Christmas and all that seems a distant memory now but we’ve had an email from Alison, saying:

We took our decorations down last week and some of the long chains broke. They’re the shiny foil type – can they be recycled?

Now I’m not sure whether they’re actually made from foil – I suspect it is more likely to be plastic but I’m not sure. Anyone know?

If they are made from plastic or are even just part plastic, I doubt you’ll be able to recycle them with your normal foil/cans/metals recycling so any reuse suggestions?

When I was a kid and our decorations used to get too scratty to use in the living room etc, I used to snag them to use in my bedroom instead so maybe keep them for kids to use next year – or shorter lengths could also be used to decorate a cubicle or the like at work.

You could also take advantage of the fact they’re light and for want of a better word, fluffy, and use them for protective packaging when sending items through the post or around presents in gift boxes.

Any other suggestions?

(Photo by bugdog)

We’ve had an email from Emmie, asking:

How can I recycle used highlighters? I am a med student and go through these very quickly…

I bet you do, Emmie. I wasn’t anything as hard working as a med student and I still went through them by the dozen when I was at uni…

So any suggestions?

(I’ve included felt tip pens in the post too because they’re essentially just the same thing – a plastic shell with a shaped fibre tip.)

(Photo by adamci)

We’ve had an email from Katie Beedham, saying:

I found some old apples at the back of my fridge today. They haven’t gone off, but they’re not crunchy enough to eat raw. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas what I can use slightly soft apples for?

My immediate thought was “apple pie?” but I know nothing of the way of the fruit since I don’t partake and for all I know you might need really fresh apples for that.

As for non-culinary uses, if you have oily skin, you can use apples to make a facemask: most guides, like this one suggest mixing some grated apple with honey, and maybe a little oatmeal for a bit of exfoliation, then slapping it on your face for ten minutes or so, then rinse it off with cool water.

I also have a feeling they’re useful for making some sort of metal sparkly clean but the computer manufacturer is hogging all searches – anyone know if they can be used for household cleaning?

And what about other suggestions?

(Photo by darotyka)

Just before Christmas, Ruth sent us an email asking “how can I recycle these?” and attached this photo of some rather creepy dolls and assorted other figures.

The obvious answer for any toy in good condition is donate it to a charity shop or charity for another child to enjoy – but I know from personal experience dolls quite often don’t make it out of a childhood in good enough condition to donate.

Perhaps they’ve had an extreme haircut to many, lost a limp in a freak hoover accident or learned an important lesson about tattoo permanency after having “make love not war” biroed in huge letters up their soft rubber legs (sorry Sindy, you looked so much more of a hippie than those overly groomed Barbies).

So I join Ruth in asking, what can be done with those type of dolls?

We’ve had an email from Matt, saying:

My parents turned there old dishwashers into compost bins. Dad cut the back out and the hinged door becomes the lid. Sure, it’s a bit ugly but in the garden you hardly notice it – you could paint it – but either way, it’s better than becoming landfill.

It certainly is. And most dishwashers I’ve met have had quite insulated shells so would keep the heat trapped inside and keep things composting along nicely.

Any other suggestions about things to do with broken old ones?