In Africa, it’s commonplace to see footballs like the one above, they’re made by children out of plastic bags.  Instead of recycling, these kids are reusing what’s available to make objects to play with.  A sort of bricolage.

Britain has embraced recycling and none of us really has an excuse not to do it anymore.  Glass, paper, tins and plastic are collected from doorsteps and there are recycling points in most supermarket car parks.  This is great, and the way it should be.  But have you thought about taking it further?  About learning to reuse and recycle other things?  Up for a challenge?

1. Mail

Open your mail carefully and save the envelopes.  They can be reused by putting a label over the address.   Envelope reuse labels can be ordered from charities, or you could use a simple address label if you have those available.  A nice idea I recently read about is to write at the bottom of your envelope “I am reusing this to help the environment”, as this may encourage others to do the same.   Reuse junk mail as scrap paper.  Bind loose bits of junk mail/scrap paper with a bulldog clip and keep it at the phone, or use for shopping lists.

2. Newspaper

Newspaper is an incredibly useful stuff.  Keep a few old newspapers around for using to protect the table while children are doing art work, fold them into firelighters and keep next to the fireplace, or scrunch up and use for protecting items that you’re mailing.  You can also rip newspaper up and add it to your composter.

3.  Tin foil

Instead of throwing it away, wash used tin foil for reuse.  You can reuse it to cover food, or you can put it behind your radiators to reflect the heat back into the room.

Keep your recycling organised by labelling used cardboard boxes for glass, plastics, paper and metal.  If you prefer your recycling to look a little neater, try buying a recycling system like this one from a janatorial company.

Photo credit: whiteafrican