by Valerie Garforth, FAUSA
The longer we reuse our stuff, the longer we keep it out of the waste stream. This is a sure way to reduce the amount of trash going into the landfill. “Reuse” is the third in a list of five Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse (Repurpose, Restore, Repair), Recycle, Rot (compost). We have looked at Refuse and Reduce in previous articles. The concept of reusing is not foreign to us – we reuse our clothes, kitchen pots and pans, plates, appliances, homes, vehicles, etc. Anything we reuse needs to be looked after (and repaired) and can also be repurposed and restored. It’s not just items in our own homes that can be reused: many items can be found at estate sales and thrift stores that can receive a new lease on life. Below are some suggestions for ways to reuse stuff. This list includes my own tips and also those from FAWCO’s Environment Team.
Textiles
Quilters were, and are, artists in their own right, but quilting/using scraps to make bed coverings likely started as a way to turn odd scraps of material into useful items. Children’s clothing can be made from adult’s (women’s dress skirts made into small-size dresses). Old towels donated to animal shelters, old sheets cut up and repurposed for cleaning cloths. Nappies/diapers (see article on cloth diapers). Knitted sweaters can be unpicked and made up into new items of clothing. Face masks can be reused – buy ones that can be washed. Napkins and tablecloths can be washed and reused to create an attractive table setting.
Clothing
T-shirts from events can be worn at the gym or as sleepwear. Clothing can be repaired (new zippers, etc.) and altered by a local tailor. T
his creates a job for someone in your community as well as allowing you to keep well-loved articles of clothing. Buying good quality clothing and caring for it well will allow clothes to last much longer.
Shoes
Good quality shoes can be repaired almost indefinitely – I have several pairs of shoes bought in the 1990s which have had new soles, heels, linings, laces and patches, and are still the most comfortable shoes I own! (While it is sometimes expensive to repair clothes and shoes – and tempting to just buy new – remember that we are trying to save the planet. How much is that worth?)
Food
This subject elicited an outpouring of suggestions from our Team. So much food is wasted before it even reaches the stores (buy from farmers’ Mams) and a lot more is wasted in homes! Using leftovers creatively honors the producers and shows respect for those who do not have enough to eat. Reuse leftovers to make another dish. Freeze leftovers in small containers and have a leftovers meal every few days. Put labels on the containers so you know what’s inside! Get those creative juices flowing: with a little of
this and little of that, a new recipe can be made in a flash. Jocelyn Fitzgerald reports that bread is particularly sacred in Italy, and the Italians are loath to throw it away. The memory of hunger and poverty are probably responsible for this, even if this is not the case today. In Italy, stale bread is used to make a myriad of delicious dishes: Ribollitta is a bread soup where stale bread is cooked into a rustic vegetable soup, Pappa al pomodoro is bread cooked with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. There are also bread and butter puddings; Panzanella is a bread, tomato and red onion salad; Bruschetta can be made with a variety of toppings. Breadcrumbs can be made by whizzing stale bread in a food processor, while slowly frying bread cubes in butter and garlic makes the best croutons ever! Just search for “stale bread recipes” online – there are lots to choose from.
With small leftover quantities, Christine Riney makes a tapas lunch or dinner. Small plates, but varied. “Eating the same thing isn’t important; it’s the eating together that’s important,” she says. Ayuska Motha has another suggestion for minimizing food waste. She advises looking in the fridge and thinking of ways to use up items that will expire the fastest. She checks on what she already has to make dinner before buying more food.
When making coffee, use reusable coffee filters (mesh or washable cotton). Repurpose used coffee grounds and tea leaves for compost.
Appliances
Proper care and maintenance is important. Change filters regularly, service a/c and heating units annually, and cars regularly.
Furniture
Thrift store finds can be reused by being repaired and repurposed (simple pine bedside chests painted black). Two boring lamps painted black and given new lampshades. A good quality couch or chair can be reupholstered to give it a fresh start.
Water
Share a bath (adults – one after the other (!), several children – together) or shower. In the summer of 1976, people used dish washing water for the garden. Rain barrels collect water. Special installations will allow you to use grey water (bath and washing machine water) to flush toilets or water plants.
Water bottles and straws
Refill plastic water bottles or better yet, buy refillable stainless-steel or non-BPA plastic bottles for yourself and all family members. Use reusable stainless steel “straws” or buy straws made from biodegradable materials (straw?).
Housing
We (Valerie and Peter Garforth) bought this derelict Victorian home in Toledo, Ohio and completely renovated it. It is now well insulated and more energy efficient. We also renovated our home basement to create a professional office. House updating and remodeling is big business rather than moving to a new house. During the pandemic, IKEA had an advertising campaign which promoted changing rooms within your existing house to give a fresh feel: kids changed bedrooms and a home office space was created. Instead of moving, why not renovate and make your existing house more efficient?
Paper
Reuse paper printed on only one side. Anne’s husband used to bring discarded paper home from work, and it functioned perfectly as drawing paper for young kids as well as printer paper for printing out unofficial things. Our daughter uses plain brown paper for wrapping holiday gifts and ties them up with festive ribbons and gift tags. After the gifts have been opened, she collects up the paper, ribbons and gift tags, and reuses them the next year! Holiday greetings cards can be repurposed in school art classes to create new artwork, gift tags or cards.
Pens
Ball point pens can be reused if you can find a supply of new cartridges. If you still use ink pens (which my husband does) there are ink cartridges available for them. I remember using a dip in wooden pen with a metal nib when I first went to school. Each desk had an inkwell, and someone came around with a can each day to pour ink into the inkwell. We were provided with blotting paper! We had to write in ink right through school, and this was before cartridges – we each had our own bottle of ink in our desk!
Packaging
U-Haul will take back their used moving boxes for new customers to use free. Bubble wrap and “peanuts” are welcome at our Museum of Art for wrapping fragile glass and other objects. Some foods are packaged in highly engineered packs which can be washed out and reused. Containers with lids (e.g., glass) can be used for storing small items (buttons, nails, etc.).
Bags – reusable and plastic
Keep a bag full of reusable bags by the door so you never go shopping without a supply. Plastic bags make their way into our homes despite refusing and reducing them. Dirty plastic bags can be washed in warm soapy water, rinsed and hung out to dry and then reused several times before they disintegrate – double up bags with holes in them!
You can also reuse plastic bin liners in the kitchen and bathroom: empty the contents and combine into a smaller bag for the garbage and wipe out the bin liners. They can last for months. (Even better would be to stop using pastic bin liners altogether – simply wash the garbage bin every so often with warm soapy water.)
Aluminum foil
This can be reused! If it is soiled it can be left to soak in soapy water overnight, then rinsed, dried, and folded for future use. Other single-use items can be washed and reused (e.g., plastic plates, cups, knives, forks and spoons).
Transportation: vehicles and bicycles
If you service your car regularly, it can serve you well for a long time. My car will be 24 years old this year! There are significant environmental costs to both manufacturing a new automobile and adding your old car to the ever-growing collective junk heap. A 2004 analysis by Toyota found that as much as 28% of the carbon dioxide emissions generated during the lifecycle of a typical gasoline-powered car can occur during its manufacture and its transportation to the dealer; the remaining emissions occur during driving once its new owner takes possession.
Bicycles can be repaired. Toledo Bikes! is an organization where young people learn how to repair and maintain a bicycle. (Electric bicycles are becoming very popular as well – you still get exercise, but with help for the hills and longer distances. This is a less polluting alternative to a car.)
Toothbrushes
Old toothbrushes can be repurposed as cleaners for cleaning shoes or for difficult-to-reach areas (such as underneath the toilet rim). Old toothbrushes can also be recycled via TerraCycle – that way, they will not end up in landfills.
References:
The Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson
Scientific American: When Used Cars Are More Ecofriendly Than New Cars
