Reduce and Reuse; the practical recycling

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Reduce and Reuse; the practical recycling
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Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 1:21 pm Post subject:

Yes, very useful those cups. You pile them on top of each other to drill a drainage hole (well, actually, you get your other half to drill a drainage hole but with a name like Dunc you must have your own drill

)

On a similar vein, and also requiring another half with a drill (it's not that I think girls don't use drills, just this girl, who injures herself opening pasta

), Treacodactyl used to collect used, washed food trays from a cafe where his office bought coffee. The cafe gave them out as trays to take the cups out in - and yes, he brought back the cups too!.

Very sturdy seed trays they make, we're still using them at least two years later.

Dunc

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 134
Location: Lancashire

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 1:24 pm Post subject:

Tahir wrote:

Not a bad idea, luckily we have a kettle and mugs round here.

That's the saddest thing, so do we. A lot of folk here though just can't be bothered. They'd rather pay 15p for a small cup of bad coffee. Personally, I make my own - apart from anything else it takes longer, and time away from my desk is a good thing.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 1:30 pm Post subject:

Dunc wrote:

time away from my desk is a good thing.

I'd normally agree, but I've been stuck to my desk doing downsizer stuff since it started

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28238
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 1:41 pm Post subject:

Cab wrote:

jema wrote:

A lot more interesting than the wine kits, but I do have 15 gallons of assorted elderberry on its way

meanwhile I'd like a stocked cellar.

jema

15 gallons? Roughly 90 bottles? Wow. Not bad.

Lets think... Actually, no, I'll post it in recipes rather than here...

There was such a glut of Elderberries, it seemed like a good idea

5 Gallon kits seem to end up at about the 26 bottle mark for me.

Changing subjects to vending machine drinks, the worsts ones have to be the ultimate proof that people to drink just aobut anything.

jema

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 2:48 pm Post subject:
Thank goodness for the hot water vend - even without tea bags its the best thing they produce! I've found a use for my plastic carrier bags. My local charity shops will be happy to take them. I have also resolved to get myself a string bag, and never take another plastic bag again. I'll still get the delivery ones, but at least they'll get reused now! Hows that for a new years resolution!

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 2:51 pm Post subject:
Nice one, I'd get a small rucksack though. Better for your back, as you should know.

Sarah D

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 2584

Posted: Fri Nov 26, 04 2:55 pm Post subject:

wellington womble wrote:

resolved to get myself a string bag, and never take another plastic bag again.

You could make your own - I have some patterns.....................

Guest

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 9:25 pm Post subject:

Dunc wrote:

Can't compete with all the wine related talk but my favourite reusing mission of the moment is...

...Bullying everyone in my office to give me their used vending machine coffee cups. If they're stupid enough to drink the garbage that comes out of the machine, they can provide me with pots for seedlings for the greenhouse!

Depending on what type of vending machine you have, if it is one that makes (brews) the tea or coffee, as opposed to just filling the cup then the tea leaves and coffee grounds could be collected for your garden. They are good on the compost heap, the roses or the worm bin.

alison
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 9:26 pm Post subject:

Dunc wrote:
Can't compete with all the wine related talk but my favourite reusing mission of the moment is...

...Bullying everyone in my office to give me their used vending machine coffee cups. If they're stupid enough to drink the garbage that comes out of the machine, they can provide me with pots for seedlings for the greenhouse!

Depending on what type of vending machine you have, if it is one that makes (brews) the tea or coffee, as opposed to just filling the cup then the tea leaves and coffee grounds could be collected for your garden. They are good on the compost heap, the roses or the worm bin.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sat Nov 27, 04 11:02 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Nice one, I'd get a small rucksack though. Better for your back, as you should know.

I don't buy that much!

I'll probably give up going into town when the breadmaker comes, cos I won't have to go to the bakers every few days (then I won't need a bag at all!)

I'd be interested in the string bags though - I think they'd have a million uses in this house.

culpepper

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 638
Location: Kent

Posted: Thu Dec 16, 04 8:41 pm Post subject:

We recycle the Xmas paper every year.Hubby usually buys 2 small rolls just to eke it out .He uses all 2 rolls on extended family pressies and we use last years on all the home pressies. Some of it must be about 4 years old.Looks almost new if you open the pressies with scissors and iron the paper(not then and there obviously).It usually gets replenished by pressies given to us by extended family.
We use pinking shears to cut up old cards to make tags.
Now we make our own Xmas puds,we reuse the old pudding bowls from bought puds.They are good for puds all throughout the year.

Bugs

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 10744

Posted: Fri Dec 17, 04 8:34 am Post subject:

culpepper wrote:

you open the pressies with scissors and iron the paper(not then and there obviously.

But if you did, what a unique family tradition you'd have

Seriously I like this idea...we do it too, among ourselves, with wrapping from anything large, and the rest is either recycled or used as firelighters. Also, I bought cloth ribbons several years ago and after Christmas we fold them up and they can be reused and look really nice.

Guest

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 04 12:21 pm Post subject:

Ive seen the depressing sight of some halfwit chucking my painstakingly sorted recycling into the back of the none recycling truck..... he was none to pleased when I told him to go fetch ! He muttered someting about health and safety, maybe he thought I was standing too close to the button that operates the squishing machine!

We only have it collected every other week so that was two weeks wasted. The man at the waste management company was a picture of apathy when I called to tell him, its not hard, I said, Green- recycle, Black-not. How longs the training course for that job ????

Our local Council only lets us recycle a limited amount of items, even packaging that has the Recycle logo on it can't be unless its a bottle ! Cans, card, glass, paper and plastic bottles are all that we can recycle and yet there are lots of logo'd products we have to put in the black waste bag..... its disheartening to see them being wasted, so where we can we dont buy products that can't be recycled (like deodourant cans; buy roll-ons instead!)

People here have got all upset because the waste system has been changed to Wheelie-bins and coloured bags (Green Recycle Red Card Glass into a plastic box Wheelie bin Non Recyclable) Nobody seems to want to change !

It would be so much easier to stop waste at source, companies who over package products tell you great they are by using recycled material all 20 bits of it to wrap a box of jaffa cakes or what ever !

Gingermac

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 04 6:13 pm Post subject:

culpepper wrote:

We recycle the Xmas paper every year.

That would be the final straw for my family, they'd have me committed

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28238
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Sat Dec 18, 04 6:36 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

culpepper wrote:

We recycle the Xmas paper every year.

That would be the final straw for my family, they'd have me committed

I think my lot would kill me with the scissors

jema

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