Thursday thought is all about doing something simple to do your bit to help the planet. This one isn’t ever so simple but it does sound like fun!
My children love Babybels but I do ever so slightly fell aggrieved at both the cost and the packaging. Well I’ve sorted one of them! I spotted on Condo Blues a great idea of turning the red wax into a candle. Instructables also gives instructions for candle-making with babybels.
Get chomping kids!
Retailers selling more than 32kg of batteries a year must now provide recycling bins in a bid to cut the amount going to landfill. This is an excellent move forward as it’s estimated that in excess of 19,000 tonnes of general purpose batteries require disposal in the UK each year. Only 2% of batteries are recycled.
Why bother recycling batteries?
Firstly batteries contain a range of metals which can be reused as a secondary raw material.
Secondly batteries contain heavy metals, which are a cause for environmental concern. When disposed of incorrectly, heavy metals may leak into the ground when the battery casing corrodes. This can contribute to soil and water pollution and endanger wildlife. Cadmium, for example, can be toxic to aquatic invertebrates and can bio-accumulate in fish, which damages ecosystems and makes them unfit for human consumption.
Read more about battery recycling on Waste Online.
It’s getting hot out there (admittedly not today though!) and sales of bottled water will be soaring.
Every year 2 billion litres of bottled water are sold in the UK and only one in five bottles are recycled. The strange thing is though for much of the time we have access to a tap which delivers much much cheaper water and much more environmentally friendly too.
A team of scientists has found that 70 per cent of popular bottled water brands available in shops had high levels of bacteria, so high in fact that they could pose a risk for vulnerable people such as pregnant women, infants, immunocompromised patients and the elderly. Read the full article in the Telegraph for more information.
Plus nutritionists say there’s no need to drink bottled water in the UK because tap water is so good.
The arguments are stacking up against that bottle! Go on, ditch the bottle and grab a glass…. (We’ve blogged about reusable water bottles too.)
As I write this admittedly it’s pouring down! However on a windy or sunny day there’s something so undeniably satisfying about hanging out a load of washing on a washing line.
I have a Minky double retractable line (wow!) and not one, but two peg hangers for all our ‘smalls’, as well as a hot pink peg caddy. Who knew hanging out the washing could be so stylish and glamorous?
Here’s an idea, rather than pouring wind dregs down the sink, or saving them for a sneaky glass the next day why not freeze them? Simply pour into an ice cube tray, place it in the freezer, then add a cube or two when you next cook pasta sauce, gravy, soup, risotto etc for a bit of extra flavour!
This top tip was sent to you via Friends of the Earth who have a cool ‘daily tip’ service.
Summer will soon be here and hopefully the rain will stop and the sun will shine and shine and then shine some more!
It’s another easey peasy Thursday thought. Install a water butt and save precious rain water. Then use the saved water on your garden, in the pond or to wash your car. Nothing gives greater satisfaction than using rainwater and not turning on a tap!
This is an easy one to do and quite satisfying, if a little stomach curdling on occasions!
Pouring fat down the plug hole is a quick way to block pipes and sewers. Rats are attracted to the fat too so it’s a quick way to encourage them to a drain near you!
Instead pour the fat into a fat trap and dispose of the fat in your bin. The original fat trap is reusable but there’s also a disposable paper version too. Alternatively fill a yogurt pot or margarine tub.
Fat traps are available from Less Mess or free from your local water authority.
Yet another two pair of wellies have bit the dust in our household with a hole in the side. Never fear, there’s no need to send them straight to land fill, here’s a fun idea from Condo Blues to upcycle ‘had it’ wellies, a funky planter for the garden.
In doing a little research I also came across Smile Plastics who recycle wellies into all manner of different products, here’s a reception desk made from wellies and the odd mobile phone cover!
Thursday thought is all about doing easy stuff and it doesn’t come any easier than this. Replace disposable plastic straws with these rather sophisticated stainless steel straws.
Unfortunately these straws are only available from the States, but try polycarbonate straws by Zak designs, available from Funky Moose.
We’ve all wandered into the local DIY superstore and browsed the aisles and aisles of paints. There is another way though, here’s the story behind Newlife Paints.
When cleaning out his garage some years ago, Keith Harrison, discovered many tins of partly used old paint which needed disposing of. As an experienced industrial chemist, he felt uncomfortable about the waste of so much of a commodity that was a potentially valuable resource. Newlife Paints was born.
Newlife Paints was founded in 2008 for the express purpose of collecting waste emulsion paint and remanufacturing it to produce commercial grade paint using a special process developed in our laboratory.
Recent estimates have concluded that some 14% (or over 50 million litres) of paint sold last year is unused or stored in our garages, sheds and cupboards. A very substantial amount of this unused paint ends up either in landfill or incinerated.
The colour range shown here reflects the range of colours discarded as waste in the UK. There’s something so very quirky about painting in popular but wasted colours.
