Who wants a Rampant Recycler badge?

Former_MSE_Andrea

Monday 25 September 2017 is the start of #RecycleWeek with RecycleNow.

Reply in the Recycle Hub to let us know and show us what you do to recycle and save money and we'll give you the Rampant Recycler forum badge!

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7-13 September is #ZeroWasteWeek. We're working with several organisations to highlight how much you could save by re-using and recycling. See the full Zero Waste Week info.

Are you a fab re-user and recycler?

If you are tell us below how much you re-use and recycle, if poss along with images of what you've re-purposed and how.

We're handing out brand new, shiny (but recycled) forum badges to anyone who can show they've really saved cash by re-using, re-purposing and making use of what they already have to turn it into something new.

See all the other Forum badges you could get on your profile from MSE Badger

Join in with lots more conversations in our Recycle Week Hub.

JimLad

A few things we do...

All food waste, grass clippings, that kind of thing go in a compost bin behind the garage. When that gets full we have a nice lady that picks up our glass clippings to put in her compost bin for her allotment.

We have upcycled loads of bits of furniture. My favourite one is an old kitchen table chair we stripped back and pained white. Looks lovely in our spare room. I also built my office desk out of an old bit of kitchen worktop and an old argos wardrobe.

Normal household recycling of course, but we keep egg boxes for my mum as she has free range chickens and sells the eggs at the end of her driveway.

Andy_WSM

Hmm, let's see.

I have a composter, which I use and have emptied this year when making a new flower bed. I have never had to use the Council's curb-side collection service as I've always managed to compost my own garden waste, vegetable peelings, coffee grindings etc.

I recycle most of my waste, having the main bin emptied just once a month, often less.

Bottle tops / plastic lids are saved for a Guide Dogs for the Blind charity which my Step Mother is saving for, through one of these type schemes: http://www.ghsrecycling.co.uk/charities/ I've got ALL my neighbours saving for me too and when I visit the Step Mother for lunch I take a boot load at a time!

I collect rainwater in large tanks. 3,000 Litres when they are full and they are plumbed via a "well pump" to the washing machine & toilet. In the 10 years I have lived here I have never used potable water in the loo - it's a disgusting waste that this country needs to change.

Other "green" initiatives...I drive a 100% electric car, which I charge on Solar power as far as is possible - or overnight electricity if I have to. My house is heated with a "air to water heat pump" - so I even reclaim low grade heat from outdoors to keep the house warm.

I'm about as Green as one can realistically be without living like a hobit in the woods - hmm, now that doesn't sound like a bad idea :rotfl:

kathrynha

We manage to put just 1 bin liner of rubbish in our bin a week for a family of 3. Everything that can be recycled or reused is.


Daughters clothes and toys all go to a womens refuge, charity shop or handed down if it still usable. Household stuff gets freecycled or goes to charity shops if it is still usable.


Old clothes that aren't reusable get used as cloths or go to charity to be ragged.


Old wooden items that are unusable are burnt for cooking on at Guide camp along with any small off cuts of wood from DIY projects


Are front fence and front garden planters are made from pallets that my husband gets from work.


Broken crockery gets used in the bottom of pots for drainage.


Our old computer, table, craft equipment are now in my Guide hut (the whole place is furnished from donations and freecycle)


I'm regularly on freecycle for Guide stuff. Needed old cutlery, old naff LPs, leftover paint, etc for previous project.


I regularly have my work mates collecting milk carton lids, pringles tubes, washing up liquid bottles etc for Guides.

Next recycling project at home requires lots of old car tyres. Something a bit like this

Former_MSE_Andrea

Fantastic upcycling and recycling so far. Three badges handed out already

Love the tyre plans kathrynha.

Do you have any photos you can show us of what you've upcycled already?

fermi

Instead of spending money on one of these for beans etc




the plastic lid from an instant coffee tin makes me a perfect one.





Recycle most other things.

Big pile of books going to the charity shop in a bit as I now do mostly ebooks.

kathrynha

MSE_Andrea wrote: »

Love the tyre plans kathrynha.

Do you have any photos you can show us of what you've upcycled already?

Thanks
No photos at the moment, but I will take photos of my pallet fence and planters later.

asajj

We do a lot of recycling within the family and I think it is a great contribution to the communities.

All unused clothes are donated to charity. If they are in good condition, it will be sold if not it will be ragged.

I only buy 2nd hand books from charity shops. So I buy, read then take it back. A bit like a library but with some cash donation.

We do have a compost bin for food waste and we do recycle most of our waste. Our bins only needs emptying every other week / three weeks.

We always carry a reusable bag with us to minimise our plastic bag usage.

We also grow some of our food (herbs, lettuce, cabbage etc). We make our own compost for them.

I sometimes make carrier bags out of old newspapers if I get time.
We are very careful about energy consumption.

In my workplace, there is pen and battery recycling boxes - I collect both to recycle from time to time.

lulu_92

I started using one of those cash4clothes things near us and got rid of 12kg of clothes without even really trying! and the important bit was that I didn't go out immediately to buy more clothes!

Got a big fat recycling box that everything goes into. Black bin rarely gets emptied now.

I stopped buying bottled water on the way to work and opted for a reusable.

There are a million bags for life in my boot that I won't enter a shop without!

Baby steps but I'm getting there!

pinnks

I cycle to the station, then at the other end to work and recycle home again - does that count?


On a serious note, do the composting, rainwater capture in an IBC tank (looks great and hold 640l) and ordinary water butt, paper, bottles, plastic, crown corks, tins, wood offcuts and garden pruning for BBQ (not bought charcoal for about 20 years), various plastic bags like those for fruit and veg for work lunches, clothes to charity shops or recycling bins depending on quality, rubble, non-burnable wood, and the last one I can think of is the little plastic boxes from a type of Mr. Kipling cakes as they are the right size to subdivide the compartments in my toolbox for small quantities of screws or nails - Mr. K does make exceedingly good dividers...

Ken68

My driveway is the street collection point for recycled newspapers for the Rotary Club, second Saturday each month.