When is a wheelbarrow not a wheelbarrow?

Well it might look like a kids' wheelbarrow, but those days are long gone thanks to a crack in its side.

This children's gardening toy was bought brand new from the Early Learning Centre about five years ago. But after several years of wear and tear at the hands of our young bin saboteur, it finally gave up the ghost last year. It almost ended up in one of Fran Crowe's exhibitions, but it was given extended life in the garden and experienced a touch of reincarnation this weekend.

You see it's no longer a wheelbarrow.

Honest.

Yes, yes, I know it still looks like a wheelbarrow.

However, bung in some compost, a couple of tomato plants and some basil, and hey presto, we've got ourselves a new plant pot with integrated drainage facilities.

Just in time too, because even though it might not be the best invention in the world, it can certainly be classed as a re:invention or indeed an example of re:use, which is rather timely for the Guardian/Junkk Re:use competition that is being hosted at the Junkk website, the place on the web where rubbish gets a whole new meaning.

I'm not sure if my re-invention will get anywhere, especially with the number of geniuses out there, but I've entered the competition with some my fingers crossed that I might be in with a chance. If you fancy having a go yourself, all you need to do is register your entry at www.junkk.com by Sunday 31st May.

So it's time to get cracking and see what other stuff can be kept out of the landfill. Better hide your old toys kids. Nothing's safe while I'm sporting my thinking cap!

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The boots that walked on landfill

They now stand proud with floral grace.

even though they are broken and torn,

with holes and gaps that let the water in.

Yes they've been loved, adored and well-worn.



They were bought at a country living fair,

in the heart of our capital city.

The next day they were spotted in a local shop,

Shame I'd travelled so far. T'was a pity.



But these boots weren't made for just walking.

They were born to be centre-stage.

They can brighten up the dullest of days,

even when they've faded with age.



They've even brightened up a landfill site

during a visit I made last year.

But they didn't distract me from all that waste

where I almost shed a tear.



So they are now past their sell-by date.

At least where my feet are concerned.

But I couldn't send them to landfill again,

Not after everything I've since learned.



So instead of bunging them in the bin

They've been planted up with flowers.

And now stand proud on our doorstep,

Where they can be enjoyed for many more hours.

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Written in honour of the BBC's Poetry season, just the for the fun of it.

Recycling facilities for wellington boots are hard to come by in the UK so reusing them as planters is a great alternative to landfill. We've got a garden full of them thanks to boys with feet that grow faster than leylandii. It's a good idea to make some holes in the boots first to help with drainage.

A search on Google has revealed that old rubber wellies can be sent to a Mr R Harrington at a Dunlop recycling site in Liverpool. However I have also read that the service is no longer available. If anyone has up-to-date news on this, it would be great to hear it. After all, it would be a shame to bombard an innocent citizen with unwanted boots.

But don't think there's no hope for old wellies. Smile Plastics, based in Shrewsbury, recycles wellies rejected by charity shops, turning them into new funky plastic sheets, which are sold to designers as material suitable for table coverings, flooring, and waterproof mats.

And last year, organisers of the Glastonbury Festival collected revellers' discarded welly boots, which they then sent to Senegal inAfrica.

So it looks like there's new life in old boots after all eh.

Well one thing's for sure, mine have got a whole lot of life in them yet!

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Reuse is the new recycle!

There was a time when disposing of my packaging required a simple decision.

If I could recycle it - I'd throw it in one of the recycling bins.
If I couldn't - then I'd bung it in the rubbish bin.

That was then. Simple eh!

Fast forward to today, and every time I wash up a jar or a plastic pot or indeed anything else, I find myself wondering if it can be reused, not just by me but by somebody else.

Jam jars that I used to take to the recycling bank are now returned for reuse at the farm shop, or saved for when I try my hand at making my own preserves this Summer. And even egg boxes aren't safe. Where they were once added to the compost bin, they are now also returned to the farm shop or stored as an alternative to seed trays. As for envelopes, most are now kept for a second time use, as they always come in handy for sending messages or cash to the school.

And it doesn't stop at packaging, a quick flick onto the latest Freecycle digest or any of the other growing number of free exchange websites (you'll find links in the sidebar) will reveal whether anyone can reuse something that I would otherwise chuck or recycle.

But it's so easy to forget about this option when we live in such a disposable culture. Packaging and unused belongings are still considered by some to be rubbish regardless of which bin they end up in because we are so removed from the processing of it all no matter whether it is landfill waste or recycling.

And yes, I was once the person who would bung yoghurt pots in the recycling bin in the morning, treating them as valueless objects and then go off to the garden centre that afternoon to buy a set of proper pots for my seeds.

I could have used yoghurt pots but they wouldn't have been good enough for my green-fingered experiments. In my perfect little world where everything had to be "just right", they would have been nothing but second best.

Second best - I couldn't have that!

No wonder the credit card bill was as long as my arm.

But who really gives a toss what my seedlings are grown in? It's not as if I'm ready to make it to the Chelsea Flower Show quite yet, or indeed ever!

What a fool I've been.

And just think of all that money I could have saved!

If I'd adopted this philosophy a decade ago I might now be the proud owner of a conservatory or a loft extension.

And what fun I've missed out on during my continuous cycle of buying, disposing and buying and disposing.............It might have taken me a while, but I've come to realise that Reuse is most definitely the most enjoyable element of the 3 Rs. Where recycling is at worst a headache and at best a tricky process, reusing encapsulates creativity, ingenuity and an opportunity to create something individual.

And it's a trend that has been popularised way before I woke up to my senses. For instance, take the latest discussions at ooffoo, the community-based offshoot of Natural Collection. You might have seen the news on Mrs Green's site that readers of ooffoo are currently being encouraged to share thoughts and examples of reuse in action.

So with a chance to win a £250 spending spree at Natural Collection's online shop, I mustn't forget to add my entry, but it's a toss-up between my latest project or the little stocking filler fella that I made for Christmas from some odd felt and fabric scraps, laddered hosiery and old buttons. You can see when I started getting the bug, can't you.

Yes folks, for me Reusing is definitely the new Recycling! But I have to be careful though because there are loads of ideas out there and my problem is we don't have any real storage space to keep hold of things for long.

It's a good job I've come across the Purposeful blog by Cara, which is full of the most wonderful ideas for reusing anything from a plastic fruit punnet to repurposing old socks. It's lucky she left a comment over at MyZeroWaste. When I hopped over to her blog the pitfalls of the Reuse monster hit me straight away and I was pleased to absorb her clever advice on how not to let it take over my life. See her blogpost When is green too much of a good thing.

So whether you're a novice reuser or an old veteran who is used to thinking beyond the recycling bin, be sure not to miss out on a few gems that are full of inspiration to get your creative juices flowing even further.

I'd like to introduce you to Fr. Peter's DIY Environmental ideas, a blog written by regular reader Peter Doodes, which has loads of ideas for making useful things for around the home with the help of plastic bottles and bottle tops.

Another site I like is How can I recycle this?, which despite its name is a blog that focuses on reusing all sorts of random items, including gone-off weetabix and even a wedding dress.

And finally do make sure you visit Junkk.com, founded by Peter Martin, who has a passion for inventing new applications for everyday objects, especially the kind of things you put in your shopping basket.

Junkk.com also offers an online community for folk to share reuse ideas for all sorts of things with a particular emphasis on packaging or its detailed components. What I love about this site is the fact that it even details the brand or the manufacturer of the product and is indexed in such a way that you can look for a solution and then find out how to make it.

And not to be missed is the patented RE:tie application, which Peter is currently taking to manufacturers to incorporate into their packaging to replace the useless tamper-strips that can be found on billions of plastic bottles and jars which just end up in landfill.

It is a simple yet genius innovation incorporating a small modification which would allow the strip to be reused as a tie and could be applied to garden, DIY as well as a whole range of domestic uses.

So from domestic goodies to manufacturing solutions, as I approach the anniversary of my zero waste week I now see the real relevance of reuse as an important process for reducing waste.

And I've been putting some ideas into practice at home. They're not pretty or indeed genius mind you, just quietly practical.

Take a look at my latest project, the polytunnel which I installed in the garden this weekend.




Would you believe it used to be a growhouse cover, like the one shown in the photo below. When we rescued the growhouse from the garage last week, much of the cover had perished and torn. It's no surprise really, it had been left in there for three years.

But while we were replacing the plastic cover, I couldn't help wonder if it could be reused for something else and the polytunnel seemed to be the obvious solution.



A year ago I would have bunged it in landfill, but this year it's been given a new lease of life and I've saved some cash while I'm at it.

I think there may be a revolution coming and if there is, I'm signing up as a member.

I just wonder what I'll make next.

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Having fun in MySkip

Excuse me please...Can someone help me out?

Yes, you. uh-uh, you.

I know you're only passing by but if you could just stretch out your hand a bit...a little further. That's it.

Just lifting over my other leg now. Phew, that's grand, I'm out.

Thank you so much and please excuse me while I dust myself down.

You see, I've been there all afternoon, having a poke about in the skip at all the things that people are trying to get rid of. You should know by now what a nosey old bird I am. So when I saw this particular skip I couldn't help myself. I couldn't pass by such a great opportunity. Honestly, it's amazing what's in there. You ought to go and see.

As well as the ubiquitous mattress, which no self-respecting skip would be without, there are televisions, posters, office furniture, computer monitors and children's toys, all in great condition and ready for the picking.

But as you can probably guess from the HUGE logo at the top of the post, this is no ordinary skip that you simply have delivered to your house.

This is a skip with a difference. It's a big yellow virtual number, that sits in cyberspace, with no limits on how much you can throw away. You could say it's a bit like Freecycle but with more va-voom. In fact, the va-voom makes it more like eBay.

That's it. It's like a free eBay. Free to register, free to upload and free to go rummaging.

It's also easy to use and secure. If you see an item you like, you can easily reserve it. Members can add feedback and rate each other's reliability with stars. If you're busy and on the move, with no access to the computer, no problem. You can even upload items from your mobile phone.

So what more could you want, a fabulous new way to keep your unwanted stuff out of landfill and be in with the chance of a freebie at the same time.

But guess what, there is more, lots more in fact!

You know I mentioned the va-voom...

...well...launched in April, MySkip.com already has the backing of an amazing set of people, ranging from the Dalai Lama and Prince Charles to the dizzy heights of media such as Max Clifford and Saatchi and Saatchi.

A whole host of celebrities have already donated items to the site, including Sir Cliff Richard, Sheryl Crow and Katie Melua. One of these items is added each week, but you won't know what it is, because as the site says "it's this action - not the item, that will help draw attention to the serious issues surrounding unnecessary waste".

As co-founder May Al-Karooni told me this afternoon, "It's all about making eco living a bit more fun".

The founders also recognise that keeping unwanted items out of landfill is only part of the much broader spectrum of environmental issues that need to be addressed and with this in mind they have set up a not-for-profit organisation called The MySkip Foundation Trust. Professor David Bellamy OBE is tasked with overseeing its work, which aims to find innovative solutions to poverty as well as reducing man's impact on the environment.

So, if you've got five minutes to spare and want to join in, please feel free and go over to myskip.com for a good old rummage. You may even find the item that I dropped in there during my visit this afternoon. It's waiting for a good home, so why not pop over and see what you can do.

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