Our recycle containers receive a wealth of items that, with a little creative thinking, can yield alternate uses and a reprieve from the recycle shredder. The next time you toss away an item take a look at what's in there. Here are a few ideas: First on the list receiving a pardon from the shredder is the upside-down watering container. Found in the condiment aisle of your local grocery store. The upside down watering container is disguised as a ketchup bottle. The same clever engineering that has allowed you to keep the ketchup from making your food look like a battle zone also allows precise watering while holding the container upside down and the water stays in till you squeeze. You may have already recycled several, perhaps next time you might give the container a second look. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) Moving across the store to the produce aisle we find our next item comes with a small history lesson. From its beginnings in 1948, the brainchild of Georges de Mestral has provided us with the 'hook and loop fastener'. Now made by the Velcro company, Velcro, now a metonymy, permeates our very society, even into outer space. Check out what holds the Romaine lettuce together. Applying this useful item to the garden and you have an item that gently holds plants together or to a stake. Its uses are limited only by your imagination. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) After replacing the screen in a door, the screen remnants can be used for the bottoms of flower pots to keep the soil in the pot. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) The next time you get takeout from a restaurant, save the sauce containers(chinese duck sauce or salad dressing)great for seeds, permanent markings can be erased with alcohol and the container is ready for a different item. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) Next time you are in a hospital and they give you pills, save the little plastic cup, they even have liquid measurement markings. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) The large laundry detergent containers can be used as liquid fertilizer dispensers. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) I think the push button is cool. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) Our next item on the Technology Recycle Hit Parade is the age old milk container and plant tags. Plant Tags: Cut from non-biodegradable High-Density Polyethylene or HDPE, you knew that, right? The useable portion will make a blank about 7x3 inches. To make this flexible cutout from the container useful, a couple of folds greatly improve the structural integrity. Outlined in red the folds stiffen the stake and allow easy insertion into garden soil. The tag portion(in blue) is left up to your own gardening whims. Shapes and colors will aid you in easily identifying the peas from the carrots and marigolds. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) As for markings, the store that begins with 'S' and is the same name as the item that punctures and holds papers together has a delightful rainbow assortment of permanent markers. Permanent? Yes and no, I have found that a pencil eraser will remove the 'permanent' marking from the HDPE, making the tag reusable. ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) One day a few years ago a kitchen utensil met its demise. The handle on the colander broke. Recycle? No way! Minus one handle, it is now used to spread grass seed on new lawn areas instead of draining vegetables. My broken colander is out in the tool shed, sorry no colander pictures just the toolshed :-( ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) During the summer I use plastic shopping bags to pull poison ivy. A shake of the bag inverts the plastic and I tie a knot to throw the bag away, no more itching! Seen stored here in a netting bag dispenser, you get a bag by pulling it out through a hole in the bottom ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden ) The last item? Of course not! If we rethink what goes into the recycle container, we find a whole world of items just waiting for the next idea. What's in your recycle bin? Jerry
I use the same sauce containers for storing seeds. Mine were from a hot link palace. Excellent and creative ideas, Jerry !
Jerry, After reading your post I went out and removed about half the contents of our garbage can. Yes, I can recycle! Yes, I can re-use! This will save money and warm the cockles of my frugal heart. I especially like the plant marker idea. I have been using the slats from mini-blinds, but since I'm running low on them, I'll start using your idea of the high-density polyethelene (of course I knew that, just slipped my mind for a moment ). Can't use the milk container idea, however. Her name is Daisy and Guernseys come in hide and hair, not polyethelene, so I'll have to find another source of HDPE.
I will trade milk containers with you MG. Mine is named Bordens or Brahms depending on where I am in town. LOL
Jane, perish the thought of getting Daisy involved in plant stakes, it would be an udder disaster. As an alternative, ice tea and cider containers, are made of HDPE. Jerry
Great ideas Jerry! I never thought about reusing the ketchup bottle. I'll have to remember about the milk jugs because my supply of mini-blinds is about half gone. But that not might work for too long since I only buy milk to cook with. Funny you should mention the colander. I have an old metal one that I just love and yep... one of the handles broke off recently. It was destined to go out to my garden stuff, but I just can bear to NOT use it in the kitchen since it is so much better than the plastic ones.
If it will hold a plant or seeds I keep it. If it can be composted I keep it. Paper bags, newspapers and cardboard great for keeping weeds under controll. Soda bottles for watering individual plants or planters. Just cut off bottom and drill holes in cap. The list is endless if you think about it.
I use cardboard under mulch in garden paths and areas of the yard that are not going to be dug into until some future date. Saves me having to weed most of the yard Plastic lids from large jars I save to use as trays under small to medium sized flower pots. A lot of my recycling stuff goes to my oldest daughter who has a closet at her school filled with cardboard tubes, plastic food containers that can be used for storage, berry baskets, plastic ice cream cartons, paper and styrofoam egg cartons....anything that a teacher might find a need for. Boy scouts make fire starters from the paper egg cartons, pre-school teachers use the styrofoam cartons to make flowers in the spring. Many years ago my in-laws favorite snack was the cookies from Walmart that came in large teddy bear shaped plastic containers. They had 6 of them they sent home with me, I took them to the local elementary school put them in the teachers lounge and they were gone before lunch. I use glass food jars (not canning jars) to hold leftovers, dried beans, noodles, etc. Pint and quart size juice/milk cartons I cut down to use as candle molds. Odwalla plastic bottles too. And since they are one time use items, they do go into the recycle barrel afterwards. Spray bottles that some cleaners come in are cleaned out and reused for spraying horticultural vinegar onto weeds or homemade pest spray on plants, etc. I have been collecting the plastic toothpaste tubes (Tom's of Maine), cut off the crimped bottom, cleaned out and put in potted plants (without the cap of course) to get water to the roots. Recently Randy had to replace a part on our ice maker, it's the one the water goes into to freeze into the cubes. It's going to become a bird feeder this spring. Was ice maker part and soon to be bird feeder ( photo / image / picture from toni's Garden )
Cool ideas everyone. I repurpose as much as I can think of a use for. Detergent bottle have a similar cap to the ketchup bottle and could also be used. When I get too many plastic bags around, I send them to my church community center, or the library or a local small store to save them money on buying bags. I use them for waste can liners, when I clean the litter boxes for my cats, I use them. Here is a cool idea that I want to try: http://communitychickens.blogspot.com/2 ... -tote.html I have lots of plastic feed sacks laid by already. I may try selling some. Plastic totes seem to the style right now. Cardboard goes for mulch in the garden and compost heaps. Leaves and horse manure go there too. Doggy-do goes out to the edges of my field & woods to 'mark' my dogs' territory. It can also be used when there is fruit on my trees to keep coons and other critters from stealing my fruit, though, I do NOT use it in the veggie garden. It also helps to discourage deer from nibbling my fruit tree seedlings and saplings. I wish I had known sooner, I might have more cherry trees. Pantyhose and shoelaces or cloth tie belts are good for tying up plants and shrubs.
Love the tote bag! I can see them selling well at Farmers Markets or even in feed shops. I also sent the link to a buddy of mine in Tucson who has chickens and is just learning to sew. I bet she'll be working on tote bags soon. :-D
I use empty milk jugs as watering cans. I dont do anything special, I just use em as is. I have probably 8 scattered around the house right now
Straight from the re-cycle bin this container is destined to hold 10-10-10 fertilizer to be sprinkled on the my daylilies as they begin to emerge in the spring. It's former use as a grated parmesan cheese container a distant memory. Don't let an upgrade to your garden toolkit slip through your fingers to be shredded in your local re-cycling center. Rescue your dispenser today!! This has been a public service announcement brought to you by your GardenStew recycle bin pickers. Jerry ( photo / image / picture from Jerry Sullivan's Garden )
I have one of those that's just about empty. I think it'll get saved and moved out with the garden supplies.
Wow those are all great idea. I to hate to throw away those plastics that are not recycled. Thanks Jerry
