reusing vs recycling - aren't they the same?

Let’s differentiate reusing from recycling. Reusing is finding something a new lease of life before it hits the recycling bins. Reusing is better than recycling as recycling use a fair amount of energy. And truth is, in some cases, it costs more to collect and recycle rather than making a product from scratch. Some critics even argue that the environmental benefits may be outweighed by the carbon emissions from the lorries collecting recyclables from your doorstep.

as the old adage goes, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure

Buying antiques is the oldest form of reuse. A good investment too. And it always feels good to have a bit of history inside your house to talk to your visitors about.

Can’t afford that antique? pop down your local charity shop or carboot sale. Not only is there a possibility of finding a hidden treasure amongst the pile, you make something useful out of something meant for the landfill, and at a bargain too!

With the growing popularity of the internet, you can also find your second hand bargains at eBay and various auction sites. And there’s freecycle too! Susbscribe to your local. Everything on offer is free. If you have competition, the one giving is encouraged to pick at random or choose the first to respond. But you have to arrange to pick the goods up. There’s always a few posts from people asking for a free laptop, but you never know, somebody just might have one currently being used as a paperweight.

And don’t forget scouring the local ads as well in your local paper or the boards at the shop.

Many creative minds have made something beautiful out of garbage. We’ve seen fashionable bags made out of newspaper or plastic packagings, hurricane lanterns from Coke bottles, and even jewellery from old glass.

other reusing tips...

If you’ve got a garden, keep those softdrink plastic bottles and use as cloches to protect your young plants from slugs.

And small plastic bottles at the end of garden canes to protect your eyes being gouged out.

Tins or bottles as pots for your seedlings.

I’ve begun to love Ecover washing up liquid and liquid detergents. Aside from being kinder to the environment, my local health shop allows me to refill the bottles and get some savings in return.

We’re not advocates of reusing carrier bags to line your bins as they still go to the landfill and take ages to decay, if they decay at all. It’s much more environmentally friendly buying a washable bin. But if you live in a flat like we do, you still need to bag your trash. Better one big plastic than several carrier bags? There are biodegradable bags options in the market to choose from. But when you can, choose biodegradable ones as the degradable ones are oil based and uses chemicals to break down.