Free Mini Compost Kitchen Caddy! Get it quick!

Better be quick with these guys. I spotted them in Sainsburys the other day. They are giving away a free mini compost bin, as long as you buy a box of their compost bin bag liners. They are only £1.20(ish) so its certainly worth it. The bin is a nice size and is ideal to keep indoors. Just pop your old teabags and veggie off cuts into it and carry it down to your big compost bin at the end of the garden. Handy really. I suppose you could use an old ice cream tub but as you can see from the picture this box has handles so is easy to carry and is quite sturdy too.

I'm actually using mine to hold bits of recycling stuff as I don't have a compost bin. I live in a flat so don't have access to one. But very soon I should be in a house which means I can get a compost bin! Yay! And then that will mean I can use my new Kitchen Caddy! Double Yay!!

Oh and this offer from Sainsburys is while stocks last and limited to their larger stores.

Dumped and being quiet

First off apologies for a lack of posting lately. Unfortunately everyday life tasks took over for a bit and its been quite hectic. But now time for my next post/article/tip (it actually feels ages since I last put pen to paper!). Actually this one is not a tip as such as its about a new TV show on Channel 4. Its called Dumped and its about a group of people being taken and literally "dumped" at a landfill site. Their task, to live off the dump and recycle what they can from the mounds of waste. Pretty hardcore if you ask me! Now I'm not a huge fan of reality tv programs and for the most part I hate them with a passion. But this one is actually quite good. And why is this?

Well it has a collection of "colourful" characters or should we say volunteers, and for once they are not quite as annoying as Big Brother. Now thats a major plus! One participant, Darren Lumsden quite proudly claimed that he wears a new pair of pants everyday and throws out the "old" ones. Everyday! Now thats is simply insane, generates a huge amount of unnecessary waste in a year and costs an absolute packet as well! I suppose one could say if he can afford it let him on, its his choice. But unfortunately this disposable attitude acts like a virus. Even Darren says he can't be bothered to recycle as he believes he pays enough tax as it is, someone else should do it and its not his problem. How does one tackle this way of thinking?

Well one extreme way was to take part in this reality tv program. It will be interesting to see if Darren's views will change at the end. The other participants come from wide ranging backgrounds, and one in particular, Selena Lethbridge-Carr is already a passionate recycler. She is extremely passionate about the whole topic to the point of being very upfront and in peoples face. Too much for some maybe but sometimes its good to have someone like this around. I actually identify with her in a way, especially when she describes her work recycling efforts. I've had similar situations arise at my work (read her profile on the Dumped web site for more).

Overall I recommend tuning in. Its not a bad program and for once for a reality show, is trying to do some good and actually make a valuable contribution to society! And it is quite scary when you see what "stuff" people have thrown away that could be reused. Makes one think, which is the whole idea! For more details check out the shows web site at Channel 4: http://www.channel4.com/lifestyle/green/dumped/volunteers/index.html

Reuse those Veggie Bags

When you use those small plastic bags for your loose vegetables, why not keep the bags for your next trip to the supermarket? I tried this yesterday and it did the job just fine. Huge quantities of these bags get used every single day across the country and I'm sure I've gone through my fair share over the years. I actually used to tie the bags shut and then just tear it open which was pretty bad thinking about it. If you do that then the bag is useless and has to be binned. However if you just do a soft knot you can re-open the bag and save it.

So next time you go and buy some loose vegetables, keep the bags for your next food trip and you'll reduce the number of plastic bags you use.

Loose Mushrooms

No not those kind of mushrooms. This one crossed my mind the other day at the supermarket. I was picking up a box of mushrooms when it occured to me what I was getting. About 10-15 mushrooms in a plastic box wrapped in shrink wrap plastic. Now thats quite a bit of plastic. I put the box down and instead grabbed a paper bag and put about the same amount of mushrooms into that. Being a paper bag this would be easier to recycle and take up less space in the bin as it would just fold up. Plus as long as its kept dry the bag could be used again. So by choosing paper bag of mushrooms instead of a plastic box of mushrooms, one will reduce the need and perhaps demand for this packaging method.

Thinking about it one could also do the same for buying other loose vegetables. Not sure if the check out staff would be happy about it but what can they do? Probably worth a shot! And maybe it might encourage supermarkets to make some changes...

Why recycle...

Recycling is a pretty controversial issue right now. I have found that is has become a somewhat confused topic with many (especially in the media) believing it is our key to saving the planet. While this is a nice idea I think its safe to say that recycling forms part of a much bigger picture and will not single handily save the planet. But this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t recycle. At the end of the day every little bit helps and if we all contribute then the effects are bound to be positive. In this article I will discuss my take on why we need to recycle. I’m sure I will leave stuff out but that’s for you guys to pick up on. Please feel free to comment on what I have to say.

One of the primary and most immediate effects of recycling is a reduction in the amount of refuse going into landfill sites. This fact is pretty major as we are fast running out of space with the vast amounts of rubbish being generated. According to WasteWatch.org “each UK household produces over 1 tonne of rubbish annually, amounting to about 31 million tonnes for the UK each year”. Now that’s a lot. Having grown up in the countryside it used to (and still does) bother me quite a bit to see large tracts of land being swallowed up by rubbish tips. By recycling more this means less tonnage that needs to be put into the ground. And this has knock on effects on the environment and a whole host of other items. I will go into these in a later posting.

The second most important reason to recycle is this… a lot of stuff we throw away can be used again! All those plastic bottles, newspapers, cans etc can be recycled. This is what I love most about it, stuff we use everyday can be turned back into well stuff that we use everyday. An interesting cycle really. But back to the point it is simply wasteful to throw something away that can be recycled or used again. One thing that really worries me is our rapidly rising global oil consumption. Linked into this is our demand for plastics. And where does the majority of it end up? In landfill sites, where it will take a very long time to break down and be of use to no one. So I think it’s pretty scary that we throw away that which comes from a source that will eventually run out. At the end of the day it simply doesn’t make sense does it?

Finally the third reason to recycle… yes I believe there is a third reason. Funny as it may sound but I believe this reason is self-gratification. I find recycling really enjoyable. Every time I take an armful of stuff to the recycle bin and drop it in I get a real feel good factor having done so. Ok some might say that this is a bit selfish but why should it be? I think its great that we can feel “good” when we do our bit. Its important to remember that recycling doesn’t need to be tedious or a chore. If it becomes that then no one will bother. And that is one of the main reasons why I wanted to setup this Blog. To inform others how fun recycling can be. In a way encouraging people to recycle requires winning the "hearts and minds war" (no not to be confused with the the other use for that statement). My next article will be on this very topic so check back for the next update.

Run out of post it notes?

We're all familiar with the good old post it note! A humble invention that has saved many a project, marriage and numerous telephone messages. So what is it that we should be doing with our beloved post it notes? Using them better! Having worked in an office environment for the past few years I noticed how many my colleagues burn through. Most of the time they just scribble something short on it and then throw it in the bin. Bit of a waste imo. What I tend to do is fit as much "reminders" on these post it notes to make them last longer. Once I've finished on one side I turn it round and use the other. Simple but effective really.

And here's another tip (your getting 2 tips in 1 here!!)... why not cut up unwanted A4 paper to replace your post it notes? I've started doing this at home and its pretty good. I cut up old paper from the office and even disused envelopes. Ok they might not be a perfect cut or have nice colours or have a sticky edge (to be honest I've never had a post it note stick for more than five minutes). But it is a great way of reusing paper and if you run a small business it can help cut costs. Not a massive amount I'm sure but it all helps at the end of the day.

So how do you post it? :)

First Recycling Tip! Reuse those Fish Bags :)

Reuse what you say? Ok let me explain :) Here in the UK when you buy a box of frozen fish, you'll usually find that the fish is kept inside a plastic bag inside the cardboard box. Now I was making my sarnies for work the other day and was about to roll out a big chunk of cling film when I saw the "fish bag" on the work top. It suddenly hit me that if I washed the bag out I could use it to hold my sarnies in the lunch box. Pretty nifty! That way I wouldn't need to use any cling film at all.

So why is this a good thing? Well it means using less cling film which means buying less of it which in turn means there's less of it going in the bin. And of course it will save you some money to in the long term. Plus it also means making use of something, i.e. the plastic bag which would otherwise have gone in the bin also.

Do you think this is a good recycling tip? Why not give it a try next time you make your sarnies :)