Turning Trash Into Toys

At school we used to make rocket ships from toilet paper rolls and washing up liquid bottles. Make Do from Australia have turned this into a business and taken it one step further with their product that enables people to make fun stuff out of waste materials such as cardboard, plastic and fabric.

A Make Do “Kit for One” (US$25) consists of a reusable construction tool that cuts and perforates new or old materials safely. It also comes with 8 hinges and 30 connectors, which use a ziptag-style mechanism to fasten pieces together.

“Packaged in a recycled cardboard tube, the components are designed to last, and are made from materials that can be recycled.”

“Make Do adds value in the form of community workshops, educational resources for teachers, a newsletter/blog for inspiration and … downloadable construction plans.”

You can read about their environmental credentials here and watch a video on how it all works below:

[Via: Springwise]

Recycle Your Old Vibrator – And Get A New One Half Price

Adult retailer Love Honey has a new scheme where you can send them your old rabbit vibrator and get a new one from them at half-price.

Electrical recycling may be on the increase but whether people feel comfortable taking their sex toys to a recycling centre is another matter altogther. The Rabbit Amnesty is the perfect solution, just send it to them after filling in the online form and you’ll be able to get a new one for half price. LoveHoney also donates £1 to The World Land Trust for each vibrator that gets sent back.

Quick Recycling and Reusing Roundup

Ther have been a few stories around recently about my favourite form or being environmentally-conscious – turning old things into something new. Buying new eco-goods is a great step but I always prefer bringing something already made back to life.

A British company called Specialbike is offering customers the opportunity to turn their old, rusted and broken bike into something brand-spanking new. And if you don’t have your own bike, they do it anyway with found or bought bikes and revitalise them.
 
 

Old cast iron radiators might not be very energy efficient but a Candanian company can turn them into something better – an electric radiator. EcoRad uses 99% recycled materials in its conversion process and restores the lustre of the old radiator as well as giving it its own thermostat so you can control its heat output directly.
 

Teddylux actually changes the use of an old garment into something new – cashmere sweaters into cuddly toys. Based in Georgia, Teddylux takes sweaters from donations and uses them to make animal toys.
 
 
 
 

Boston-based Reknit turns old sweaters into something different every month – it was scarves in January and is gloves this month. You can send your own sweater in, or for a bit more money, can just ask the ‘mom’ to knit you a pair anyway. The site creator’s mom does the knitting and sister takes the photos. You can even vote for what mom should knit next month.

Finding A Place For Lost Gloves

Walking around London and to work in the winter can mean rain and wind blowing straight into your face. Looking down at the pavement is often the best way to minimise the weather’s effects. And when you look down a lot, in winter at least, you’ll notice the odd single glove that’s fallen out of the pocket of it’s owner.

I say ‘odd’ I actually notice a lot and often thought of collecting them and putting them on a website to reunite them with their owners. Well environmental group Green Thing has gone one better and launched a website called Glove Love that pairs up single gloves and sells them.

What’s unusual is that it doesn’t try and match up the gloves by colour, but only by size so you’ll get a unique pair of gloves for only £5. It gets its gloves from museums, Transport For London and other place where people leave gloves. Green Thing is asking people to send in unpartnered gloves to keep its online store stocked and profits go to Green Thing Trust, which is a registered charity.

So it’s creative, fun and environmentally friendly. Forget buying gloves in the January sales, I reckon Glove Love is the best way to do it.

Spotted via: Springwise.

Old Pommel Horse Turned Into Vintage Posh Bag

I love this story and the pictures that come with it.

German company, Zirkeltraining, has taken disused 1950s gym euipment and coverted them into bags, laptop cases and wallets. What once was a pommel horse is now a holdall and the company also uses old gym mates and trampoline nets. Also as there really is a limited amount of this stuff available, the products are genuine limited editions and unique.

There’s also a video which shows you the bags which I’ve embeded below. It probably has a lot of good information in too but as I don’t speak German, I wouldn’t know.

Source: Springwise

5 Litre Kitchen Composter Eco Product Review

I was a little sceptical about having a composter in the kitchen having grown up with a large one in the garden, mainly for grass cuttings. And I don’t throw that much away that needs composting… do I?

It turns I do, or I did, as I don’t any more. The beauty of this composter is that you can just keep it right next to the sink or near the bin and then you just throw stuff in. Eggshells, vegetable peelings, teabags, banana skins and so on can just be tossed in. It’s amazing how much stuff used to go in the bin. Even things like paper can be composted and it’s good for the compost to throw some in occasionally. In fact, if you search the internet you can find ‘recipes’ for good compost.

With a secure lid that stops smells coming out and a carry handle, the design is simple but effective. And the fact that it’s small stops it becoming too smelly as you’ll fill it up quickly and empty it often.

The 5 Litre Kitchen Composter is available from Ethical Superstore for £4.95.

Creative Ways To Re-Use Junk Mail

Even if you unsubscribe to junk mail it can still come addressed to The Owner, or Current Resident. Sure, it may go straight into the recycling pile, but there are other creative things that can be done with junk mail (sorry, “direct mail”).

ProQuo has a great article showing 10 creative responses to junk mail. They include sculptures, portraits, mulch, and… well check out ProQuo for the full list.

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