Denver-based company Repurposed Materials has been doing just this with the vinyl sheets from billboards. In the perfect size and shape for tarps, the old vinyl is reused as construction tarps and by material suppliers for lumber, hay, and driveways. Additionally, the piece from Green Building Elements linked above mentions that the material is useful as a drop cloth or boat cover. If a larger material needs to be created, multiple vinyl sheets are attached through vinyl cement.

As the strongest tarp available, vinyl is 20 mil thick and is used for various industrial applications. Vinyl tarps are often used on trucks for covering a load, such as wood or asphalt, that cannot be exposed to water. With similar properties as polyethylene but stronger, vinyl tarps are made to last through many trips on a dump or flatbed truck.

Another large-scale use, as mentioned in the article about Repurposed Materials, is in construction. Building sites need two forms of protection: keeping heat inside a work area in the winter and keeping particles inside and away from pedestrians and motorists. Tarps, including those made out of vinyl or polyethylene, are added for this purpose. Draped on the side of a building or lining a fence, a large vinyl tarp is the most durable material for making a heated outdoor work area and containing all debris.

The latter instance has started in the Philippines recently. Officials in Cavite, a town on the island Luzon, held a campaign in May and, afterward, realized that several tarps were left over. Instead of throwing them out – they would simply sit in landfills and no nothing – officials involved in the campaign decided to turn them into schoolbags.

Called EcoBags, these bags made from recycled tarps come in backpack, messenger, and pouch varieties. All are designed to hold up to five textbooks and come in many bright and vibrant colors. Additionally, the bags themselves are made by former garment workers and should be ready by the time the school year starts.

Are tarps ideal materials for bags, particularly for schoolbags for children? In a sense, yes. Polyethylene, assuming it isn’t damaged and torn, is durable and waterproof. If a bag is sewn from it, it would have the strength to hold the books and keep them dry. Aside from the durability factor, poly tarps have another advantage – the color palette available. Tarps range from staid colors like black, green, and silver to brighter ones, such as yellow, orange, and red. Camouflage is even offered as a color for tarps.

As mentioned in the article, tarps were used as bedroom wallpaper and to re-style older furniture in the green condo created by the second-place winner, Pauline Joy Cuevas. Although the type of tarps she used weren’t mentioned, you can bet safely that they were polyethylene tarps. The tarps in the bedroom were printed with a pattern, so that, although reused, they don’t resemble old tarps. The article mentions that the Philippines has a large amount of tarps and, as anyone who has used tarps knows, once the tarp becomes torn or worn, the material is no longer usable.

Instead of sitting in landfills or becoming large pieces of litter, tarps can be used in the same way Cuevas incorporated them into her green condo. As green or sustainable home designing is becoming more popular, tarps, and other materials like laminate, can be reused in these homes, instead of merely sitting around. Tarps, in some cases, can provide moderate insulation for a room but, practical purposes aside, a tarp can still be used in the canvas or wallpaper-like fashion used in the condo Cuevas designed.