This is my second post for the campaign #causeachatter hosted by Blogchatter where I am championing #environmentalissues. I need not harp on the importance of having a green and clean environment. Nature has given us enough warnings to be conscious of our environment. Mending our ways is the only solution to help the earth and its living creature to breathe back. Its the responsibility of every individual to contribute to a better and greener EARTH. Reducing the carbon footprint is the need of the hour. The best way to achieve this is to Recycle, Reduce and Reuse whatever we can.
But, before we delve deep into the subject it’s important to understand the meaning and differences between Recycle, Reduce and Reuse.
Recycling
It is a process in which the material that is considered to be a waste is re-manufactured into new items . The waste on earth is piling up and keeps accumulating in the landfills contributing in pollution, release of carcinogenic materials on being accidentally burnt, climate change and many more hazards. Plastic waste is a menace for the entire world and the only solution that we have, is to recycle.
Benefits that we can get from recycling
- Conserve Natural Resources
- Reduce Carbon Emissions
- Reduces Air Polution
- Reduces Water Pollution
- Almost everything can be recycled to reduce waste
- Saves energy
- Minimizes accumulation in Landfills
As per Canadian report, nearly 80% of typical household garbage is made up of recyclable materials or organic materials that could be broken down easily. As per estimation, at least 50% of the materials thrown by an individual as garbage could be recycled.
Amazing facts about Recycling
20 plastic bottles can be recycled into 2 garden chair.
12 PET bottles make one T-shirt and saves 2700 litres of water .
The PET bottles are turned into flakes which are then made into filament polyester yarn. Its knitted and processed into T-shirt that also saves 2700 ltrs of water with every recycled T-shirt.
Kathir, founder of ECO-HIKES, Tamil Nadu based organisation that makes Polo Shirts out of PET bottles, saving 2700 litres of water with every T-shirt made. Product tag is also made from cotton-textile waste and has embedded Brinjal and Chilli seeds that can be perfect additions to your kitchen garden.
- Milk Jugs and other plastic containers that stores laundry detergents, shampoo, household cleaners are recycled to make new bottles, picnic tables, lawn furniture, playground equipment, recycling bins etc.
*Bottle caps could be recycled into batteries for cars, garden rakes, storage containers, reusable shopping bags, yarn, ropes, brooms and more bottle caps.
*It takes 63PET bottles to make a sweater and only 14 bottles for a ski-jacket. A sleeping bag can be made out of 114 bottles.
Next time, when you throw your waste try to dispose of it in a way that it could be recycled.
Reduce
Reduce/Reduction is to use less , resulting in a smaller amount of waste. A key part of waste reduction is “conservation of natural resource” wisely and less usage than usual to avoid waste.
Ways to Reduce Plastic in our Daily Life
- Avoid using Straws . Do we really need one? If at all, then buy your reusable stainless steel or glass drinking straw and use it.
- Use reusable produce bags
- Buy in Bulk
- Buy boxes instead of bottles
- Pay your bills electronically
- Purchase Bamboo toothbrush or one made out of recycled plastic.
Reuse
Difference between Recycle and Reuse
Reusing is the act of taking old items that you might consider throwing away and finding a new purpose for them.
In Recycling, the material is turned back to raw materials which can be used again to make a new item out it.
whereas, in Reuse one uses the same material for different purpose without transforming it. Basically, using a product for another purpose rather dumping into the garbage bin after consumption.
Reusing is more sustainable than recycling as it does not require consumption of energy to make a new product.
7 Creative Ways to Reuse Daily Household Items
1.Use Old Toilet Paper Rolls
Toilet Paper rolls are the most common disposable daily household item. They tend to pile up and are thrown frequently .But, can be reused to keep cables and wires in a very organized way.
2. Old Cupcake trays
Old cupcake trays can be reused as jewellery organizers and need not be dumped in bins. You are more sorted with these old trays.
3. Reuse Broken Plates as Garden Edging
Don’t throw those beautiful Bone China plates, make them half. Simply stuck the broken parts in your garden space giving a border to your garden area, around a tree or bush or flower lanes. Colour them to give vibrancy and make your outdoor space more beautiful.
4.Baby Bookshelf from Paper/Amazon Carton
Pandemic has forced us to stay indoors and with it, our online shopping has increased by leaps and bounds. What to do with paper cartons of Amazon that keeps getting piled up? You can make a Bookshelf for your kids and these DIY bookshelves are quite sturdy too. Watch the video by Little Laddoo and you can create your own.
5. Use Empty Ketchup bottles as Pancake Batter Squirter
Want those perfect pancakes on the pan without any mess. Stuff pancake batter in your well-washed ketchup bottles and squeeze the batter on a hot pan to make perfect pancakes.
6. Use Plastic bottles as planters for house decor
Plastic bottles often end up in our bins but we can reuse them as a planter for a cosy corner. Paint them to make them more beautiful or add coloured pebbles inside the bottle to make them more attractive.
7.Make Home Decor items out of Old utensils (plates, kettles, pans, laddle) etc.
Plain old saree rendered new look by hand-painting by Swarna Utkala
SwarnaUtkala, a startup from Bhubaneshwar that caters its clients with such home decor items having beautiful temple art forms like Patachitra, Madhubani and Warli paintings. They hand paint on utensils as well as on old apparels giving them a longer life. They upcycle their client’s products by ancient art forms like patachitra rendering uniqueness to old clothes. Upcycling is not only in fashion but a sustainable living style that we all should adopt.
You can contact SwarnaUtkala on Instagram @swarnautkala or mail them at swarnautkala@gmail.com
Before dumping any daily household items next time, wear your creative caps and help the environment to be more green.
Clock is ticking, its high time we stop contributing to plastic waste every single day . It’s the responsibility of every individual of this planet to contribute for a better tomorrow.
We have only ONE Planet , SAVE it by going GREEN.
Reduce, Re-Use and Recycle should be your mantra for a sustainable living.
Very innovative ways to make use of what we’d normally discard and possibly cause a havoc to the environment.
Thanks for stopping by and giving it a read. Glad that you liked it.
Wow a great read and lovely tips.
Deepika
Wow such amazing ideas Debi and I loved them so much. I am a big fan of recycling projects and in fact I did many with my girls, when they were little. your post has made me inspired to do it again. loved your theme for #Causeachatter and I loved your both posts for the series.
There are so many times in our household which we just discard but they can be easily reused. I liked the ketch up bottle idea for pancake squirter. My most favorite is the kettle. These days, such decor are seen in markets and they are very expensive. If someone is good at painting and have these at home, it can be easily converted into planters too.
Thanks, Surbhi for liking the posts. But more than fun it also renders a feeling of satisfaction that you did contribute in your humble way towards environment.
This is so amazing how to reuse the daily household items to create a new masterpiece. I loved the jute bags a lot!!
These are some very creative way of using unused items. I was teaching the same to my kid and your post was such a great help.
Thank you, Swati.
You’re such a creative person! We know stuff we can do but don’t always feel motivated for it. Loved that Patachitra painting. Also, the idea of recycling plastic in garden chairs is great.
Wonderful tips where we can make use of the things which are waste or we don’t use I liked the idea if broken plates definitely this will be my try.
Thanks, Simi. Do try this out on big pots. Color them to give more vibrancy .
This is something I totally believe in. No wasting just because you can afford it. I love the styling of the old and abandoned items.
Revamping old stuff so that it can be reused is a good idea. It not only beautifies the home also paves way for creativity among us and children. Shall use old bottle for making pan cakes.
These were some great ways of recycling and re-using old stuff .I specially liked the Eco-hikes garden chairs and clothing from PET bottles and the mini book shelf or other containers from old carton boxes.
My daughter is learning this chapter on environment and I actually showed her this blog on recycle / reuse and how we can re-use old discarded items
Thank you so much. This comment has made my day .
These are such beautiful ideas to make use of waste things in the house. We should all ensure that waste material are not thrown just like that
I am surely going to try many DIY activities from your post. First is the baby book shelf.
Do try it, Ujjwal. Believe me i have made two shelves and they are really sturdy and handy to use. Aerial and Licious boxes are better than even Amazon boxes. The best part is in spite of rough handling by my twin toddlers it still managed to survive more than a year now.
There can be many ways to reuse and recycle our daily items from home. We just need to apply a thought on how to do it. I use plastic bottles for watering the plants instead of investing in a new one….
i try to avoid plastics as much as possible. most of my plastic bottles have become planters in the garden. it is good to know you can make fabric also from it. These are really creative ways.
Usually anyone would discard all these items without knowing how well they can be used. Thank you for introducing such fun and easy tips and tricks to reuse old items Iām definitely trying a few of them
Empty ketchup bottles for making pancakes is quite an interesting idea. We as a family try to use no plastic bags or bottles at home or even when we go out, we carry our tote bags.
Thanks for sharing information about reusing and recycling our old products. SwarnaUtkala indeed does a wonderful job in transforming these old items into home decor. What a beautiful way towards living a sustainable life.