News, Tips and Resources for Living an Eco Friendly Life

In honour of International Women’s Day on Monday, we’re having a week of women’s & sexual health themed posts (and giveaways!!). Check out our older related posts too – such as unused disposable sanitary products or end-of-life menstrual cups.

I thought long and hard about whether to feature this because it’s the type of green action that makes Daily Mail readers exclaim “bloody hippies!!” and pledge to not reduce, reuse or recycle just to annoy us filthy, poor Good-Life-wannabes. But in the end, Cipollina’s comment yesterday convinced me – it’s not for everyone but blood is a cracking fertiliser.

The fluid emptied out from your Mooncup or pink water from rinsing out from your washable sanitary towels is a great source of natural nitrogen – it replenishes overworked soil and feeds the plants. People buy blood meal — the dried & powdered blood from livestock — as a non-synthetic fertiliser but why not cut out the middle man/middle cow? It’s as organic as you are.

There are some potential problems with just pouring it straight on the garden – some blood-borne pathogens can be transferred around and apparently it can attract ants – but one way to minimise the risk of that sort of thing is to put it through a hot compost heap. If you know you have a blood-borne pathogen, you might want to look into the situation with your condition further – although apparently even hepatitis, one of the longest surviving blood-borne pathogens outside the body, only manages about 30 hours before breaking down (shorter if heated/exposed to sunlight).

I found two very interesting discussions on the topic – this one and this one – explaining about different people’s experiences and methods but I wonder if anyone has used it for anything a bit more out of the ordinary…

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

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Following on from yesterday’s washable sanitary pad giveaway (there’s still time to enter the draw if you want a shot at them), today we’ve got a Mooncup to give away. More free green stuff – hurrah!

Menstrual cups – silicone cups that are inserted into the vagina to catch menstrual fluid – are all the rage at the moment — and it’s not hard to see why.

Mooncups are made from medical grade silicone and will last for years and years. It’s such a waste saving when you consider the average woman uses around 12,000 disposable sanitary products during her lifetime!

Mooncups are not only good for the environment, they’re better for your body than chemical-packed tampons or plastic coated sanitary pads. They’re great for people with heavy flows (because they collect three times as much fluid as mainstream sanitary products) and also for light ones (because they don’t dry out the vagina’s walls like tampons can, so are easier to insert and remove).

Because they’re worn inside the body, they can be used while swimming and doing other sports too – a fantastic alternative to tampons really.

If you’ve ever wanted to try one, now could be your chance – just leave a comment below (just “hi” or “gimme! gimme!” will do ) before noon (GMT) on Friday 12th March and I’ll use a random number generator to pick someone to win.

(I’ll pass the details of the winner onto Kath at Mooncup to make sure they receive the correct size for their situation/time of life.)

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In honour of International Women’s Day yesterday, we’re having a week of women’s health and sexual health themed posts here on Recycle This – with lots of related giveaways.

Yesterday, we were talking about how great reusable, washable sanitary towels are – much better for your body, your wallet and the environment than plastic disposable ones. Rachael from Moon Times has given us some wonderful handmade, super-soft pads to give away – if you’d like to be in the draw, just leave a comment on that article before Friday lunchtime (GMT).

But I know there are a good number of crafty people here who would prefer to make their own – and would prefer to make them by reusing and recycling old fabrics that might otherwise go to waste. Our grandmothers would probably have made them out of old sheets and the like but jersey cotton fabrics from old tshirts or baby clothes are probably better now – very widely available, thicker more absorbent and softer too.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen knitted or crocheted pads too – although I can’t any details now — does anyone know anything about making those?

Has anyone got any patterns or had any experience of making their own? Anything to try? Anything to avoid? Is it worth adding wings and if so, what fixing works best? Any suggestions welcome!

Oh and stay tuned – I’ve got another giveaway for later today!

(We all wear white jeans while on our periods, don’t we?)

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We’re having a series of women’s health & sexual health themed posts this week in honour of International Women’s Day today – with related green giveaways. Free stuff rocks and green free stuff rocks even harder!

The wonderful Rachael at Moon Times has given us some ace washable sanitary pads to give away.

The average woman uses more than 12,000 disposable sanitary products during her lifetime – so much waste! Washable pads are a very easy way to move away from disposable items – ideal for existing towel users, young girls just starting their periods or women who want the protection of a panty liner while using other sanitary products.

Moon Times pads lovingly handmade in the UK, from super-soft organic cotton so they won’t feel like they’re sawing your leg off like the plastic winged ones can do sometimes. Properly cared for, they can last for years and years – think of both the waste and cost saving!

Want to win these great pads? Just leave a message below before noon (GMT) on Friday 12th March and I’ll use a random number generator to pick a winner. Just saying “hi!” or “pick me!” is fine – or tell us about your experiences with washable pads if you’ve already tried them.

Oh, and don’t forget to include an email address in the email address field – it’s hidden so won’t appear on the website but means I can contact you if you win!

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Today, the 8th of March, is International Women’s Day.

I’m not really one for Days or similar events because I dislike the way it compartmentalises action or thought and I have particular dislike for International Women’s Day because I don’t feel like I need a special day to celebrate being a woman and our achievements – I’ve got 365 of them a year.

But International Women’s Day isn’t for me. It’s not for me with my education, my career, my IUS, and the roof over my head which I jointly own with my truly-a-partner partner. For example, this year’s IWD is to focus attention to the hardships women face when displaced during armed conflict – and how they often overcome such hardships to rebuild homes and their communities.

Why am I talking about this on a reusing and recycling website? Because it’s all part of the same picture. Yesterday in the Observer, there was a report about how many recently war-torn countries in Africa are being ripped apart again – this time by food companies wanting to construct giant greenhouses to feed us mange tout (pun intended). The people in the worst situations are the ones being exploited to feed us summer veg all year around, to clothe us in £4 fall-apart jeans and provide us with endless consumer items which will end up in landfill within weeks. By living more sustainably over here, we help people throughout the world.

Inspired by IWD today, this week is going to be a little different on Recycle This – we’ll still be thinking about reducing, reusing and recycling but focused around women’s health & sexual health – and we’ve got some great giveaways! Stay tuned!

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We’ve had an email from Hayley asking:

Can I compost baked beans? From a tin. We always seem to have some leftover!

Like many composting questions, there is no definitive answer. Some people say it’s fine – they’re vegetables after all, they’ll break down – but other people say don’t do it – the preservatives can upset worms/bacteria in the heap and/or attracted unwanted vermin. If you’ve got a well contained, healthy heap, a few beans won’t ruin it.

Composting though should be a last resort – try to use them first. If you don’t think you’ll use them up within a couple of days in the fridge, you can apparently freeze them (anyone had experience doing that? anything to do/avoid?). You can also add them as filler to soups and casseroles – but if they’re salty ones, remember to adjust your recipe accordingly.

How do you use up your beans?

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(Apologies for the lack of posts over the last few days – one of our beloved cats died very, very suddenly on Monday night and it threw me somewhat. )

Last week, during our lunch themed week, I asked about alternatives to plastic bags & film wraps for packed lunches and it made me think about reusable alternatives to disposable cling film/foil in the kitchen general.

We’ve not really used film for years – a combination of deliberately wanting to avoid using it and being burned buying a couple of rolls of really not clingy clingfilm. I occasionally, when I’m in a rush, use a bit of tin foil as a temporary lid but mostly I use proper lids – we’ve got a selection of random lids which largely fit our standard eating bowls, and we’ve got some plastic can covers.

The downside with the plastic can covers is they only work for cans that are precisely standard size. That’s why I like these homemade reusable bowl covers. They’re elasticated so can be used on a range of sizes of cans, bowls and assorted tubs. A great, simple idea!

What have you done to reduce the use of disposable covers/wraps like cling film/saran wrap in your kitchen?

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Ladders are frequently decommissioned when they become a safety risk – the wood gets a bit rotten or metal bent or rusty – but they can still be used for other things — just not whole-human-weight things.

At my mum and dad’s house the other day, I spotted half an old wooden ladder had been reused as a cat ramp – the cats are getting old and they can’t jump up to the kitchen window sill any more so use the ladder to get up there and through the window (which they use instead of a cat flap). I’ve also heard about ladders being used as the basis of ramps for chicken coops.

Inside the house, old ladders can be used as fun bookshelfs – step-ladders with deeper rungs have more shelf space but rickety old wooden ones look more fun.

What else can be done with old ladders?

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We’ve had an email from Ste:

What are the options for tanalised overlap fencing panels?

Tanalised wood lasts longer outside without maintenance but it is a bit more problematic to dispose of as it’s been treated with chromated copper arsenate – toxins ahoy! It’s not recommended to burn on open fires or in woodburning stoves, and I wouldn’t want those chemicals anywhere near my compost heap either. They can apparently be burnt in industrial incinerators but that’s usually a last ditch “solution”.

The better option would be to reuse them if possible. If it’s simple a case of no longer wanting them, offer them on Freecycle/Freegle – I think it’s almost guaranteed that someone will want them. People will still probably want them for spares or repairs if they’re damaged, or cut them down to make small panels out of the undamaged bits.

Any other suggestions?

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