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Do you have something to reuse or recycle but you just don’t know what to do with it? AND we haven’t had the decency to feature said thing on “How can I recycle this?” yet? Gosh, we’re terrible, aren’t we?
You can either leave a message in the comments section below or send us an email if you have any ideas. You can include a picture too if you’ve got one to hand. We’ll give you a thank you nod when we make the post and you’ll, hopefully, get lots of ideas about what to do with your item.
Email us at: items@recyclethis.co.uk
NEW!
Have you reused or recycled something in an interesting, clever or creative way and want to show it off, but can’t wait until we get around to featuring that item? Just tell us what you did and send a photo if you can, and we’ll add it to our forthcoming “Clever Ideas” category.
Email your ideas to: clever@recyclethis.co.uk
EVEN NEWER!
Do you want to make something using recycled material but don’t know what would be best – or most fun – to use? Drop us a line and we’ll post it on the site to see if anyone else can help you. It’s like regular Recycle This in reverse! How kooky!
(Examples of this sort of thing so far: how can we make a sturdy bookshelf out of old junk? how can we make fun Halloween outfits from household waste?)
Email your suggestions to: reversethis@recyclethis.co.uk
EVEN NEWER STILL!
While it’s important to reuse and recycle, it’s more important to reduce consumption/creation of waste in the first place – but it’s sometimes hard to get in the habit of cutting back, particularly cutting back things that seem essential to modern life. Our new weekly ‘Reduce This’ feature kicks around ideas on how to cut back on stuff without feeling the burn.
Got something you’d like to cut back on but don’t know how best to do it? Let Recycle This’ awesome readers help you out :)
Email your questions to: reduce@recyclethis.co.uk
Just saw some fantastic mobiles made at our look art gallery by kids using cds, the clear ones would be even better.
Any ideas for recycling use glow sticks?
The type you might get at raves and festivals with the non-toxic chemicals that create a reaction when the stick is ‘snapped’.
*high five*
Heya does anyone know of any Recycling shop websites? I really need new furniture but i want to see if i can recycle while getting it.
hi, you can visit http://www.freecycle.org
there is all sorts of things on there.
take a look you might find what your looking for .
Have you tried E-bay? It’s technically a second hand shop only online.
How about a Recycling things into energy saving things? For example, I use leftover cheapo clingfilm as secondary glazing on all single-glazed windows in winter – stick it round the edges with no gaps and hairdry it to make it pull tight and go ‘invisible’. Also, the shiny silver insides of food packaging (cleaned) can be stuck on a piece of cardboard to be used as a radiator reflector panel. Living in a house that loses heat like a sieve (no cavity walls *shakes fist at builders* ) I would love to hear more ideas from all the imagianitive people out there :)
Thanks!
How can I recycle the little foil tins that mince pies and jam tarts come in??? I have a large stack this year and I just know they must have some amazing crafty type useage.
Merry Christmas
x x x
What about putting them around fairy lights as reflectors? Small hole in middle for the bulb.
Use them to make mince pies and jam tarts….?
we reuse them over and over as paint tins for my kids. The paint washes out well with soap and water.
How can I decontaminate earth?
I live near an occupied social center, people volunteer to do projects and teach others to live sustainably. We’ve made a compost bin, hoping that we could use it for a garden but the terrain was a textile-chemicals factory. Its green and there are trees but we can’t start with a contaminated earth.
I’ve heard that there are plants that clean toxines. What are they? How do they clean, can I compost them afterwards?
Which fungi, bacteria, and/or plants to use depends on the kind of contamination/s you have. Whether you can compost the plants afterwards depends on whether the toxics are only absorbed or transformed into something harmless.
The process is called bioremediation.
Wishing you the best of luck!
PS
I suggest you have your soil analysed first, so you know exactly what kind of toxics you have to deal with (some plants/bacteria/fungi are “specialized” in certain kinds). The “comune” should be able to help you with whom to turn with your soil samples.
Sezgi, here is a link to a wikipedia article that lists plants that are good to clean the air.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_air-filtering_plants
Also, there is a youtube video ” 6 ways mushrooms can save the world ” of Paul Stamets that talks about using mushrooms to clean toxins from the soil:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XI5frPV58tY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BelfLIJErek
I think you should create raised beds and bring in new soil.
How can I recycle old badges? plastic and metal.
How can I reuse or recycle those cheap, tiny plastic toys that come in Christmas crackers, snack packets and the like, please? These are mostly just brittle, non-recyclable plastic ‘shapes’, not like the playable and durable fast food premiums. I don’t buy them, but what do I do with the bunch I’ve acquired over the years at parties and such? Even if I try to reduce by not accepting them, they would have been purchased, and would be given out to others anyway, even if I decline.
Thank you in advance!
you could put in easter eggs for an egg hunt, or give to kids with some glue and see what works of art they can create.
How about ribbons? I always nab ribbon from shop bought cake and the slightly more upmarket clothes tags thinking ‘That’ll come in handy’ but I never seem to find a use for it – especially ones with brand names written across them. Thanks!
I use them all the time in my jewellery and just been handed a nice gift by a friend of all the lovely ribbon from her clothes, used by shops for hanging clothes but we all hardly use them at home. I roll them with wire and then coils them or recently I have used them to wrap around combs when making fascinators http://www.flickr.com/photos/abscraft/3384971582 with wire used to hold toys in place and flowers made from toothpaste tubes.
The thin ribbons used to keep clothes on hangers, you know the ones that always show if you leave them in . They make great gift labels along with old birthday cards.
My garbage disposal has chewed its last meal. It’s rusty bottom leaks more water than the titanic, leaving the sink unusable. For the past few procrastinating months I ignored it with a removable catch bucket under the drips. I have been defeated, hubby says its time to say goodbye. What could I possibly do with the old disposal besides a chuck in the landfill?
Manga-fu is on the look out for some inventive students to help create an eco-friendly robot. Manga-Fu wants to build a 6ft tall robot made entirely out of recycled products that can also perform its own recycling functions such as paper shredding and can crushing.
Neil Hamer, IT Director at Manga-Fu, said: “It’s going to be made out of all the old electrical equipment that we have here. There will be absolutely no new parts in it all – a totally recycled robot.”
Once complete the robot will be taken on a tour of primary schools in the region in a bid to teach youngsters about the importance of recycling.
Mr Hamer added: “The idea is to take it around all the schools and introduce the concept of recycling to children. We want to promote recycling amongst the younger generations and teach them how important it is for the future.”
The robot will also be fitted with a touch screen monitor complete with interactive games for the children to play; all of which will have a recycling theme.
Now bosses at Manga-Fu are looking for some hardworking and enthusiastic students with a passion for robotics, electronics and games programming abilities to help make the dream become a reality.
Director Gary Cronnolley said: “This is an ideal opportunity for students to get some first hand experience of working in the industry and it will also look great on anyone’s CV.”
Ideally applicants should be enrolled on an engineering or technology course, but anyone with a passion for electronics and robotics are welcome.
Students should be prepared to give up a few hours a week to work on the project.
What do you say about this idea?
How can I recycle of 30-40 year old cement roofing tile approx. 800 sq ft. very few whips
How can I recycle of 30-40 year old cement roofing tile approx. 800 sq ft. very few =chips
How could I use completely dry fudge? I have two big boxes of completely dry Irish fudge that I’d like to find a use for. The fudge isn’t crumbly but dry and hard – hard enough that I don’t want to risk my coffee grinder with it.
Is there a way to make it soft again? Or just break it to small pieces somehow or soak in coffee or something.
Talk about a buried Gem! Had no idea that Bioremediation consisted of using fungi and plants to remove/ break down contaminants. We have an area of land that has been used for burning in the past… we’ll be looking for plants to remove the heavy metals from the soil before we plant out with veg.
Thanks
I’ve just had my first veg box delivery and was wondering if anyone had good re-use suggestions for the wooden veg boxes…?
Great question Krystyna! I’ve featured it on the site – http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20100414/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-veg-boxes
How can you recycle old, unused, unwanted incense sticks?
I was cleaning and found an old box of them. I hear you can still burn them, but I’m not into smelly stuff anymore and I hear certain kinds may have toxic ingredients (which is why I don’t want to try composting them).
Short of giving them to someone else, do you have any ideas?
Great question Jill – I’m sure lots of people have mostly-full packs lying around too, when they realise they don’t like a particular smell. I’ll feature your question on the site tomorrow.
I have a number of ceramic and china mugs with the odd chip in them, usually on the lip where I would normally drink from. Otherwise the mugs are sound. I could still use them for coffee but they tend to get forgotten at the back of the cupboard. Is there any way of repairing them or putting them to better use?
Hi Cate,
We’ve covered a number of similar things in the past:
How to reuse mugs with broken handles – http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20070806/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-mugs-with-broken-handles/
How to reuse broken crockery in general – http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20060915/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-broken-crockery
How to reuse random bits of old china/crockery – http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20090406/how-can-i-reuse-or-recycle-random-bits-of-chinacrockery
Hope there are some ideas in the comments of those posts for you.
-louisa
What can I do with my old Birkenstock sandals? They’re a combo of rubbery foam soles, cork footbed, and leather straps. Because they take the shape of my feet, I doubt they’d be good hand-me-downs, but I hate to toss them.
If you like to you could do what one artist did and find more shoes (like near a railroad or in the junkyard) and make a mural of sorts out of them
Hi!
I am an MBA student and I am conducting a research among e-grocery consumers to see if there is possibility of adapting a new more green way of consuming. Can you please request your friends/ family/colleagues who live in the UK and have bought groceries online to fill this quick survey for me? It only takes a few quick minutes and they could be helping save the environment someday if this is a success!!
Please click on the link or copy paste it to your browser:
http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/299743/Consumer-Survey-of-a-new-e-commerce-business-model
Thanks mucho!