Posts tagged "reusing"

How can I reuse or recycle … old speakers?

SpeakerI’ve had an email from Nnicdic saying

how can i recycle speakers they work but are unwanted?

Because they work, I would automatically suggest trying your local Freecycle group as chances are, someone will be able to use them for their intended purpose.

But for this site, lets assume that they don’t work – anyone got any ideas of how broken speakers (or any of their component parts) could be reused?

(Photo by potatosoup, mmm soup)

New site launched: Can I Compost This?

Compost this button

Ever wondered if you can or can’t compost something?

We’ve launched a new site to help answer those tough composting dilemmas.

You can search for a specific item or just browse through the categories to your heart’s content.

Hope you like it : )

-Louisa & John

How can I reuse or recycle … veg trays?

Tray of sausagesMost of the time, we buy loose veg – less packaging, get to choose exact which items we want and how many etc etc. But every now and then, usually when we go shopping last thing and there is no choice at all, we have to buy it pre-packed.

The most common offender is courgettes but I couldn’t find a picture of courgettes on a tray and we’ve got loose ones at the moment so I can’t take a picture myself. So here’s a picture of sausages on a similar tray, just imagine the sausages are courgettes. Ok.

So here we have our courgettes on trays. They’re narrow, shallow trays, either make of cushioning foam or flimsy plastic and we don’t know what to do with them. They’re not deep enough to use as kitchen top compost collection receptacles (we use mushroom boxes for this purpose when cooking or for collecting tea bags/leaves each day) but the plastic ones especially are too flimsy to be used under plant pots.

Any suggestions?

(Photo by fritz018)

How can I reuse or recycle old stamps?

An old postage stampMy mum and dad came to visit us yesterday and given my dad’s philatelic obsession, we heard a lot about stamps. A LOT ABOUT STAMPS.

My dad specialises in old King Edward VII stamps from around the Commonwealth (or something) but it got me thinking about regular, boring, not-very-collectable postage stamps.

In the past, I’ve heard of various charities that collect them to raise money – particularly stamps from overseas – but don’t know any details. Anyone know of any in particular?

And aside from that, any other ideas about things to do with them?

(Photo by adamci)

How can I reuse or recycle … old spices?

Spices for a curry, mmm, curryNo, not the stinky 1970s aftershave but spices that have been hanging around the cupboard for a little too long.

You could say that we like spice food. You would be grossly underestimating our adoration of it though.

However, even though it’s not the correct thing to do, we have a tendency to buy spices in bulk because we’re disorganised – and even though we don’t pay that much attention to best before dates, we do notice that over time they become less potent.

So what can we do with them once they’re past their best? At the moment, we’ve got a stash of garam masala (mixed spices), turmeric and cumin (aka jeera) but any suggestions for any old herbs and spices is fine.

(Photo by LotusHead)