If they are what I think they are, I believe they can be reused in cavity wall insulation.

With a veggie box scheme we get they have some of those cold packs etc and they reuse them until they are a bit too past it then have them recycled into wall insulation.

I am assuming there will be some company out there who would take them to do this.

If they are like the reusable medical cold packs, then they could be donated to nursery schools, etc. for children.

I suggest this because numerous times my 5 year old niece will bump herself. She doesn’t need the cold pack, but it makes her feel better and doesn’t deplete the supply of bandages in the house.

Why not send them back to the manufacturer who sent them to you? (include a note for them to recycle/reuse) Let them re-use them on future orders. It would be nice if they setup a free return shipping label (like ink cartridges now) for recycling/reuse. Otherwise, have you tried FREECYCLE? I’m sure people in sports could use them.

I’m not acquainted with FREECYCLE. For now, I have contacted the manufacurer for advice as to the suitability of recycling. I like the wall insulation idea, but our house is 100 years old and its walls are not hollow. I had another idea similar to one above, to contribute to the school nurses in our area. Two members of my church are school nurses and I know they encounter lots of bumps and bruises. Ann

For more info on freecycle, visit: www.freecycle.org - It’s a global grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Rita

keep it cold to use on booboos

I work for a pediatrician, and we get these, too. Or something similar. I keep one in the fridge at home. It is great to use for a headache! (I find they freeze too solidly, so I only refrigerate them.)

Depending on size but I have a camelbak and put a couple of long thin lollipops inside them. Could these be an effective substitute? What is the liquid?

Looks as if they would make great colpaks for those that hang on you like a bak back while your doing work in the heat.

They could be frozen and donated at each hunting season for hunters to pack their meat with after their kill. Contact the sporting goods stores and make an inexpensive flyer as to where they can get them.

It is possible that your local meals on wheels could use both the cold pacs and the containers they come in to deliver meals that need to be kept cool.

Open them up and mix the contents into potting soil. They will absorb the water and give the plant longer access to it.

Give them to friends who camp, to use instead of coolpacks?

We do not have an excess of these packs, but so far we have just enough of them to line the bottom and sides of our freezer. I have placed them there because they help keep the temperature more consistent during all the daily ins and outs, and if the power goes out the food has a better chance of surviving in frozen form, especially if we do not open the freezer door. The packs act in the freezer just like they would act in a cooler, when the power goes out.

Disposable Nappies!
Did you know that the new disposable nappies are full of ‘swell gel’, it’s the same stuff you get from the garden centre to add to compost to retain moisture and costs around £5 a box.
I have started to re-use my grandson’s nappies, just the wet ones! Rinse them in the shower until all the ‘yellow’ has gone and they don’t smell. Rip one end and squeeze them into your compost and hay presto compost that doesn’t dry out. Ideal if you live in an area that has hose pipe bans every summer. I’m always nagging my daughter about the nappies; I always used towelling ones. And the thought of all the nappies ending up in landfill horrifies me.
Have a go, it’s free and greener.
Katie, A new nanny