Turn plastic bottles into bicycle handlebar wrap

A resourceful Russian DIYer has devised a simple way to transform dicarded drinks bottles into lengths of plastic string that have many uses, including bicycle handlebar wrap or cable clamps.

Once the plastic string is in place, the application of heat shrinks and seals it in place, strengthening it in the process.

The main component is a profiled metal bar of a type available from any large hardware shop and only simple hand tools are required to transform it into a plastic string maker.

Many local authorities now recycle the PET plastic bottles, but upcycling – the process of reusing a discarded item in a new and useful way – is environmentally preferable to recycling because it requires less energy.