Recycling
One person’s waste can be another person’s treasure.

With landfill disposable space running out, more people are making an effort to recycle their everyday waste. However there are now opportunities to recycle more than just our rubbish. Anything from unwanted household goods, to computers, mobile phones and even unused paint can now be passed on and put to good use.

When left unattended for a long time clutter can rob us of our energy, as we can feel that twinge of guilt that we haven’t done anything about it yet, or feel overwhelmed by the task ahead of us. With the coming of sunnier days, it’s a perfect time to make a start on clearing away your clutter. Clearing up your space can not only give you a sense of achievement, but also help you feel more relaxed in your environment.

Whether you’re having a clear out and want to know how to pass on items you don’t need anymore, or you want to find some furniture, there are a growing number of schemes that can help.

One such scheme based in West Cornwall is S.O.F.A; a non profit voluntary group which will collect any unwanted furniture and electrical appliances, and pass them onto people on a low income.

For more information look at http://www.sofawestcornwall.org.uk/
To find your similar local schemes in your area check out the furniture re-use network: http://www.frn.org.uk/


Online recycling opportunities

The Freecycle network was set up in 2003, to promote waste reduction, and to keep usable items out of the landfill. The idea is simple; freecycle provides an electronic forum to ‘recycle’ any unwanted items, from furniture to washing machines. Freecycle is a global organisation; with local groups across the UK. Any item you want to get rid of can be offered to other members of your local group for free, and similarly you can search for anything you need for free.
The registration process is not the easiest, and you need to set up a Yahoo email, but you have the opportunity to change it to your main email afterwards. In the interest of research, I joined my local group which has 422 members. Among the many items offered and wanted, I was able to enquire about a free computer chair, (which unfortunately, for me, went within thirty minutes of being posted) and answer a wanted message for an exercise mat.

Check freecycle out on: http://www.freecycle.org/ and click on groups in your local area.

Other online recycling networks include: http://www.i-recyle.info/ and http://www.recycle.co.uk/


Recycling other goods
Computers for charity recycle computers to pass onto charities and voluntary groups.
Find out more at: http://www.computersforcharity.co.uk/
Action aid recycling collect ink cartridges, toner, mobile phones and PDA’s to raise money for the charity Action aid. You can request a freepost envelope on their website: http://www.actionaidrecycling.org.uk/ or by phoning 0845 3 100 200

The Red Cross also collect ink cartridges, you either drop them in at your nearest Tesco store, or for a supply of freepost envelopes email: freepost@redcross.org.uk

Community Re>paint is a nationwide scheme where you can donate unused paint and they pass it on to community projects and people who are on low income. I checked out their website and in Cornwall I would need to travel 30 miles to pass on my paint, however other areas are better covered. There may be a drop off point near you. Check it out on: http://www.communityrepaint.org.uk/

If you have something to recycle not mentioned above check out:
http://www.recycling-guide.org.uk/ They provide information on how to recycle just about anything from oil, metal and wood, to vehicles, and have links to the relevant organisations. They even have a section on how to build a house using recycled building products.


Buying recycled goods
As well as trying to ensure what we throw away is put to good use and doesn’t fill up our dwindling landfill space, there are also many opportunities to buy recycled products. Just by typing ‘recycled products’ into a search engine many inspiring businesses pop up.

Alternatively you could look at: http://www.recycledproducts.org.uk/ which provides information on where you can buy recycled products such as furniture, fuel, pet and cattle bedding, and clothes and accessories.

http://www.recycledpromotionalproducts.co.uk/ is another good website to visit where you can buy notepads made from tyres, or tee-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles.

Whether you make an effort to pass on your items for re-use or buy recycled products you will be helping the environment. As well as not filling up landfill space, creating recycled goods produces less pollution. Recycled paper for example produces around 70% less air pollution than if it were made from raw materials, not to mention the number of trees that are saved. It’s estimated to take 24 trees to produce 1 ton of newspapers.

Recycling makes a lot of economic and environmental sense; after all one persons waste could be another person’s treasure.