Upcycled Spoons to Hooks
Upcycled Spoons: How do you make hooks from old spoons? After cleaning out our overflowing cutlery drawer, it became evident that there were many unnecessary spoons of unknown origin. These miscellaneous spoons were making it quite hard to access the spoons with which...
Reuse Twist Ties from Packaging in the Garden
For a keen recycler, gardening must be the best hobby. Within a garden there are so many uses for other household “rubbish”. And much of this “rubbish” in the garden would only be replaced by store-bought purpose-made items that do exactly the same job! Recently, I...
Can I Recycle Polystyrene?
Is it possible to recycle polystyrene? Polystyrene is one of those products that is always destined for landfill, right? When unpacking a new appliance you can flatten the cardboard box for paper recycling; and you can reserve the plastic bags for taking to a...
Bundanoon – the little town that eliminated bottled water
While staying in Bundanoon (a village south of Bowral in the Southern Highlands) I was impressed to discover they had voted out bottled water. I was so encouraged by a small town achieving a victory like this against corporate giants. Bottled water is a lucrative...
Why Can’t Shredded Paper Be Recycled?
Don't They Shred and Mulch it in the Process Anyway? I often hear people wonder why shredded paper cannot be recycled. It's still paper right? That is correct, but the question is not about whether or not shredded paper is recyclable, the question is about the factory...
Vegetable Scraps – Save them for Homemade Stock
Thanks to the tip by some fellow readers of Green Lifestyle, my veggie scraps now have one more stop inside the home before they get used outside. And what do I get out of it? FREE STOCK! I collect the vegetable scraps when cooking and keep them in a container...
How to Recycle Used Motor Oil and Oil Filters
There is a lot of potential waste when changing motor oil, and also many ways to recycle and minimise waste and pollution. Are Oil Filters Recyclable? Yes, filters are metallic and can be recycled, though not through a normal council bin collection. They need to make...
Baking Paper Substitute – Buttered Up Reusing
Recently, I learned a fantastic reusing trick from my fabulously thrifty friend, Amber. Not only does Amber inspire me always in a plastic-less quest, but she also shared with me this thrifty and waste-saving cooking tip: Using butter packaging as a baking paper...
What to Do With a Rusty Old Gas Bottle
BBQ gas bottles (like any vessel under pressure) are not the easiest of products to recycle. They are, however, very important items to be recycled rather than land in a council waste management facility or worse dumped in the bush. As they rust they will eventually...
Repurpose Clothes – Reusing your Favourite Old T-Shirt
As the sustainable fashion revolution hits your home, what do you do with that favourite t-shirt that is worn out beyond op-shop acceptability? There are many uses for those favourite old tees and ways to repurpose clothes, but here are my top three: 1. Cut the front...
Recycling Plastic Packaging
Want to where you can recycle plastic packaging that cannot simply be placed in the yellow bin? REDcycle. For a while there, it seemed like landfill was the only option for the average household...but not anymore! We can now take our flexible plastics - rice and pasta...
Storage Tubes from Re-purposed Clothes (for other reusing and recycling)
There are many ways to avoid sending old clothes to landfill. The obvious answer that comes to mind, is to take clothes to a second-hand store. But what do you do with clothes that are too worn out for wear? Keeping a small storage box of fabrics and old clothes can...