Thursday thought by tuiss :: it’s a time for giving

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This really is the time of year for giving. At tuiss we try our best in more ways than one to share. One example is what we do with things we no longer need.

When we’ve finished our photo shoots we obviously don’t need the window blinds anymore so we take the blinds to our local Oxfam Home shop. What a treat for some lucky bargain hunter, a tuiss blind!

We really had to think outside the box when it came to thinking what to do with fabric samples that we no longer needed. The Women’s Institute is the lucky recipient where nimble fingered ladies turn them into all manner of wonderful bits and pieces. What a nice ending for a scrap of fabric!

Thursday thought by tuiss :: Babybel candles

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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!

Thursday thought by tuiss :: Recycling batteries

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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.

Thursday thought by tuiss :: Newlife Paints

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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.

Newlife

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.

thursday thought by tuiss :: recycling coffee grounds

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Are you guilty?

Did you know that coffee grounds and waste pipes don’t mix? Used coffee grounds block pipes, particularly if you add a bit of fat from your Sunday roast into the mix too!

Coffee grounds are far too precious to just throw away, here’s some great ways to benefit even more from your cup of coffee/nectar:

  • Sprinkle used grounds around plants for a great slow-release nitrogen fertiliser, the grounds are also a great way to condition the soil.
  • Add to compost piles to increase the nitrogen balance and don’t worry about the coffee filters they’ll break down in next to no time. If you have a wormery those worms love a bit of caffeine.
  • Dilute with water for a gentle, fast-acting liquid fertilizer.
  • Encircle the base of the plant with a coffee to repel pests.

I’ve tried all of the above, I can’t say from personal experience whether the following work!

  • After drying the grounds thoroughly, add them to an old stocking. Tie off the ends and then use in cupboards and your refrigerator as an odour absorber.
  • Rubbing your hands with used coffee grounds will remove strong smells such as onion or fish. (And be really messy!)
  • Grounds can be used as a scourer for greasy pots and pans. (As above! Messy or what?)
  • Dry out the coffee grounds in a warm (not hot) oven; then add equal weight of fresh coffee grounds and then use that mix to create another brew. (I’m afraid I like my coffee far too much to be brewing anything less than perfection.)

I have a red Grindenstein knock box at home, well worth it for that professional barista feel.

Grindenstein knock out boxThanks to Sustainable Enterprises and Green living tips for some of the ideas.

Thursday thought by tuiss :: Crush a can

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As we recycle more and more we have to get cleverer at storing the recycling. Crushing aluminium cans can save a lot of space and here’s three nifty gadgets that all crush in a flash.

Alternatively there’s the Nnew can, a great invention that cuts out the middle man. With a deft twist of the hand the can reduces to a third of its size. In the shops soon!

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Works the triceps too

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Crushed bottles too

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From Lakeland Limited

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Crushing is so yesterday

Just where do McDonald’s Happy Meal toys go?

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This has to be one of the strangest, slash creepy, yet weirdly beautiful things I have seen in a long time!

These white bud vases are made from a reclaimed sherry glass with an imprisoned toy animal trapped inside the heat-shrink skin. Made by Studiomold Design in Cambridgeshire.

The impression of the imprisoned animal is just visible, frozen in rubber forever!
Each vase is hand made using found animals so every one is totally unique.

Vase with trapped animal

Vase with trapped animal