When my daughters were very young, I held a job for many years as an office cleaner for a group of attorneys. It was good money and a bonus was, they gave me all the magazines from the waiting room lounge once they put out the next month's issue. Variety such as National Geographic, Architectural Digest and many wildlife and gardening digests. One article has stayed with me - a story about the impoverished people of Vietnam, telling all about how they scrimped, saved and recycled everything from food to a plastic bag. Yes - a plastic bag was precious commodity, they even bartered with it. I read that article some twenty years ago. I'm sure that plastic bags flow a plenty in Vietnam these days. I started on this topic today because I think plastic bags should be outlawed - I hate them !
Many shops in United Kingdom have begun charging 5 pence (7 cents) for a plastic bag - including the charity, Oxfam. Although many people, including myself, use the reusable type carriers for heavy grocery items and also the popular bag that folds down to a teeny size and fits into any pocket or handbag - many people still rely on plastic. It's an odd and uncomfortable moment that I need to ask for plastic - oh my - the guilt !!
I'm all for recycling - but finding ideas to reuse materials is as overwhelming to me as the mounting waste pollution problem itself. Do people really have time to recycle everything ? Let's face it - people don't like to cook much these days, let alone think about what to save or throw away. They would rather have fast food or food that goes DING ! {microwaved} I give credit to those who are doing their best with recycling and cooking something nourishing for the family.
I found some ingenious recycle ideas - which I'm posting here today.
Yes Siree Bob - here on Prairie, you never know what I'm capable of posting.
I found these on Etsy - an artist making rings out of old pool balls. I'd have one.
Mailboxes from old license plates - you could have figured this out !
Light bulbs made into flower vases - this is too kooky even for me. Who has time to cut the bottom off of a lightbulb and secondly, would you want these hanging around your house as decor. horrible ! Maybe a gardening business could use them to sprout plants. Really - is it just me or does this annoy you also ?
Yes !! Prairie gives these a thumbs up ! Bags and carriers made from juice cartons made by the Manila Women's Co-op. From no capital to supporting themselves with this project - clever indeed !
I'm addicted. Aren't you ?
My favourite - a tree sculpture made from old books.
Plastic bottle house - notice the fragile sign ? Let's hope for his sake that the big bad wolf who huffs and puffs, doesn't pay him a visit. Wonder if the other papers are "property condemned" notices.
This is so up my alley - pencils made from recycled human remains. Brilliant !
I wonder if they could make me into a rolling pin for making pie crusts. I like to get "around" a bit !
Ha ha ha - snort.
And the award goes to ........
Many eco-conscience inventors are using old materials, such as throw away airplane and golf cart seats and running them up on sewing machines into bags of various sorts. Good idea.
Question: am I suppose to rinse out my bottles and cans before recycling ? How much water is wasted doing this I wonder ? Here I go - getting started on the guilt thing. It stems from my childhood. You see, I was brought up by a Mother who washed out and reused every bit of plastic bag and aluminum foil. Nothing was wasted in our house - leftover food went into soups and everything had to be eaten off of the plate or I had to suffer through the "starving children in Africa story." Mum sewed me a few new dresses but mostly everything was hand me downs or charity shop finds. I was second year in high school before I purchased something brand new from a shopping mall - with money I saved from a part time waitress job.
Unfortunately - my daughters hate me for passing the "recycle genes" onto them. My oldest, married daughter Julia, was infected the worst. She had some explaining to do, to her new husband when he asked why there were dozens of freshly rinsed, wet, dripping plastic bags and foil hanging from every cabinet in the kitchen. "Damn you Mother !" - was her frustrating response.
It was evident that a sickness ran in the family when I last visited my mother and opened several cupboard doors in her kitchen - chock full of yoghurt containers. She had hundreds of them. Another clue that my Mother had taken the "can't bear to throw it out" thing too far - was during a visit one summer - we had all sat down to a spaghetti dinner and passed around the parmesan cheese canister. I took one bite and knew. I picked up the can and the expiration date was 1974. It happened to be 2002. My Mother - gotta love her !
I don't want to give you the wrong impression of my Mum - her house is antiseptic clean, neat and tidy. Just be very careful when you open a kitchen cabinet or closet door.
As with everything in life - there has to be a balance when it comes to recycling. I deposit bottles, paper, glass and no longer drive a car - my small effort. Does recycling really make a difference or is it something we all buy into ? I can't really tell - can you ? The better solution would be not to make wasteful things like plastic bags and packaging so readily available - because with it - comes responsibility and more serious waste issues. When did we all become so lazy and dependent ? All I know is I will no longer fret about throwing away the shells after eating pistachios. I am my Mother's daughter - sort of. There is always therapy for this - right ??
If you love reading - please check out my favourite book recycle website: