Ways To Repurpose Old Bike Helmets Around Your Home And Garden

Did you know that bike helmets have an expiration date? Well, maybe not a firm date, but the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends replacing your helmet as often as every five years, and replacing it immediately after you've taken a single fall while wearing it. But what to do with the old helmet? Recycling them appears to be impossible, and donating them can be dangerous if the helmet isn't in good shape. Repurpose them instead! Their shape and durability inspire clever ideas to get more life out of them.

Tuck some dirt and greenery into one for a hanging planter. Chop another into two pieces for a versatile water feature. Outfit another with a lamp kit for quirky but functional lighting. Whether it's a perforated bicycle helmet or a solid motorbike model, these tools have plenty more uses after they're done protecting your head. Lowering the amount of waste your household produces is a crucial part of making your home more eco-friendly. But when you can do that and come away with a useful and/or eye-catching item, that's even better.

Planters are an obvious second-life for helmets. Bicycle helmets already have built-in drainage, but for a motorbike version, you'll have to drill a few drainage holes in what will be the bottom of the planter. Line the helmet with a coconut coir basket liner, then fill it with soil and plants.

To hang the helmet-planter, drill four evenly-spaced holes, one in each quadrant of the helmet. Attach lengths of chain or cording through the holes for hanging. You can also hook one side of the chin strap to a fence or a wall. For ideas of what kinds of plants do best in these kinds of planters, check out our list of drought-resistant flowers and trailing plants perfect for hanging baskets.

If hanging's not your thing, make it into a sitting pot for your porch or even indoors. Set the helmet planter in a drip tray with a slightly smaller diameter than the helmet's widest point; this will keep the planter from tipping while also protecting surfaces from runoff.

Helmets without ventilation holes — like ones for motor sports — can morph easily into a mini water feature for indoors or out. The clever upcycler from the YouTube channel Think Craft revamped a helmet into a miniature fish pond. With the same steps, you can transform head protection into a fountain or a birdbath.

Remove the foam padding and straps, and trace a horizontal line around the widest point in the helmet. With a jigsaw, cut along the line. Sand the cut edges of both pieces. If you'd like, give it several coats of paint. However, the helmet's exterior itself will add appeal. Set the piece with the opening cut-edge down on a table or patio. Place the other piece in the opening that slips over the head; the two halves should bend a bit to make a tight fit. To keep the basin piece from tipping inside the other half, attach the parts that are touching with E6000 or epoxy.

Fill it with water, some stones, and a few fish for an indoor pond. Install it outside on your deck or patio for a birdbath or a fountain — or both. Float this AISITIN Solar Fountain Pump inside the helmet for a water feature that also lures in backyard visitors for a drink and a splash.

With the help of a kit or even a second-hand lamp that could use a glow-up, your old skull protector becomes a lamp that's sure to spark conversation. Helmets with ventilation holes will make interesting light patterns, but any bike helmet can turn into a lamp. Motor sport helmets with a face shield lend themselves well to table-top lighting. Drill a large hole in the back of the helmet, send the socket of a lamp kit through the hole, and add a bulb. The base of the helmet will sit flat on a table or shelf. Either let the light shine through the open face hole, or close the visor.

A standard bike helmet or one designed for dirt biking can serve as a lampshade. Whether it's a floor lamp or one that sits tabletop, you can connect a lamp harp to the uppermost point of the inside of the helmet with heavy-duty glue. Place it atop a lamp, and let there be light.