Friday, October 05, 2007

Playing with rubbish

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Having decided upon my activity with the children at the local school I started washing some of the rubbish and packaging we collect. It takes recycling the usual items one step further.
My local authority has recently installed recycling facilities for tetrapak packaging which will enable us to create another box in the closet. So far we have:
paper
cans
glass
plastic and now....
tetrapak

The kitchen waste is composted, bokashi etc and we are getting into quite an easy routine with that.

Bean-sprouts has a comprehensive article on tetrapak recycling and some links to explore are :

tetrapak reycling website
tetrapak recycling place locator
History of tetrapak

On another note I am not sure whether glass is becoming rarer but there is a lot more plastic containers holding liquids than glass ones in my local supermarket.


If you want to find out how much rubbish you generate, start doing the washing up and then you may find it easier to look at what has accumulated.

One of the towns nearby runs a scrapstore, providing recycled material for reuse as craft materials and it is worth checking whether there is one near you and whether what you have washed can be donated so some preschoolers ( or adults) can have a sticky creative day with it. Budding engineers have to practice too. Businesses can also find out what items of their waste is acceptable to the scrapstore. It is a fun experience. For a small membership you can go and shop for craft supplies and make a lot of nice things, So if you are a crafty sort of person, go check it out. Scarf is one example of a website that shows what is on offer.

2 comments:

Melanie Rimmer said...

Thanks for the link. I also have noticed glass is becoming rarer. I think this is because plastic bolttles are cheaper to produce, and a lot lighter and cheaper to transport. They're also tougher so can be stacked higher in warehouses, and don't requre such careful handling.

It's a mixed bag for the environment, because although glass is endlessly recyclable, the energy costs (and carbon emissions) are staggeringly high. So plastic is actually much better on the carbon/climate change front. But of course plastic is made from oil, which is running out, and is a terrible cause of pollution die to it's non-biodegradability. See this story for more on marine plastic pollution http://tinyurl.com/3b47eq

Buying tetrapaks and then recycling them is a better option than either plastic or glass, because their main ingredient is paper. But best of all is to avoid disposable containers where possible, for example carrying tap water with you instead of buying bottled water, making use of refilling services where they are available, and demanding them where they are not, etc.

Hermadi said...

Hi Anne! I like your picture. Can I use it for my own blog too?