What did you throw away today? It is the first sentence out of the Dutch book from 1982, Reuse from A to Z, written by Carolyn Jabs. In the 80th, People in the Netherlands threw more than 300 kg a year away. From old clothes, chemicals, household-, garden waste, used wood, TV, and washing machines.
The question asked was that not only the government but also society has to change their habits towards wasting resources. Re-use saves money, resources, and recycling breaks the continuous urge to develop new products. A definition used at the time about waste was; thrown away the organic material, which was at that time, about 20 % of the households. Of course, there were cans, plastic- and glass particles. Not a lot yet was written about electronical waste, let alone E-waste, which hardly existed. It was stated that we could re-use organic waste and transfer it in; alcohol as fuel for small machines—methane to heat our houses and compost of garden- and agricultural activities. Let’s start with A from this book out of 1982 and amaze yourself that the bright ideas already were mentioned almost 35 years ago.
What about re-using dish soap bottles?
Dish Soap gets sold in high plastic bottles. They are all made from pure polyethylene (1982), so society should collect these bottles and refill them with dish soap. Because this is not happening, we can re-sue these bottles by our self.
Empty Bottles: Reuse Them
If the bottle is empty, put small leftovers from a solid soap bar in the bottle. Fill it up with water, shake it, and created yourself a bottle with liquid soap to wash your hands.
- Cut the empty bottle into 2 pieces. Use the bottom part to plant seedlings and the top side as a funnel.
- A lot of people make their own detergent. Store them in the old bottle and put a clear sticker on it that explains what’s in it
- Always keep a bottle close by with water so you can fill a steam iron, clean smudge spots on cloth, and water plants.
- For children, the empty bottles are ideal for playing within the summertime. Ideal for a water fight in the garden
- You can also use the bottle empty to blow the air in the bottle of fragile items that have to be cleaned.
Before you go!
Recommended: Solar Panel Recycling: Photovoltaics Rebirth
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