Posted on August 16th, 2009
I was happy to see this big bin installed on the public beach access this summer. A lot of water bottles that may have otherwise ended up in the sea are placed in it. At the same time it serves as a daily reminder to me that collecting and recycling plastics is a costly and inefficient process. My blog is supposed to focus on the first ‘R’, Reduction. I have reduced my own consumption of plastic water bottles as much as possible by drinking filtered tap water.
Here are a few quotes that I have found, both optimistic and pessimistic about recycling plastic…
Recycling is almost universally regarded as a virtue. I beg to differ. The act of recycling actually means that we have failed to reduce or reuse.
- Gary Hirshberg
Recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60W bulb for up to 6 hours.
- South Lakeland Recycling
I am not sure how they got these numbers. The fact that a lot of plastic is transported for huge distances leads me to doubt the figure.
The majority of the plastics we recycle, regardless of type, end up in China, where worker safety standards are virtually nonexistent and materials are processed under dirty, primitive conditions…
- Mindfully.org
Recycling one ton of plastic saves 7.4 cubic yards of landfill space.
- Earth911
These quotes are starting to look like ‘tweets’. Maybe I will recycle them 
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When the perfect box for my long imagined solar cooker project showed up on the curb across the street, I was happier than any normal 40 year old should be. After choosing a plan from SolarCooking.org and doing all the calculating and cutting and measuring, I realized that 40 year old men are not supplied with big plastic squeeze bottles of glue the way that 11 year old kids are. At least one plan mentioned wheat glue. Many of these plans are devised and written with the developing world in mind. I was surprised at how easy it was to cook up a batch of glue. The method that I used called for boiling the flour and water mixture for two minutes before removing from heat and mixing in sugar. There is a plan for a bigger batch of glue on ecochildsplay that does not involve boiling and has the addition of a little vinegar. It is a recipe that your kids could do with some assistance.
I used the entire batch of glue on my solar cooker, spreading it with a used toothbrush. I always keep old toothbrushes for those inevitable dirty jobs. I used to clean bicycle chains with them.
Wheat paste can be stored in a container for repeated use. I would advise against leaving it in the pot as that would make for some difficult scrubbing afterward.
If you try wheat glue and it turns out to be unsuitable for your desired application, you can also make glue using milk. Elmer’s Glue uses milk protein and you can replicate their product fairly easily.
Avoiding the consumption of plastic containers is only one reason to make your own glue. It can also save money. Making glue is a good kitchen ‘experiment’ for kids, with the advantage that you don’t have to eat it, although technically you could.
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