Mrs Green’s Six stories on Sunday

Filed in Blog by on October 11, 2009 4 Comments
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Save landfill waste by repairing rubber gloves!

Save landfill waste by repairing rubber gloves!

It’s been a great week at Chez Green with some wonderful guest posts. I’m grateful to everyone who shared their inspiring stories and gave us hints and tips for reducing our waste.

Here’s a round up of six reduce, reuse, recycle or compost story from around the internet.

Each story helps us work towards a zero waste future.

Recycled crafts

I’m in awe of people who can take old things and give them a new lease of life with a needle and thread.

GreenGal has been busy making cushion covers from old pyjamas and jewellery and her creations look fantastic.

Go and be inspired with “The Joy of craft“. I must admit I have finally got around to making three lavender bags and I’m deliriously proud of them!

Stop junk mail

Robert has given his JunkBuster application a face lift.

Junk Buster allows you to contact the three main junk mail opt-out schemes in the UK as well as opt-outs for the main paper directories delivered door-to-door in the UK.

The new Junk Buster includes information about the opt-out services that can be contacted, answers to some of the most frequently asked questions and a ‘tell-a-friend’ link.

So far, over 5700 households have used Junk Buster to stop junk mail and/or paper directories, saving over 1 million pieces  of unwanted mail per year.

Recycle plastic into fuel

As you might be aware, we’re tyring not to put our landfill dustbin out for a year. All that we have in there are non recyleable plastics. We’ve often thought if there was a way to recycle plastic we’d have virtually no waste at all!

Environ, in Washington, D.C. has opened a plant that will annually convert 6,000 tons of plastic into nearly a million barrels of something resembling oil. The product can be blended with other components and sold as gasoline or diesel.

This process will convert one to the other for about $10 a barrel.

Read more with the New York Times “A new way to turn plastic into fuel

How to mend rubber gloves

Hands up who end up with holes in their rubber gloves?

And hands up who usually gets holes in just one of their rubber gloves?

So hands up who has an assortment of just left handed or right handed rubber gloves without a partner?

And hands up who, like me, has tried in the past to use a glove on the wrong hand just to save waste?

It’s a waste isn’t it? One reader over on Re-Nest asked about mending rubber gloves to save them from landfill and readers gave their thoughts.

Read “How to mend rubber gloves” for ideas and add some of your own!

“Choose glass” week

Did you know it was ‘choose glass week’? Neither did I!

Friends of glass held their first primarily dedicated to glass event, across Europe.

The message was that glass is the clear choice, for consumers, your family and the environment.

The aim was “To help mums, dads and families get into the habit of choosing (and recycling!) glass” In honour of this wonderful event, why not  refresh your memory for reuse ideas with our “Reuse glass jars” suggestions and add some of your own?

Life less plastic

It’s a hearty Happy Blogaversary to Life Less plastic! She’s celebrating her second anniversary of living a plastic free life.

She shared the ups and downs of her journey over the past two years and it’s interesting to read about the things she has found hard and easy.

Read her “Two year anniversary of life less plastic” to find out how she’s getting on.

About the Author ()

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (4)

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  1. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    Robert’s Junk Buster campaign has mobilised consumers against the DMA’s wasteful activities. So far a blind eye has been used against criticism over Junk Mail. We just need to keep the pressure up until the penny drops.

    Plastic waste to fuel is one of several new technologies which use anaerobic processing. These should be investigated fully to find the best option which is also economically viable. An idea common to all is the reuse of previously useless material. Whether this removes the need for Zero Waste remains to be seen.

    It is great to see other bloggers reaching 2 years in the trend. Life Less Plastic shows the ups and downs we all face in avoiding plastic. We can all learn from our experiences and combine efforts to encourage change.

    Rubber gloves are designed for short use so are easily damaged. Better quality gloves are more resilient. As said previously prevention is better than cure so taking cutlery, for example, only the handle prevents holes/tears. This takes self-discipline and is slower.

  2. Teresa says:

    Hi Mrs Green

    Thanks for a great Six Stories this week. I’ve just put into action the process to rid my letterbox of junk mail. Should have done it ages ago but you’ve given me the push.

    My mother used to cut worn out rubber gloves across the width (arm and fingers) to make different sized rubber bands (this is not mending I know but a use for the completely un-mendable ones).

    I have saved the link to Life Less Plastic and look forward to reading it!!

    Thanks

  3. Mrs Green says:

    @John Costigane: Hi John, 2 years blogging is a fantastic achievement, isn’t it? I was thinking of a rubber glove amnesty; what do you think? A page where people can state the size and hand glove they have needing a new partner LOL!

    @Teresa: Hi Teresa, great to see you; so glad to see you have started the junk mail reduction. It makes such a difference. Loving the rubber band idea! I’d never thought of that.

  4. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    Rubber gloves are a recurring source of waste which leave a single glove, always a right-handed one in my case. My latest glove loss, after many months of use, was due to a whitening of an area on the left thumb which eventually wore away to leave a sizeable hole. That was a first after all the pin-holes on the other gloves. An idea might also be for the glove company to sell pairs of same sided ones. Swapping with others is another way if you can match a left with a right. Maybe it is always the left hand that goes first.

    The commingled system might allow some of the 19oz waste total to be reclaimed, and replaced with other items, the rubber glove for instance. I will keep you posted on the new local system.

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