slide for little people, balance beam (when stuffed) for 1-2 year olds
📚 Book Suggestion: Boxitect is a fun read that offers creative ideas for box play!
✨ Fine Motor Development
Fine motor development skills are crucial for toddlers, but you don't always need the latest toy from Learning Resources (Spike the hedgehog is in every household these days). Simple recyclable materials can give kids the same practice, while being more personalized and engaging.
🥚 Egg Cartons or Cupcake Containers
Egg cartons and cupcake containers are handy for fine motor development activities, the individual compartments are great for sorting and classifying small items like pom poms, beads, nature finds, or other manipulatives. Using tweezers/tongs, toddlers can sort objects into different compartments based on qualities or characteristics (color, size, etc).
Developmental Skills: Intro to STEM (counting, sorting by color, shape, qualities; pattern recognition); observation; hand-eye coordination
Teaches: independence; patience; precision
☕ Coffee Can
You can easily upcycle a coffee container into an engaging toddler toy– I like to call this the Pom Pom Drop Game.
Step 1: Save a coffee or tin can that has a plastic lid
Step 2: Use an Xacto knife or fine scissors to cut various shaped circles into the lid of the jar
Step 3: Give toddler colorful poms poms
Step 4: Challenge kid to stuff the poms poms through the holes
Developmental Skills: problem solving; object permanence; color recognition; language development
Teaches: curiosity; perseverance
🫙 Plastic Containers or Jars
Plastic containers can be upcycled in so many different ways. I had a plastic container (from a 12 pack of contact lens cases) and I turned it into a gift card slot game for younger toddlers (tabies). Here’s how you can replicate it:
Step 1: Collect/save old gift cards you receive
Step 2: Save plastic jar big enough to fit gift cards in
Step 3: Use Xacto knife or fine scissors to cut a slot into lid of jar
Step 4: Use colored duct tape to tape around slot-this will cover up any sharp edges leftover from cut
Step 5: Play!
Fun tip: Save enough gift cards to do themed collections! (Example: Winter cards, summer/spring cards, food cards, dog cards, etc!)
Developmental Skills: object permanence; fine motor skills; counting; cause & effect
Teaches: patience; perseverance
✨ Sensory Play
It's always great to try out activities that activate kid's sensory receptors and sensory play does just that. Rather it's through visual, tactile, auditory, or even smell, there are loads of materials that grownups can use to optimize sensory play and many of them can be pulled out of the recycling bin or spared from a landfill.
Developmental Skills: fine motor skills; cause & effect; sensory exposure; hand-eye coordination
Teaches: curiosity; self-awareness
🌊 Water Bottles for Sensory Bottles
Empty water bottles can be transformed into captivating sensory bottles. Fill them with water, glitter, beads, food coloring, or small toys to create an eye-catching visual experience.
🫧 Bubble Wrap for Popping/Sensory Exposure
Bubble wrap is both fun and beneficial for sensory play. Popping bubble wrap helps little ones develop fine motor skills as they use their fingers to press and pop. It also provides auditory and tactile stimulation, making it an engaging multi-sensory activity that kids love.
Side Note: One year, the kids in our class were obsessed with driving cars along a strip of bubble wrap. …I couldn't figure out why exactly but it could be something to try out.
🍼 Scoopers, Clear Lids, Medicine Cups
Scoopers from baby formula, clear liquid detergent lids, and clear medicine cups from over-the-counter medicine for kids are awesome tools for sensory bin activities. Kiddos can use these tools to transfer materials like rice, beans, water, etc. from one container to another, enhancing fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and sensory exploration. This activity also encourages imaginative thinking as they pretend to cook, serve, or embark on treasure hunts within their sensory bins.
🪥 Old Toothbrushes
Rather than getting rid of your kiddo's old toothbrush, add it to your sensory play toolkit! Kid toothbrushes are particularly designed for small hands to manipulate.
✨ Intro to STEM
As amazing as they are, magna-tiles aren't the only STEM toy for kids. Loose parts, like packing peanuts encourage kids to explore construction in a whole new way. Plus, toddlers get to sharpen their executive function skills through planning and problem solving.
Developmental Skills: problem-solving; spatial reasoning; engineering
Teaches: creativity; imaginative thinking
🥜 Biodegradable Packing Peanuts for Constructive Play
Biodegradable packing peanuts offer a unique, yet eco-friendly way to introduce kids to basic STEM concepts, in part because they’re made out of 100% corn starch. Applying small amounts of water to the peanuts using a paintbrush turns them into sticky building blocks that kids can use to construct various structures, from simple shapes to mini igloos.
Packing peanuts can also be used for art projects. I’m low high key still proud of the mini igloo a group of 2-3 year olds put together. We have long winters in Buffalo, and one day there was a plastic bowl (think: to-go salad bowl) sitting in our craft cabinet. I cut out a little section to resemble a door frame, then asked the kids to glue on packing peanuts. The next day, we had an igloo for their penguins and other figurines to go along with their pretend play.
Safety Note: Ordinary packing peanuts can be a major choking hazard for kids, especially kids 3 and under (they look a lot like pirate’s booty popcorn).I’m not entirely sure if the majority of companies have switched to using biodegradable packing peanuts. My supply has come from LUSH, which I can confirm, exclusively uses biodegradable peanuts. If you come across peanuts in a box, I recommend testing them by running a few in water to see if they dissolve.
✨ Arts & Crafts
Arts and crafts is where creativity and resourcefulness thrives. When we present kids with more opportunities to repurpose materials, they not only become more environmentally conscious, but also, more conscious of the trash they generate.
Developmental Skills: fine motor skills
Teaches: creativity; self-awareness; self-expression
🍪 Plastic Catering Tray
For a holiday party, a parent bought in fancy sugar cookies, the kind that are hand decorated and come in a plastic catering tray. While the cookies themselves were a hit or miss amongst the kids, the tray itself was invaluable. From there on out, the plastic catering tray became our go-to solution for marble painting without the mess! To try at home:
Step 1: Roll a couple pieces of masking tape onto the back of a sheet of paper.
Step 2: Stick paper to the base (white part) of plastic catering tray
Step 3: Pour a few dabs of paint on the paper
Step 4: Place 3-4 marbles on the paper
Step 5: Snap the lid of the tray back on
Step 5: Allow kid to go wild shaking the tray as they observe the marbles move and colors mix!
✂️ Old Magazines
Invite kids to create collages using cutouts from old magazines. With two-year-olds, you’ll probably have to rip out pages and simply allow them to practice their cutting skills. Typically, kids three and up can independently cut out pictures and letters independently. If you don’t have magazines around, old editions of Highlights magazine, Zoobooks, or even toy catalogues also work!
🌈 Bottle & Pouch Caps
Kiddos can use bottle caps as loose parts, for color sorting fine motor activities, and even to make works of art! Instead of tossing the hundreds of colorful pouch caps toddlers go through, save them to help little ones create an eye-catching rainbow display!
🖍️ Scraps of Material (paper, fabric, buttons, etc)
In our classroom, we had a smorgasbord (2.5 gallon storage bag) full of odds and ends– small scraps of paper, fabric scraps, random buttons, foam board scraps, and so many other bits. We regularly added to the ever growing collection but also utilized the supplies by inviting kids to make open-ended collages.
Well, that was a long list of materials— I hope you were inspired by a couple suggestions and use cases. I do plan on adding to this list as I try out more materials and as I learn new ideas from kids themselves! How do you use trash and recyclable materials in play? I'd love it if you added your suggestions in the comments below so I can add them to this list. The more examples we have, the less waste we generate!