Recycling – A Group Post

A couple of articles I wrote have had some great recycling comments posted on them. Most of us know about recycling things such as batteries, plastic jugs and glass. As a follow up here are a few new things I have learned about recycling recently. Additionally, read the end of this post to see how you can add to this list.

Ikea will recycle those compact fluorescent light bulbs we discussed here and here.

Co-op America has a list titled “21 Things You Did Not Know You Could Recycle“. The whole list is at that link and many I think we do know about, but here a few of the things they describe: Appliances, CDs/DVDs/Game Disks, Compostable bio-plastics, Computers and electronics, Exercise videos, Eyeglasses, Foam packing, They also mention Ikea.

Nike takes old shoes that no one wants and recycles them into running tracks, football and soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts and playground surfaces.

I have no personal knowledge of this one and don’t have a disposable camera handy to check, but apparently on the boxes there are instructions on how to recycle them. But, there is no incentive for the film developers to do so and supposedly enough cameras have been tossed, that if placed end to end, they would more than circle the planet.

I read a story recently about a woman who asks anyone who finds an odd lost glove to mail it to her. She then matches them up as best as possible and donates them to charitable organizations.

And of course there is always The FreeCyclers.

I also read about a group of women who found out a large oddly colored curtain in a theater was going to be discarded. They obtained it and made 35 quilts out of it and donated them to an orphan’s charity.

How about any other ideas? If you know of an little known, odd, unique, or just charming like the glove lady, way of recycling something, please describe it in a comment below and I choose some to add it to this post with a credit, and if you like, a link, back to you. Images are OK also, as long as I can download them legally to display here.

I do reserve the right to be discerning, but I am usually very agreeable and accommodating in nature! For example, this picture probably does not really fit the theme, but it certainly is a unique way to incorporate recycling into the landscape!

Let’s see how long we can make this post!

Kathleen at Health Matters used the metal wheels of a car as a planter. I have heard of people using the rubber tires, but know that you have to be careful about growing food in them as the rubber can leach compounds into the growing soil. I had not heard of anyone using the wheels themselves. This does remind me of a camper I met once that had used the metal wheel from an old truck and welded the steel strainer tub from an old washing machine on to the top of it. He then had a wonderful portable fireplace that gave off a tremendous amount of heat through the steel strainer. Thanks Kathleen!

Jen at Humble Opinions has a sister that recycles old jeans into thick, winter quilts or curtains. A great idea as I usually wear mine to the point that I have to toss them into the trash. But, there are always some parts of them in good condition, if you can sew. Thanks Jen!

Anna from My Only Photo adds that her mother uses the plastic grocery bags as packing material. This is much better than those annoying styrofoam peanuts that spill all over the place when you open a box. I mean, how can anyone stand them! Ignore their environmental impact for a second and recall the last time you had to deal with them. First they spill all over the place. Then when you go to pick them up, the static electricity glues them to your fingers and you have shake your wrists silly to get them off. Then the dog comes over to see what all the fun is about and sticks her head in the box and sneezes from the styrofoam dust, blowing a shower of peanuts from the kitchen to the dining room. It takes longer to clean up the stuff than it did for the package to get from Florida to Oregon!

Also, here we can collect and return the bags to stores. They get picked up and recycled to make lawn furniture and tables, and deck material. I have heard, however, that it costs about $1,000 dollars to recycle a ton of plastic bags and the end result is worth less than the cost of the recycling. Luis mentioned LivePaths in his comment on this post. I am not sure if it is his site. If it is he is anonymous on it, which is odd, but the site does talk about the economies of recycling the bags and a unique use for used bags.