Working and living with recycling and eco-friendly products often brings with it some surprises and it never ceases to amaze me the resourcefulness of some people when it comes to reclaiming recycled material for manufacture of new products.
We have got so used to many of our household items being manufactured from that twentieth century ‘miracle material’ plastic, that we often don’t realise how much of this non-biodegradable material is still around. And now many of us are trying to move away from plastics, the alternatives are coming from some wonderful quarters.
We are used to seeing recycled plastics and paper, and its no wonder as there is such an abundance of it. But there is an abundance of other materials too and making use of those is proving a great challenge.
Car tyres have for decades been an environmental problem. Many tyres are remoulded but there is a limit to how many remoulded tyres people will buy and as a consequence there is a huge glut of tyres up and down the country.
There are many eco-friendly manufacturers that are attempting to make use of this unwanted rubber with some interesting an innovative results, the hardback notebook made from recycled car tyres is my particular favourite.
Other items that are environmental hazards are also being used in the manufacture of some fantastic products. Those little plastic cups that contain awful tasting coffee from machines, may be useful for a quick cuppa at work or in a public building but they don’t biodegrade and accumulate in landfills all over the globe.
A clock made from recycled plastic cups is a great example of what can be done with these little plastic cups. ‘Making good Use of The Things That We Find’, may have been the motto of the Wombles but decades on, it appears they were on to something!
