July 2015 – The Waste Management & Recycling Blog

10 Recycled Gift Wrap Ideas

Not only is gift wrapping expensive, but it is prone to being a wasteful activity; brand new wrapping paper which is wrapped around a present, only to be ripped off and either binned or sent back to be recycled. Some local authorities don’t even accept wrapping paper or greetings cards in their recycling bins any more due to several reasons: attached glitter, sticky tape, ribbons, and tags, or the wrapping paper being coated in foil or plastic.

So, here are 10 suggestions for wrapping gifts which are not only good for the environment, but are also really unique, personalised and show the recipient you put in lots of thought and effort.

Paper Replacements:

1. Newspaper or magazines

Any newspaper or magazine would work, but if you can find a page which has the recipient’s date of birth on it or pictures of their favourite film star, for example, you’re really on to a winner. Have a good root around in your recycling bin and see what you can find.

2. Calendar page

Try wrapping your gift in a large calendar sheet, with the recipient’s special day circled. You are guaranteed to raise a big grin, and it will certainly be the best wrapping paper they receive this year!

3. Fabric

This could be any fabric, but why not recycle an old scarf, handkerchief, pillowcase or tea towel you no longer use. Alternatively, you might have some scraps of fabric lying around if you’re a crafter, or some old clothes you don’t want which can be cut up into squares for fun wrapping material.

4. Map

Do you have some old maps lying around? Why not wrap a gift with them! The result looks really lovely. If you can locate a map that is specific to that person, even better. Examples could be their place of birth, where they got married, or where they went on their honeymoon.

5. Shopping bags

A shop-bought or handmade reusable ‘bag for life’ could be great for housing a gift. It is essentially an extra gift – a useful one at that – and can help a friend or family member with their own recycling efforts. There are many pretty bags available, or a handmade one could be personalised for your lucky recipient.

6. Children’s drawings

All those pictures your child creates at school and home are wonderful, but there are sadly only so many you can display at once. What could be more wonderful than a Grandmother receiving a present wrapped in her Grandchild’s art work? I guarantee, they will LOVE IT!

Child's art as upcycled gift wrap — Image credit: Pixabay

Embellishments and extras:

7. Toilet roll tubes

Simple, but fun. Use a toilet roll tube to wrap a small gift, and present it like a cracker, using one of the above suggestions to cover it and create the cracker shape.

8. Leaves

For most of the year, leaves are widely available beneath trees and bushes. The good news is, they can look great on a wrapped present instead of a shop-bought bow. You could even decorate them with pens, paint, or glitter.

9. Handmade bows or flowers

Bows can be made from any scraps of paper you have: magazines, leaflets, newspaper. You can make several different types – from really simple to rather complicated. You’ll find tutorials on how to make them online.

10. Pom poms

If you have a length of wool, you could make a little pom pom to decorate a gift. All you need is the wool or twine, a fork and a pair of scissors. The below tutorial will show you how it’s done.

Featured image credit: Pixabay

10 Ways You Can Recycle AND Save Money

Some people don’t realise this, but recycling and money-saving often go hand-in-hand. With this is mind, we put this list together to show you 10 great ways you can save yourself some money whilst also benefiting the environment. They are so easy, you can get started today!

Drink tap water rather than bottled water

If you’re at home, use a glass which you can wash up. If you’re out and about, just reuse an old bottle which you can refill with tap water as you go about your daily tasks. More and more public places are happy to supply tap water, or have installed drinking water taps.

Sell unwanted clothes

Instead of just binning unwanted clothes, you could make money from them. Sell them in bags to a ‘cash for clothes’ shop, sell them on eBay, or sell them at a car boot sale. There are plenty more ideas here for what to do with old, unwanted clothes.

Reuse old fabrics

Old clothes, curtains, tea towels or bed linen can all be turned into something new and wonderful. Don’t throw them out – instead, try your hand at creating new clothes, cushion covers, bags, phone cases, etc. You could make something beautiful and unique. Even tweaking or updating unwanted clothes could make them wearable again.

Buy second hand clothes

When it comes to adding to your wardrobe, why not buy second hand instead of brand new? You’ll save yourself a lot of money, and it is amazing what some people donate to charity shops. It’s great if you enjoy a rummage. If you prefer to play it safe, or don’t have the free time to browse in charity shops, you can pick up some bargains on eBay – some charities sell on there too.

Reuse containers

Whether it’s a plastic water bottle, a takeaway container or a jam jar – it can be reused. A jam jar could be really useful and save you having to buy a new container if you, for example, make your own jam or chutney, or need somewhere to keep receipts, tickets, or buttons. Next time you have one ready to recycle, think about how you could give it a new purpose instead.

Reuse grocery bags

Keep all of your plastic grocery and shopping bags, and reuse them. If you use them in your indoor litter bins you won’t have to buy bags specifically for the job. They’re also handy for using as laundry bags when travelling, for scooping in the cat’s litter tray, for collecting the litter at picnics, in the car for sickness, or for protecting your shoes in muddy areas. There are literally hundreds of possible uses!

Compost food waste

We all produce food waste in our kitchens. Some of us just sling it in the bin for landfill, however if you do that you are missing a trick; food scraps are fantastic for creating nutrient-rich compost for your garden, which will save you money on other products. We have written a guide to composting, which you can find here.

Plan your meals

If you plan your meals in advance, you should be able to cut down on food waste from that food that you don’t get around to eating each week. Planning ahead will save you from buying food you aren’t going to eat. Also, by planning your trips to the supermarket or local market you can use less petrol. Bonus!

Get clever with giftwrap

Gift bags are easy to reuse, as you just remove your present and the tag, and refill when needed. If you like gift wrapping, why not try newspaper or magazines instead of splashing out on brand new wrapping paper? You could even use pretty scraps of unwanted fabric or an old headscarf.

Recycle old electronics

There are many companies out there who buy old mobile phones, meaning you can get some cash from an item you just had gathering dust in your home, not being used. If it is a newer model of phone, eBay could be a better option, and places such as CeX buy many electronic devices, as well as items like video games and CDs.

Do you do any of these money-saving recycling ideas already? Do you have any other suggestions? Let us know in the comments below.

Featured image credit: Pixabay

How Green Are Our Summer Music Festivals?

Summer is here in the UK, and for some of us this means only one thing: festival season is upon us. Music festivals (and others) grow in popularity year on year, and new additions to the circuit get added frequently. We can’t seem to get enough of live music in fields!

Glastonbury Festival started out in 1970 as a festival created under the ethos of hippie counterculture – peace, love and green living. However, is Glastonbury environmentally friendly now? Are any mainstream festivals actually ‘green’? Also, how are festivals going about tackling their litter and environmental problems?

Environmental Problems

overflowing-bins-glasto — Overflowing Glastonbury Festival bins. Image credit: Paul Holloway on Wikimedia Commons

The main challenges festivals face when it comes to keeping it green are:

Litter (including abandoned tents)
Transport
Water
Toilets
Energy
Wildlife

Essentially, festival-goers are living in a temporary town/city for a weekend, and so with that comes all the environmental problems a real town would face when overcrowded; lots of litter, danger to wildlife, and high carbon emissions. Plus others, including people toileting where they shouldn’t. Glastonbury in the 1990s became a hazard to fish in the nearby river due to urine-induced high ammonia levels (due to people peeing on the ground). The organisers have, of course, since added many, many more toilets, including lots of compost loos.

The Glastonbury 2015 Clean-Up

Glastonbury 2015 involved a clean-up operation requiring 800 voluntary litter-pickers to collect and sort 1650 tonnes of waste. The entire clean-up cost around £780,000. This waste included 5000 abandoned tents, 9 tonnes of glass, 54 tonnes of plastic bottles & cans, and 41 tonnes of cardboard.

135,000 people on one farm results in quite a lot of waste, and way too much litter! Glastonbury does, however, skip a year every 5 years, to give the natural environment time to recover and replenish from the crowds and their effects.

Dealing With The Problem

Each large festival seems to have their own approach to dealing with green issues, and all appear to be trying – albeit, some a lot more than others.

Energy Supplies

Most festivals now seem to be aware of their overall carbon footprint and how that is impacted upon by the thousands of people travelling to and from their site. In fact, 68% of the total emissions caused by the average festival come from this travel. To combat this, festivals now promote car-sharing schemes, and the use of public transport. Also, bicycles are suggested, although I imagine that’s not as handy for carrying your tent etc.!

Glastonbury, for one, rewards those revellers who use public transport.

Litter and Water

Leeds and Reading Festival run schemes which encourage people to collect litter or at least bin their own; there’s a 10p cup and water bottle deposit, and collecting a bag full of cans equals 1 free beer at the recycling exchange.

Festivals such as Beat-Herder and Blissfields take a £5 refundable litter bond from attendees, who are expected to collect 1 full bag of rubbish during their stay.

Many festivals have cut down on the use of plastics and some, such as Shambala, have done away with plastic bottles completely – encouraging people to re-use one they bring with them instead.

T In The Park organisers – frustrated at the litter problem, and in particular the abandoned tent issue – launched a huge campaign and asked fashion designer, Iona Crawford, to make a dress from discarded festival tents. This highlighted the problem of discarded tents, and promoted alternative uses for damaged tents if people took them home.

Inherently Green Festivals

Of course, Green Gathering is, as the name suggests, a sustainable festival which is powered entirely by renewable energy; the stages are solar, and wind power is also used. They even run workshops on how to create renewable energy at home, and have speakers from the environmental movement too.

If Green Gathering can manage it, surely the others can follow suit in time? If some go back to their roots, they may rediscover their environmentally friendly ethos and potential solutions.

Resources:

Featured image credit: Pixabay