Category: Reuse

Pack waste free lunches

9/22/2023

Packing lunches into reusable containers with real utensils and washable napkins not only cuts down on food and packaging waste but also saves you money on purchasing disposable items and small serving size packages.

Packing up lunch items into reusable containers eliminates the single use plastic sandwich bags and allows you to dispense the amount that will be eaten in a meal, cutting down wasting uneaten food. Buy larger quantities of snacks, carrots, applesauce, yogurt, or cheese, and just pack the quantity needed for one meal, saving you money compared to the pre-packaged single servings, which also produce a lot more trash. Dips, ketchup, sauces, and dressing can also be portioned into small reusable containers. Cloth napkins and stainless steel or bamboo utensils are great options for replacing the disposable ones. Pour water or other drinks into a reusable bottle, or use a thermos to keep drinks hot or cold for hours. Then pack everything in a reusable lunch box or bag! Bento box style lunch boxes offer a variety of options for container types and sizes.
See this article for other ideas.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Make your own popsicles

8/25/2023

Make your own icy treats with high-quality stainless steel popsicle molds.

All popsicle molds reduce single-use waste and allow you to choose healthy ingredients but, compared to plastic or silicone molds, stainless steel molds are longer lasting, more dishwasher-hardy, and quickest to unmold.

Read more in this article.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Carry home delicate produce in containers

5/26/2023

Bring hard sided containers, such as a dairy tub, to the Farmers Market to carry home strawberries and other loose, delicate produce without using a plastic bag.

Re-use take-out containers, dairy tubs, mason jars, or other hard sided containers to contain loose, delicate produce, such as strawberries, cherry tomatoes, plums and apricots. These containers will protect the produce from spilling or being bruised during the ride home. The Swarthmore Farmers Market no longer offers plastic bags at check-out. Bringing your own containers reduces the number of single-use bags used to contain loose produce. You can also bring your saved produce bags from the grocery store to hold larger items such as apples, cucumbers, and potatoes.

Use washcloths instead of disposable wet wipes

4/21/2023

Billions of disposable wet wipes are being added to the waste stream each year, clogging sewage systems and washing up on beaches, choking wildlife that attempt to consume them. Antibacterial chemicals in wipes in particular can be harmful to human health directly and by promoting the growth of antibiotic resistant bacteria. Reduce your own expenditures by using washcloths instead. See our green tip for Swedish dishcloths for a durable reusable alternative.

For more information on wet wipes, see this article in The Guardian.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Waxed cotton food wraps are a reusable alternative to plastic cling film wrap

3/31/2023

Waxed cotton food wraps are made from fabric that is infused with a mixture of beeswax, tree resin, and jojoba oil. Using the warmth of your hand, it can be molded around food or a container, and its tackiness creates a seal comparable to plastic cling wrap. It can be used to cover containers or to wrap foods such as sandwiches or breads directly. Unlike cling wrap, waxed wraps are reusable: just rinse in cold water with a mild soap and air dry. They are commercially available at stores such as Trader Joe’s, HOM in Swarthmore, and the Swarthmore Farmers market, and they come in a variety of sizes. You can also make them yourself at home.

Read more about them at naturallivingideas.com:
https://www.naturallivingideas.com/plastic-wrap-alternatives/

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Mend jeans

3/2/2023

Creative mending will Keep favorite jeans going indefinitely and even enhance them.

Denim is like wine and cheese; it gets better with age. By repairing your loved jeans—either professionally or by yourself, you can extend the time you enjoy them, save money, lower your environmental footprint, and kick their style up a notch.

Read more here:

--https://denimhunters.com/how-to-repair-jeans/

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Save time and resources by wrapping gifts in reusable cloth bags

12/9/2022

Making your own reusable cloth gift bags is super easy. With a sewing machine and fabric scraps or ends bought on-sale at a fabric store gives you all the material you need to have a fun variety of patterns and sizes for your bags. Once the bags are made, wrapping takes mere seconds: simply drop the gift into the bag and tie with a ribbon. This eliminates all expense and waste from paper and tape. You can even make the bag part of the gift!

To make your own cloth bag, cut two pieces of fabric ½ larger all around than the desired final size. Hem the top edge of both pieces. Line up the two pieces of fabric with right sides facing each other. Sew around the three unhemmed edges and turn right-side out. To include a tie, cut another piece of fabric or a strip of ribbon about 2 feet long. Before sewing the sides of the bag, fold the tie in half and place the folded edge between the two halves of the bag along one edge and about 1 inch down from the hemmed edge. Sew the three sides of the bag as before.

Wrapping gifts in attractive, reusable pieces of cloth, known as furoshiki, is a centuries-old tradition in Japan. Furoshiki are versatile, because they can be used to wrap gifts of varying shapes and sizes. Bandanas, scarves or cloth napkins can serve as ready-made furoshiki, but you can also make your own wrapping cloths out of your favorite fabrics – even larger scraps. Learn more about this technique here.

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Bring your reusable bags to the Swarthmore Farmers Market: vendors will stop giving out plastic bags starting October 1st

8/18/2022

Swarthmore is taking the first steps toward joining the movement to reduce the use of single-use plastics. Starting October 1st, vendors at the Swarthmore Farmers Market will stop giving out plastic bags for purchases. Remember to bring your re-usable bags when you visit the Market. You can also reuse plastic bags that you have already accumulated. You can also consider other ways that you can reduce your use of plastic bags and better protect your produce as a result: bring hard-sided containers, such as mason jars or dairy tubs, to bring home berries, cherry tomatoes, or other delicate produce.

Single use plastic shopping bags are hard to recycle; they are not accepted curbside and must be taken to participating stores with specific recycling bins for bags. Too few plastic bags end up being recycled. Instead, they pollute the environment, choke waterways, and clog recycling sorting equipment. States such as New Jersey, Delaware, New York, and Washington State, and local municipalities such as West Chester and most recently Media have already banned merchants from handing out plastic bags for purchases.

For the first few weeks of the transition at the Swarthmore Farmers Market, donated reusable bags will be available for shoppers who don’t have their own bags. In preparation, the Market is accepting donations of re-usable bags. There will be a bin available at the Manager’s Table at the market each week to drop off reusable bag donations. Bring your extra reusable bags to the Market to help out with this effort!

Photo by Susan O'Donnell

Upcycle old soap ends into a new bar of soap

3/11/2022

Frustrated with those tiny ends of soap that seem like they could be useful but are too small to produce much lather? Save them up and reconstitute them into new bars. It takes only a few minutes to set them up. Give them a few days to dry, and you have new soap!

Cut up the soap: Using a knife on a protected surface, cut all of the soap ends into small pieces. Shred and scrape as small as possible. Place all of the cut soap into microwave-safe glass or cup. Push the soap down so that it is snug in the cup. Fill the cup with enough water to reach the same height as the soap in the cup. Be careful not to add too much water – this will make it take longer to dry later.
Microwave: Place the cup in the microwave on top of a plate or napkin to catch any overflow. Microwave for about 30 seconds, watching carefully for any water to boil over. Stop the microwave as soon as the water-soap mixture rises to the top of the cup.
Press into mold: Pour the heated mixture into a mold for your soap. Silicone cupcake molds or a disposable cup work great. Using the back of a spoon or a small bottle, press the soap down in the mold.
Dry: Let the soap sit for about a week until all of the water evaporates and the soap is dry. Pop out of the mold, and you have a new bar of soap!

Adapted from: http://www.instructables.com/id/Reuse-Your-Old-Soap/
Photos by Susan O'Donnell

Refuse is part of the new 5Rs—Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Recycle. Use your spending power to tell companies what you want and don’t want

2/18/2022

You are likely familiar with the ideas of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, but www.52climateactions.com suggests adding Refuse and Repair to the list. "We need to be doing more refusing, whether it’s excess packaging, cheap goods that won’t last, or just simply something we don’t need. Take what you have already and make it last or give it a new lease of life. Almost everything we buy and use in our daily lives has a carbon footprint: from its manufacture to its transport. And almost everything we buy ends up being thrown away at some point. It goes to landfill, becomes litter, pollutes our oceans, contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases, or harms the planet in other ways. We need to cut our consumption to reduce our environmental impact. Single use items make no sense for our wallets or the environment."* Think before making purchases, consider good quality that won't need to be replaced quickly, and "use your spending power to tell companies what you want and don't want. For example, items that are built to last or those with less plastic packaging."* A practice to use to reduce the quantity of items that you purchase is to give yourself time to reflect before buying and "give yourself at least a day or two to think it over. You might not need it as much as you thought."*

Another way to reduce your consumption is to repair items that you have to give them a longer life. Alternatively, give them a new life with a different purpose. "Upcycling, i.e. giving a new lease of life to a neglected item, is an art movement in itself, with tutorials online and articles in magazines about everything from creative use of garden planters to large-scale artworks made from recycled objects. But you don’t have to be artistic to upcycle: simply take something and alter it for another practical use i.e. an old pallet into a shelving unit.
Your junk may well be someone else’s treasure, so before you throw it out check to see if anyone else could make use of it through online sites such as Freecycle, Preloved and Gumtree."

*https://www.52climateactions.com/refuse-reduce-reuse-repair-recycle/full

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