Treasure Boxes from Trash

I LOVE when I can find a way to recycle something. So when I got a chance to snag a bag FULL of cat treats I was all over it. Cat treats you say?

 Well I'm not recycling the cat treats, but the nifty little tins the treats came in are lovely. I had to wash them out extremely well. You can imagine they smelled a bit...fishy.

But the tins are great! I love little boxes and tins. I don't know why, but I do. I also love working with polymer clay so these two were bound to come together. I thought these would make great treasure boxes or stash boxes, a cool place to keep a small sewing kit or small medicine kit for purse. I started laying out designs to cover the tins with and realized there was so much more I could do.

This is where they are at this point. I still need to sand them and put a layer of gloss on them. I still have a bag full of these though. I'm thinking on the next round I will add in some beads to the design or possibly make some small sculptures to go on the tops of the boxes. A tiny dragon perhaps or butterflies would look nice as a decoration to lids?

Hope you enjoyed this peak at my recycling adventure :) When I get some more made I will be sure to post those as well !! 

Til next time.... GO MAKE SOMETHING  and HAVE FUN!!

Island of Trash

There is an island of trash being built by us every day.
No lie.

1,600 kilometres west of the coast of California is polluted area being called "the garbage patch".
Ocean currents are pushing plastic bottles, plastic bags, and other "disposable" trash of all sorts into this area forming a sort of floating islandS of trash.

Thats islandS. Plural.

Bad enough to think this is happening to the ocean in just the scenic sense but also the animals are suffering in so many ways. Many of the shiny pieces are just so tempting to the birds and fish. Seagulls have been found with lighters in their stomachs. The plastics break down into toxic sand like parts eaten by filter feeders and going up the food chain from there. Building up toxins in the food chain. Many animals like turtles and such may starve to death while having a stomach full of waste they've filled up on but cant digest.

Do you part to clean up this mess. Don't leave trash on the beach. Don't dump things overboard. Reduce, reuse, recycle.

One more "r" Research.
Find ways to help save the environment each day in your life.

Green Phone Sense

You know you grew to hate your old phone and now you have a new one with all the bells and whistles...

WAIT!! Don't just throw your old phone out!

Cell phones contain enough lead to qualify as hazardous waste and even lead-free phones are hazardous because of the high amounts of copper, nickel, antimony and zinc that can leach into landfills.Besides there are so many people who need a cell phone. Many battered womens shelters would be so happy to have your old phone.

Check these out for recycling your phone:

http://www.epa.gov/waste

www.haveurebooted.com

www.cellphonerecycling

www.charitablerecycling.com

cellphonesforsoldiers.com

Recycle My Cell Phone

For more green tips check out my fave place www.thedailygreen.com

Plastic Bags. What a waste.

Plastic shopping bags are one of the largest wastes we have today.
Those plastic bags that seem to pile up and pile up. My Mom has a cute bag that hangs in her kitchen that is specifically made to hold these bags so she can reuse them for sending home food with relatives or packing my Dad's lunch in when he goes fishing. Still they inevitably wind up in the trash. There is NO need for this when these bags can be recycled.

Reduce reuse recycle.
My parents still aren't getting it. I keep trying though.

At our local store there is a recycle bin just for these bags. Most stores that use these bags now have these recycle bins. You would be amazed at what can be done with these recycled bags. Most plastic bags are recycled into composite lumber but can also be reprocessed into small pellets, or post consumer resin, which can become feed stock for a variety of products such as new bags, pallets, containers, crates, and pipe. Each ton of recycled plastic bags saves the energy equivalent of 11 barrels of oil. Want to find a recycle bin near you? Check here :D http://www.plasticbagrecycling.org/01.0/


What else can you do to help reduce this waste? Use the reusable bags! Many stores now offer Reusable bags for sale pretty cheap near their registers! There are also many places online that you can buy these. Check GreenFeet for a great selection. These are a wonderful alternative. Be sure to keep them in the car or one in your purse so you don't get caught without one at the store and have to but a new one every time LOL. These can ALSO be recycled. Like anything it will at some point wear out and throwing it away sort of defeats the purpose of the reuse reduce recycle mantra. ChicoBags will recycle reusable bags. Read HERE about the great program they have that not only helps the environment but helps people by working with their partner Greatful Thread supporting victims of domestic violence.




Now this wouldn't be my blog if it didn't take an artistic view on recycle reuse reduce :D

Check out what some great Etsy artists have made with those wasteful plastic bags!

DaniellesDesigns

Lovely earrings

carataylor's shop

Cute purse




PlaSchtick

Yoga mat


kimquilts's shop

Lunch bag




Also REUSABLE BAGS!!
Reusable bags!!!

zJayne
olivebrown's shop

GreenBaggingIt

Go paperless

So many businesses today are offering you the option to go paperless on your bill. That's great. As I was standing in my Mom's kitchen helping her yesterday, it dawned on me how much more paperless we really could be.

Watching my Mom wash her hands then dry them with paper towels that went in the trash, dad came through grabbed a couple of paper towels to use out on the deck while he polished his shoes. Mom told him to be sure and get some more paper plates and towels when he went to the store....
It just struck me at how much is being wasted, for what? Convenience? How much convenience? Seriously how much of that could have been done with washable reusable clothes? how inconvenient was it to use a dish instead of a paper plate? I mean its not as if we have to lug the laundry down to the creek and scrub it on a rock. We don't have to scrub the dishes in the sink by hand. Although when I lived alone, generally I did simply wash a single bowl, plate, fork or glass when I was done.
So how many ways can we cut down on the paper we use?


80/20 rule
Try using reusable clothes 80% of the time. I have my good towels then I have my old towels that as they began to all apart I've cut them into smaller clothes to use for cleaning. The "cleaning rags" get washed seperatley from my "body towels/ clothes". thats just me it makes me feel better :) I have separate rags for the pets too. It goes on down the chain before it gets tossed out completely. Yes there are going to be moments when you still use the paper towels, but consider the waste and the money you will save just taking time to use a towel you can wash and reuse.


Stop the junk mail
Total waste. Totally annoying.
You can stop it. Try these sites.
Green Dimes
They can stop the mail and if you sign up as a premium member they will plant 5 trees in your name.

Stop Junk



Check your pantry.
Yes your pantry. Processed foods aren't that good for you anyway , but have you considered the packaging? Looking in your cabinet you will see plenty of boxes. The cardboard can be recycled but the aseptic and paperboard cartons may not be accepted by some recycle sites. Buying things in less packaging help. Lots of pacakges these days may be recycled material. Check the sides and see!



Coffee Mug
You can use your own coffee mug at many coffee shops. Often they have really cool ones for reuse at their establishment for sale near the register. Imagine how many coffe cups could be saved this way!
At home reuse coffe filters or go filterless with a French press! Oh yeah :D




Reuse!!
Did you know how great wet newspaper is for weed prevention in the garden?
Better than most store bought weedmats. A thick stack of wet newspapers laid down in a bed prevents weed growth . The paper is biodegradable and the soy-based inks contain no toxic chemicals that could harm the soil or plants. Be sure your local newspaper uses the so based inks before using this in a vegetable garden. Dont use the glossy pages used for circulars or inserts. You can even make your own seedling pots from newspaper! See how HERE.




Use newspapers or junk mail to wrap gifts. Seriously I remember all my gifts from my Granma being wrapped in comics pages :D I loved it as a kid. With the striking picutes used in many advertisements you can actually make great wrappings from reused papers.


Hope I've given you plenty to work with to help us use less paper and make less waste!