With our once every two weeks collection of vegetable waste and compostable material, plus plastic, tin, glass and newspaper re-cycling boxes, a large compost heap of my own and a recently acquired wormery, most of the “rubbish” I now throw out consists of plastic bags and wrappers. How marvellous then to come across an article entitled “36 uses for Plastic Bags” ! According to this article with a bag you can:
• Protect your small garden plants from frost. Cut a hole in the bottom of the bag;
slip over the plant and anchor it with stones; pull up the bag over the plant and roll closed; secure with clothes pegs or paper clips. Open the bag if the weather gets warmer;
• Protect fruit on the tree. Slip apples and plums into clear plastic bags to keep out insects and deter birds while the fruit ripens;
• Protect shoes from mud. (This one might be a bit slippy…);
• Cover notices and signs to protect them from rain (I think we do this anyway in the village);
• Protect you car wing mirrors from ice or snow when you park outside at night.
• Store paintbrushes if you are half-way through a job at lunch time. No need to clean the brush – put it in the bag and it will stay soft and ready for use after your break.
Some ideas for re-using plastic bottles include:
• Cut down the water you use to flush your lavatory by filling a 1 litre bottle and placing it in the cistern to reduce the amount of water you use;
• Making a bird feeder by cutting out a large opening; make a hole in the side to accommodate a twig or piece of dowel to act as a perch; pierce the lid and thread a string through it to hang the feeder and finally fill the bottle with bird seed.
• Make a scoop by cutting a 2-litre bottle with a handle diagonally from the bottom so that you leave the top tree-quarters intact. You are left with a handy scoop for removing leaves from gutters, cleaning out cat litter or spreading sand on your drive.