John bought some apples from a supermarket a couple of weeks ago. He didn’t want a full pre-packed bag and the loose ones were bruised and icky because it was late in the day, so ended up getting four in a shaped foam tray. Said apples got eaten and said foam tray got left waiting for its next use.

We’ve already looked at flat foam veg trays – and there have been some good suggestions that would work well with shaped trays like these (especially the paint-mixing ones and the packing material ones) – but is there anything else that can particularly take advantage of the curvy bowl shapes?

John pulled a muscle in his neck last weekend so has been sucking down ibuprofen tablets all this week.

Like the powdered baby milk containers, the blister packs are mixed materials – plastic for the “blisters” and foil underneath – does anyone know if they can be recycled?

Or anyone clever reuses for the blister bits? They’re so small – and without a “lid” once the foil has been popped – that I can’t imagine there would be many uses but I hate to think of anything as lacking a reuse. So suggestions?

(Photo by Vincitrice)

We’ve had an email from “nannaspoon”:

Can I recycle the boxes that baby powered milk comes in? Cow & Gate comes in a laminated cardboard outer case, plastic lid and silver-foil covering on the inside of the box which is non-detachable. What should I put it in with – cardboard, plastic or foil?

Oooh, that’s a good question: I suspect if you can pull the lid off – and it’s a type of plastic covered by your recycling people – then that’s ok to be thrown in with plastics but does anyone know what the deal is with foil-lined cardboard?

Cow and Gate claims this new packaging is better for the environment that their old tins and they “use recycled materials wherever possible” – but they’ve not got back to me about how the tubs can be recycled post-consumer. (UPDATE: they have done now. Their response is in the comments.)

Any ideas for reuses?

One of the ways we ask for suggestions of items to feature here is for people to send in clever things they’ve done. Wendy Brodie did just that and sent in some great ideas:

I have 2 long haired dogs and the hair when they moult is quite substantial. I used to do some spinning and weaving and it could be used for this.

It is lovely watching the small birds coming for bits of fur to line their nests.

We do the bird nest thing too – using the ivy up the front of our house to hold the wares instead of chicken wire – and if you want to go the other way, there are a couple of companies about the web which will spin the fluff for you (this one gives instructions but has stopped taking in work at the moment).

Animal fluff (like human hair) can also be composted or used around plants to keep slimy things at bay (slugs and snails don’t like the rough texture so are less likely to climb over it to get to your seedlings).

Any other suggestions for ways it can be reused?

(Photos of the lovely Kookie and Rosie, and the chicken wire fluff holder, by Wendy)

Wearing our Compost This hat, we had an email from Beth Schreiber asking whether tumble dryer sheets can be composted.

I might be wrong but I believe the sheets are usually synthetic – but whether they are or not, I’d still be dubious about composting them because of the various chemicals they contain to do all the softening and scenting stuff.

But if composting is out, what else can be done with them?

I realise that tumble drying has its own implications for the environment but assuming it’s the only option, there is no point the sheets going to waste too. Beth’s interested in hearing alternatives to sheets too if anyone knows of any.

(For those that don’t know, the sheets are usually made of a thin material, about 20cm (8″) square and coated in chemicals to reduce static cling in the tumble dryer and to “freshen” the clothes.)

(Photo by solobirch)