We buy all our tea and coffee from Just Coffee People. Contrary to one interpretation of their name, they don’t just sell coffee – they sell tea (black and herbal), sugar and hot chocolate/cocoa – and it is all AWESOME. The Tanzanian tea is the best we’ve ever tasted – it’s spoilt us for every other type of tea – and I’ve heard the same thing said about the coffee by other caffeine fiends. Plus, as well as helping growers overseas through the Fairtrade programme, it’s a socially inclusive company focused on community regeneration, providing trading and employment for people with all sorts of disabilities.

(Unfortunately it’s a Yorkshire-only operation at the moment – they’ll either deliver your stash to your door or you can buy it at various places around Leeds.)

Anyway, the reason I’m mentioning it here is because of the packaging: like lots of fresh coffee these days, everything comes in plastic bags. Whatever can be done with them?

I know my favourite wire woman Alison Bailey Smith uses coffee bags (as well as other random packaging) in her work – and the Just Coffee People ones are a lovely dull gold so crafty ideas are a definite possibility – any other ideas?

(Some details about the type of coffee bags I’m talking about in case you’re unsure: they’re quite a thick but flexible, heavy duty opaque plastic. Most are gusset type bags, around 8-10cm (3-4inches) in width, just less than that deep and about 15cm (6inches) or so tall. Most of the ones I’ve seen aren’t ready resealable – we just use a peg on ours.)

We’ve had an email from Tony asking about recycling cork – but NOT wine bottle corks (which we covered back in the day):

I am looking at ways that cork (in slabs not wine bottles unfortunately) can be recycled.

Given his email address, I suspect he’ll be particularly interested in large-scale industrial recycling ideas not crafty reuses for each slab/piece – but we’ve got some thin sheets of cork (a former noticeboard) to reuse too so ideas for both case are welcome.

Anyone know any companies that take large pieces of cork for recycling? Or have any ideas (other than noticeboards) for surplus around the home?

(Stock photo by raichinger)

We’ve had another email from Louise, this time on a “reverse this” type thing?

Hello it’s Louise again (ice-cream containers).

I’d like to make a breadbin using recycled material. I’ve thought about decorating an empty, clean paint container, but I’m not sure it would be hygienic. Any ideas?

I also wanted to tell you that I love your site and some of the creative ideas some of your posters come up with are nothing short of genius.

There you are people, you’re geniuses so let’s not let the lady down ;)

I’d steer clear of paint containers because I’d worry about just how clean I could get them for use with food – and particularly for use with ready-to-eat food that isn’t always wrapped perfectly. But I don’t know what I’d use in their place.

Has anyone made one before or got any ideas? What are good materials to think about? Does it need to be airtight or just fairly closed off dark?

And one final question from me and my tiny tiny kitchen, is it possible to make a collapsible one for folding away/shrinking down when it’s not in use or only holding a couple of crumpets instead of a full loaf?

We’ve had an email from Peri, asking:

I have many old school textbooks that i don’t need any more. how do i recycle them cheaply?

Peri doesn’t give any more information about how many is “many” or how old is “old” but I imagine it’ll be more than would be accepted in the standard waste system and old enough that they’re either too tattered or too out-of-date for use by other children.

So any suggestions about what can be done with them?

(And on a related topic, anyone got fun ideas for ways to cheaply protect new textbooks in the future? I remember that sticky-backed plastic was the standard thing we used for textbooks and exercise books but wallpaper was also fairly hardy – and often gave a fun surface to doodle on – and one of my school friend’s used newspaper, specifically the pink-coloured Financial Times, which looks great.)

(Stock photo by lusi – and our first reuse: “world’s most uncomfortable pillow” ;) )

Finally on this week’s Recycle This stationery theme, we’ve got this question from Nicole:

Now all my college’s lecture rooms FINALLY let you use powerpoint, I can get rid of all the OHP lecture notes I’ve created over the years. What can I do with them?

According to Wikipedia, most transparencies are sheets of cellulose acetate. The Google results are confusing but I think cellulose acetate can be recycled but I suspect it’s carried out more at a manufacturing level than post-consumer. Anyone know for sure?

What about reuses? I imagine they can be used like old photo negatives to make lampshades and the like – probably would work better for those with photocopied pictures, diagrams or text on rather than hand-written notes. Other ideas?

Other stationery items

• How can I make a notebook out of recycled materials?
• How can I reuse or recycle used envelopes?
• How can I reuse or recycle the spiral of a spiral bound notebook?
• How can I reuse or recycle hanging files?
• How can I reuse or recycle glue stick tubes?
• How can I reuse or recycle printer cartridges?