We’re having a series of women’s health & sexual health themed posts this week in honour of International Women’s Day today – with related green giveaways. Free stuff rocks and green free stuff rocks even harder!

The wonderful Rachael at Moon Times has given us some ace washable sanitary pads to give away.

The average woman uses more than 12,000 disposable sanitary products during her lifetime – so much waste! Washable pads are a very easy way to move away from disposable items – ideal for existing towel users, young girls just starting their periods or women who want the protection of a panty liner while using other sanitary products.

Moon Times pads lovingly handmade in the UK, from super-soft organic cotton so they won’t feel like they’re sawing your leg off like the plastic winged ones can do sometimes. Properly cared for, they can last for years and years – think of both the waste and cost saving!

Want to win these great pads? Just leave a message below before noon (GMT) on Friday 12th March and I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner. Just saying “hi!” or “pick me!” is fine – or tell us about your experiences with washable pads if you’ve already tried them.

Oh, and don’t forget to include an email address in the email address field – it’s hidden so won’t appear on the website but means I can contact you if you win!

(Quick update just to say I’m happy to send them to anywhere.)

UPDATE – 12pm Friday 12th March 2010:

Entries are now closed and our lucky winner is comment 41 – congratulations Michele P! I’ll be in touch soon to get your address details.

For the rest of you, don’t forget you can buy your own washable pads from Moon Times – or if you’re crafty, make your own by upcycling waste fabric from around the home.

Thanks for the great comments by everyone who entered and thanks again to Rachael at Moon Times for donating the pads! :)

Today, the 8th of March, is International Women’s Day.

I’m not really one for Days or similar events because I dislike the way it compartmentalises action or thought and I have particular dislike for International Women’s Day because I don’t feel like I need a special day to celebrate being a woman and our achievements – I’ve got 365 of them a year.

But International Women’s Day isn’t for me. It’s not for me with my education, my career, my IUS, and the roof over my head which I jointly own with my truly-a-partner partner. For example, this year’s IWD is to focus attention to the hardships women face when displaced during armed conflict – and how they often overcome such hardships to rebuild homes and their communities.

Why am I talking about this on a reusing and recycling website? Because it’s all part of the same picture. Yesterday in the Observer, there was a report about how many recently war-torn countries in Africa are being ripped apart again – this time by food companies wanting to construct giant greenhouses to feed us mange tout (pun intended). The people in the worst situations are the ones being exploited to feed us summer veg all year around, to clothe us in £4 fall-apart jeans and provide us with endless consumer items which will end up in landfill within weeks. By living more sustainably over here, we help people throughout the world.

Inspired by IWD today, this week is going to be a little different on Recycle This – we’ll still be thinking about reducing, reusing and recycling but focused around women’s health & sexual health – and we’ve got some great giveaways! Stay tuned!

We’ve had an email from Hayley asking:

Can I compost baked beans? From a tin. We always seem to have some leftover!

Like many composting questions, there is no definitive answer. Some people say it’s fine – they’re vegetables after all, they’ll break down – but other people say don’t do it – the preservatives can upset worms/bacteria in the heap and/or attracted unwanted vermin. If you’ve got a well contained, healthy heap, a few beans won’t ruin it.

Composting though should be a last resort – try to use them first. If you don’t think you’ll use them up within a couple of days in the fridge, you can apparently freeze them (anyone had experience doing that? anything to do/avoid?). You can also add them as filler to soups and casseroles – but if they’re salty ones, remember to adjust your recipe accordingly.

How do you use up your beans?

(Apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days – one of our beloved cats died very, very suddenly on Monday night and it threw me somewhat. :( )

Last week, during our lunch themed week, I asked about alternatives to plastic bags & film wraps for packed lunches and it made me think about reusable alternatives to disposable cling film/foil in the kitchen general.

We’ve not really used film for years – a combination of deliberately wanting to avoid using it and being burned buying a couple of rolls of really not clingy clingfilm. I occasionally, when I’m in a rush, use a bit of tin foil as a temporary lid but mostly I use proper lids – we’ve got a selection of random lids which largely fit our standard eating bowls, and we’ve got some plastic can covers.

The downside with the plastic can covers is they only work for cans that are precisely standard size. That’s why I like these homemade reusable bowl covers. They’re elasticated so can be used on a range of sizes of cans, bowls and assorted tubs. A great, simple idea!

What have you done to reduce the use of disposable covers/wraps like cling film/saran wrap in your kitchen?

Ladders are frequently decommissioned when they become a safety risk – the wood gets a bit rotten or metal bent or rusty – but they can still be used for other things — just not whole-human-weight things.

At my mum and dad’s house the other day, I spotted half an old wooden ladder had been reused as a cat ramp – the cats are getting old and they can’t jump up to the kitchen window sill any more so use the ladder to get up there and through the window (which they use instead of a cat flap). I’ve also heard about ladders being used as the basis of ramps for chicken coops.

Inside the house, old ladders can be used as fun bookshelfs – step-ladders with deeper rungs have more shelf space but rickety old wooden ones look more fun.

What else can be done with old ladders?