How can I recycle the plastic spoons you get in children’s medicine bottles? Thanks ;oD

A great question! I can’t take tablets so have to take liquid medicine instead – and as a result, I end up with lots of these little suckers. There is no way to reject them really – they’re tucked inside the box and I suspect if you did ask the pharmacist to remove it, they would just go in their bin instead.

While they’ve got a full teaspoon size head, they only have a tiny (2cm/inch) long handle (or a smaller spoon in lieu of a handle, like the one in the picture) so can’t really be used as general plastic spoons for picnics or what-have-you. They would be useful as a measuring spoon in the kitchen – since they typically have 2.5ml and 5ml (half a teaspoon/full teaspoon) level markings on them to ensure correct dosage – but that’ll only going to use one or two of them maximum.

I’m going to contact the companies behind the medicines I use most often to see if they have any recycling advice but most generic plastic cutlery is made from Polystyrene (plastic number 6), which is not usually recycled, so chances are we won’t be able to fling these little spoons into our plastic recycling bin any time soon.

Any suggestions for reuses?

Here I am again with another item that you hopefully find interesting enough to put on your website.

Still cleaning my cupboards :-) , I now found several out-of-date bottles of contact lens liquid. It’s the storage and insertion liquid, not the soapy cleaning stuff, although it says that it can also be used for cleaning. I can’t find any ingredients, except that it contains certain additives for conservation.

Does anyone know if there’s anything I can do with it. I don’t wear my lenses any more due to too dry eyes, so this is what is left.

As I’m a glasses wearer, I’ve not had enough experience with the liquid to know what it could be used for – I do know that those solutions are sometimes just saline, but I don’t know if that’s the case with Petra’s stash.

Has anyone else had leftover contact lens solution? What did you do with it? Once they’re out of date, can they be used for other not-so-critical things? And if so, what?

As it’s such an unknown area to me, I’d love to hear your ideas for this!

Estelle has sent us an email about x-rays:

I have got a pile of x-rays harking back to my childhood. They are those large ones, white on black, which probably contain silver. Nowadays, they just give you them on CDs.

What can I do with these x-rays? I want to ditch them.

Because of the silver, there are a lot of places that collect old x-rays for recycling – but many are only geared up for large quantities of the stuff (and certainly only start paying for them for very large quantities) from hospitals and the like because the amount of silver in each film is negligible. Does anyone know of any companies/organisations that collect small quantities for recycling? Ideally with local collection points or by post.

Aside from that, I’d imagine it would be relatively easy to pass them on for someone to reuse for artistic or craft purposes. (You may want to remove any personal identification marks first.) There are quite a few for sale on eBay (in the Collectables/Scientific section mostly) but if you didn’t want to get into that, you could give them away locally on Freecycle or Gumtree/Craig’s List.

Anyone got any specific suggestions for things to make/do with them?

I work in the medical profession and I open and use medications all the time. I was wondering is there any way to reuse the flip seals on the top of the single use vials. I have a quite a few and need some suggestions….thanks.

I’m not a medical person so I’m not familiar with the caps – but after a bit of time with Google Image search, I think I know what Valerey means – the flat top bit in that picture (if it’s not that, please do let me know). It’s a disc with a protruding centre, which seals into the top of the bottle. Some seem to have “flip off” stamped into them too, which seems a little redundant as it’s inside the bottle but gives them a bit of fun attitude…! :)

People who know what they are: do you know if the caps come into contact with the medication at all, or is there another seal in between? If it does come into contact with the medication, that will probably limit the potential reuses – they look like they could be used as coins in a toy till/cash register but you probably wouldn’t want kids getting their hands on them if they had the slightest traces of medicines on them.

And for those already familiar with them, any suggestions?

UPDATED TO ADD: lots of people have been asking for pictures of flip off cap creations for inspiration. Here are some that I can find – if anyone knows of any more examples, let me know and I’ll add them to my list:

• Dottie’s shop on Etsy
• A wedding bouquet made from them!
• FlowerReels4U’s shop on Etsy
• Flower blooms for ID cards
• Ms Sara’s rings & earrings

Those who know that Strepsils are a vaguely medicinal lozenge for sore throats will probably be able to see that the inspiration for this post came from my sick bed.

For years, they’ve been sold in blister packs but now you can get them in plastic “handy tubes” too. I would imagine that the tubes use more packaging per tablet than the blister packs but they seem considerably easier to reuse, and reuse often, than blister packs.

The tubes are sturdy plastic, just less than 2cm/an inch in diameter and about 10cm/5ins long. The lid pops off but re-seals securely – the new camera film canister, perhaps?

The tube I’ve got smells strongly of “honey & lemon” so I’m not sure I’d want to use it for food items in the first instance but it would be perfect in a sewing kit – somewhere to keep needles, buttons or other small fastenings, or even a whole emergency kit for carrying in a handbag. As the top’s seal feels at least water-tight, it would probably be great for taking small quantities of shampoo or conditioner (etc) when travelling.

Any other suggestions?

Do you know of any charities that collect used body piercing jewellery? Everyone seems to want gold and these aren’t gold they’re steel. Your earring suggestions don’t apply either because they’re ring and bars.

Marie Curie’s jewellery recycling scheme claims to accept anything – real or costume, broken or working – so I would have thought from a melt-it-down-for-scrap point of view, they’d accept them.

I’ve heard of some body piercers reusing barbells – they have to sterilised them anyway before use and some items are only used for a couple of weeks before being replaced (for example, borrowing from my own experience, the longer bars used for the few swollen weeks after tongue piercings). But I’d be dubious about that, even sterilised, because of how even small nicks & scratches on the jewellery can increase the risk of infection.

Any better reuses or definite recycling ideas for barbells and CBRs (captive bead rings)? What about plugs and tunnels? Anyone done any fun upcycling/repurposing with them?

Can I Compost vitamin tablets? I have two jars in date but have gone moist from the air. What can I do with the bottles?

We’ve covered pill bottles already on the site but the vitamin question is a good one – and I’m not sure of the answer. I suspect it might be “best not”. We’re instructed to always dispose of expired medicines very carefully to avoid risk to the public/wild animals, and to avoid contamination of the environment/water supply. While dietary supplements are generally a lot more benign, there is still some risk, for example, iron can be surprisingly toxic to children, and presumably small animals. I’m not suggesting that many children will hunt around in your compost bin for a feast of pills but the payoff doesn’t really seem worth the risk. I may be wrong though.

I’m also not sure if there will be many reuses for them…

Any suggestions for stopping them going soggy in the first place?

I’m attaching a photo of a medication shipment I get every 3 months. The medicine has to be refrigerated and so that in itself creates all this waste. Please ignore the bookmark though, it is used to cover some private information. The syringe does not have ml markings on it, so I can’t use it for other things that have to be measured.

Of course, I want to know everyone’s idea(s) of how I can repurpose all this packaging into something useable. I already use the styrofoam boxes for other things and given many away, but frankly the size inside is pretty small 6″Wx8″Lx6″D (about 15cmWx20cm Lx15cmD) and can’t hold anything but tiny bottled drinks. I have used it as a lunch pail though.

Many creative people read your blog and I can’t wait for their ideas to pour in. I really like the useful ideas. Thank you very much and hugs to you for all the wonderful posts.

(Click on the picture to see a bigger version.)

My first idea for the styrofoam was a mini-cool box for picnics but it sounds like they might be too small to be much good for that — and how many of those would you need anyway? Any other suggestions?

A syringe could be used for refilling hand cream/moisturiser tubes from bigger tubes (as we discussed here) or tabasco sauce bottles – but again, you’d only need one or two for that – so what can be done with the rest?

I currently use a CPAP machine and Medicare replaces the parts fairly frequently and I am unsure what to do with the “old” parts. I mean, I know some people may have a “problem” with recycling/reusing breathing type supplies but I hate just throwing the items away when perhaps they could be sterilized and used by someone who can’t afford the supplies and may otherwise suffer with sleep apnea.

Disposable plastic medical equipment (rather than sterilisable metal) really grinds my gears but from what I’ve read, this doesn’t seem to be just throwing something away for the sake out it – CPAP machine parts seem to need replacing due to wear and tear, which reduces efficiency and you don’t really want to reduce efficiency of something that is keeping you oxygenated.

However, the second part of Dee’s question is interesting – anyone know of any organisations that collect such medical equipment? The parts might be replaced periodically whether they actually need replacing or not, just to be on the safe side, but an expert might deem them to still be reusable.

What about recycling such items? My first port of call would probably be to contact the supplier & manufacturer of the parts but does anyone have any other suggestions?

(Photo of typical CPAP mask by JoJoJo04)

I have just had my eyes lasered and need a suggestion of where I can send unused trueye contact lenses? Also have some monthly disposables and two pairs of glasses?

Glasses – spectacles – are quite widely collected for recycling/reusing overseas — a lot of opticians have collection bins and some charity shops do too (Help the Ages, for example). Contact lens containers are also useful little things – eg, use them for carrying little amounts of salt, pepper or other seasonings on camping trips.

But what about the contact lenses themselves? Does anywhere collect them for redistribution overseas or anything?

Any suggestions?

Hi! I’ve just been reading how bad talc is (oh my god it’s bad!) and no longer want to use it on my body. Is there anything I can do with it instead?

I’m not an expert on talc – I’ve not used it for years anyway so not read up on it much – but from a brief Googling around now, it seems the main problems with it are an increased cancer risk (most notably ovarian cancer, often but not always related to the application of talc around the genitals) and pulmonary issues related to inhalation. The inhalation thing may limit the potential reuses – but does anyone know of any?

It’s nearly time to bring our women’s & sexual health week to a close though but I had one more “how can I recycle this?” query before we finish: how can I reuse or recycle diaphragms?

Latex rubber diaphragms degrade over time so should be replaced every couple of years. They need replacing even quicker if they come into contact with any oil-based lubricants. Silicone ones last longer (up to 10 years in some cases) but still need replacing eventually.

They also need replacing if the woman’s weight fluctuates up or down by 10lb (4.5 kg), or if she experiences a pregnancy lasting 14 weeks or longer.

Between one thing and another, we’re not talking about the type of waste associated with more disposable forms of contraception but there will still be a lot hitting end-of-life with the easiest option to be dumped into landfill. But is there anything else that can be done with them?

And what about their cases?

Earlier today we started discussing which contraceptive methods are best for the environment but in certain situations, condoms are the only option – they’re the only contraception that protects against STIs.

French Letter condoms are made from latex sourced through FairDeal Trading, paying a Fairtrade premium for latex rubber: we often think about Fairtrade food items but not so much other things. The price premium paid through FairDeal Trading is used not only to pay fairer wages but also to provide a better working environment for those on the rubber plantations and better education opportunities for the workers’ children.

The rubber supply is sustainable too – from plantations certified by the FSC – and unlike most condoms which include milk extracts, they don’t contain any animal products or derivatives so are suitable for use by vegans.

We’ve got two packs of condoms to give away – their Aphrodisiac selection — ooh scented!

As with the washable pads, the Mooncup and the Jam Sponges, if you want to be in with a chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment below (doesn’t have to be much – just “hi” will do, or “if I was designed condoms scents, they’d all be banana or sausage…”) before noon (GMT) on Monday 15th March. I’ll pick two winners at random after that.

(Don’t forget to leave your email address in the email address field – it won’t appear on the website but allows me to contact you if you win.)

UPDATE – Monday 15th March 2010

Wow! Loads of responses! Thanks to everyone who entered. Our lucky winners are…

Gary Hughes and Elizabeth Burton. I’ll be in touch with you both soon to get your address.

Thanks again to French Letter for supplying the condoms – and showing us all that Fairtrade doesn’t just apply to things you put in your mouth food. ;)

It’s great having so many wonderful things to give away – the range of green, reusable sanitary products available these days is amazing — really something for everyone, whether you’re a pad user or want something inside instead.

There is a quite a lot of buzz around menstrual cups – like the Mooncup we’re giving away – at the moment but chatter about menstrual sponges isn’t quite so common – which is a shame because they’re a great natural option and these ones we’ve got to give away? BEST. NAME. EVER.

Jam Sponges are natural, unbleached sea sponges, sustainably harvested from the Mediterranean Ocean and used a bit like tampons – inserted into the vagina, they soak up menstrual fluid before it has a chance to escape into the wild. Unlike tampons though, they’re chemical-free, won’t cause Toxic Shock Syndrome and won’t cause a giant pile of landfill/block sewers. Treated with care, each sponge will last a year and is fully biodegradable so can compost when you’re done with it.

Plus – PLUS – they come with a shiny bag to keep the spare in AND a badge. (Do take the badge off the sponge before inserting ;) )

We’ve got two sets of these fab things to give away – again, they’re courtesy of the lovely Rachael at Moon Times. Just leave a comment below (doesn’t have to be long – “hi” or “jam sponge? hahahaha, that’s fantastic – puntastic!” will do ;) ) before noon (GMT) on Monday 15th March and I’ll pick a winner at random.

I’m happy to ship internationally and remember to leave your email address in the email address field – it won’t be published on the site but let’s me get in touch with you if you win.

UPDATE – Monday 15th 2010

Thanks to everyone who entered. Our lucky winners are…

urban craft and Rachel! I’ll be in touch with you guys soon to get your addresses.

Thanks again to Rachael at Moon Times for providing the sponges – a great green alternative.

I thought long and hard about whether to feature this because it’s the type of green action that makes Daily Mail readers exclaim “bloody hippies!!” and pledge to not reduce, reuse or recycle just to annoy us filthy, poor Good-Life-wannabes. But in the end, Cipollina’s comment yesterday convinced me – it’s not for everyone but blood is a cracking fertiliser.

The fluid emptied out from your Mooncup or pink water from rinsing out from your washable sanitary towels is a great source of natural nitrogen – it replenishes overworked soil and feeds the plants. People buy blood meal — the dried & powdered blood from livestock — as a non-synthetic fertiliser but why not cut out the middle man/middle cow? It’s as organic as you are.

There are some potential problems with just pouring it straight on the garden – some blood-borne pathogens can be transferred around and apparently it can attract ants – but one way to minimise the risk of that sort of thing is to put it through a hot compost heap. If you know you have a blood-borne pathogen, you might want to look into the situation with your condition further – although apparently even hepatitis, one of the longest surviving blood-borne pathogens outside the body, only manages about 30 hours before breaking down (shorter if heated/exposed to sunlight).

I found two very interesting discussions on the topic – this one and this one – explaining about different people’s experiences and methods but I wonder if anyone has used it for anything a bit more out of the ordinary…

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

Do you know what number plastic hand cream tubes are? The ones with the flip lids. I don’t know whether or not to put them in my recycling bin.

Along with the inconsistency of facilities available, lack of information on packaging is one of my major pet hates when it comes to recycling. I’ve got three different types of face/hand moisturiser in our bathroom cupboard and only one has recycling information on it – it’s number 4 (LDPE). LDPE isn’t as widely recycled as PET/PETE (number 1) or HDPE (number 2) but it is recycled in some areas – my old council Leeds used to pick it up at the kerbside so it’ll be worth checking your local advice to see if you can do the same.

Aside from recycling, any ideas on how the tubes can be reused? I suspect there will be some overlap with squeezable plastic toothpaste tubes but any new suggestions?

Y’know, the big plastic cone things where you put the inhaler in one end? They are now being recommended for adults too so there must be millions out there.

I understand hospitals in Australia sterilise them for reuse.

In third world countries kids sometimes have to use empty water bottles and although I did read these are effective it seems wrong to have one standard for our kids and one for other people’s. I mean if they are *that* effective why are we getting the *proper* version on the NHS and not using old bottles ourselves? They ain’t cheap either as anyone who has had to buy a spare will know.

Apparently there have been several studies proving that plastic bottles just about as effective as the specially produced ones – I guess the (cynical) answer to Judy’s “why aren’t we just using bottles?” question is that someone realised there was a buck to be had making something special ;)

So that’s one way to make them by recycling/reusing something that is usually considered waste – but what are the options for used purpose-built asthma spacers? Does anyone know of any sterilising/redistribution schemes?

We’ve got five bottles of mouthwash in the bathroom cupboard – all tried once but never again because they were vile! I was wondering if you had an idea if they could be used for any household cleaning tasks like brown sauce on brass.

Good question. In my experience, most awful tasting mouthwashes are very alcohol-y and alcohol does have antibacterial/antiseptic qualities — does anyone know if it would be enough for cleaning instead of rubbing alcohol?

If you don’t mind having a minty face, I suspect it could be used as a facial toner – a lot of toners have similar amounts of alcohol in them (although alcohol in toners is very drying – the best skin thing I ever did was switching away to alcohol-free cleaning products).

Any other suggestions?

I was wondering if you knew of a way that I could reuse blocks that have been milled using a CNC machine (as known as rapid prototyping) The block are made out of zirconia and are use for the 3M Lava milling center. I hope you can help although i understand if not as this is and incredibly odd request since it is so specific.

So … anyone? I’ve not been able to find anything particularly useful on Google and I’ve sent a message to 3M about it but not heard anything back yet. Anyone else in a similar position?

how do you recycle floss?

This may be one of those things that some people will “urrgh” at but it’s only nylon thread really. While I wouldn’t use it for, say, sterile suturing of a wound, I’m sure it would be fine for plenty of tasks after washing off any chunky bits. I can’t think of anything specific right now (my brain is still asleep) but I guess … whatever you’d tie up with a length of nylon thread for.

Anyone got more specific suggestions? Or any creative ideas?

(Photo by carlohh)

Due to my spine illness, I have to wear an orthopaedic corset (looks exactly like this one apart from the pattern,because mine are black with colorful polka dots).

Each year I have to get a new one, because the whole body is developing and they are getting too small. I can’t donate them because each one is customized to the user. How can I recycle it?

For actually recycling it, I’d ask the manufacturer if they have any recycling schemes in place – they might be able to recycle the plastic with off-cuts from during manufacturing, or something.

But as for reuses…? The shape makes me think of a dress form (a dress makers’ dummy) but it obviously only covers a small part of the body so won’t be useful for that much – attached to a stand I guess it could be useful for skirts and the like, and, of course, it would be perfect for belly chains and belts (although admittedly they don’t really need that much modelling ;) )

Any other suggestions?

She explains:

In class we are currently working on science projects. I have chosen to investigate the difference between plaster and fibreglass casts. My project looks at environmental issues and disposals.

Could you please help me with the following questions? Can plaster and fibreglass casts be recycled? What type of product could these be made into?

I meant to feature casts on the site a few months ago when Estelle asked about her plaster feet models but then forgot.

As I mentioned when talking about fibreglass in general in May, it seems that it can be recycled but I couldn’t find any details of schemes or companies doing it.

And apparently plaster can be recycled almost indefinitely – although most places are thinking of it in terms of plasterboard, not orthopedic casts so getting an individual leg pot back into the plaster system might be easier said than done. (Having said that, this page gives instructions on how to reclaim the plaster in casts for kids to reuse making models.)

Anyone know of any schemes to recycle either fibreglass or plaster ones, either through hospitals or for individuals?

Or other reuses for the old casts?

(Photo of a cast removal by central)

I once had these models made of my feet. They used them to generate orthotics for my flat feet. Now I have these cumbersome, heavy plaster-of-paris models sitting around at home… What can one do with them?

I don’t know how heavy they are but maybe paint them for funky bookends or doorstops?

Any other suggestions?

My partner is asthmatic and so goes through inhalers. It seems a waste to throw them out, I don’t think there is much to be done with reusing them though I may be wrong.

Does anyone know of anywhere these could be returned for reuse? Even if it is only the plastic outer casing?

My first thought would be to ask the chemist to not include the plastic part with each refill – but if they get the complete inhaler from the pharmaceutical company already packaged up, they probably would end up just throwing them out from the shop. Does anyone know what the situation is with this?

And what about suggestions for reuse? Or recycling the individual bits?

(Photo by Jenny Rollo)

Sometimes I buy assortment packs of adhesive bandages (we call them Band Aids whether they’re Band Aid brand or not) and when I’m through with all the regular ones I’m left with the small round spot ones. I haven’t figured out why that size and shape exists to begin with.

Is there any use for them?

My guess would be that they’re for people who have to inject themselves regularly but since I have a complete and utter needle phobia, I’ve got a pile of them here too. I’ve recently started buying own brand plasters that are just different rectangle shapes but have a number of random shaped ones left over from previous boxes – those little circle ones, and the (for want of a better description) butterfly shaped ones particularly.

So any suggestions for alternative uses?

(Photo of a standard shaped plaster by monique72)