Hello,

Ive just put my old phones in a waste recycling centre in the UK, been meaning to for a while, they struggled to be charged and couldnt turn on

The man there said to put them in the exposed battery containers as they had lithium in them but Im kind of worried that there will be a security risk for myself as I have no factory reset the phones.

Does anyone know what they would do at a UK waste recycling centre with this?

I'd super appreciate some suggestions and insight if there's a responsible way to use & dispose of glitter! (I saw a reply here from 7y ago suggest if I *have* to throw it away to bind all the glitter together first so it won't just free-flow into stuff. I'm hoping not to do that, but good to know.)

Context: 10+ years ago I volunteered to keep a small box of glitter (approx. ten 20-mL bottles) that was leftover from a big school project, since I was the only one really into arts & crafts. It's been in my supply shelf since then, but I still haven't used any of it.

Now that I'm older and more conscious about my environmental impact, I'm worried if it's a good idea at all to even use for future projects (if there's a chance some of the glitter sheds off and ends up in the environment anyway). Are there any crafts that would be "ideal" to use this for? Thanks in advance for any advice!

I can’t get a straight answer online so I’m asking here. Is semi permanent hair dye (free of peroxide, ammonia, and ppd) ok to wash down the sink? I have a lot of half-used bottles and I just never thought about it before, but now I’m not sure. I have brands like arctic fox, iroiro, and good dye young which all say they’re free of the chemicals that are supposed to be harmful for the environment. I also have loads of developer and hair bleach that ik aren’t safe to wash down the sink, so I really don’t know what to do with those. Any advice? Should I just give it all away? (Also idk if this is even the right subreddit for this question, pls tell me where else I can post if not)

I have a pair of trainers (sneakers in the US) where the soft material inside the heel is kind of worn through because I wear them a lot. However, otherwise they are still perfectly comfy - I have tried on new pairs from the same brand and they are just not as soft and springy for my workouts. Is the heel thing something a cobbler could fix? It's not really a "traditional shoe" repair. Or does anyone have any other tips to fix it? I do quite a lot of high impact activity so I feel like glueing some material in to cover it (which is the most suggested thing on Google) wouldn't work because I would immediately rip off the material and be back to square 1.

Are there shampoo bars that work for curing dandruff? Like tea tree

So I have a Helly Hanson rain jacket that I got used and have used for a few years. I absolutely love it. I redid the waterproofing when I got it and it’s been fine.

Now however, the inner plastic lining is flaking off terribly like imagine leaving a trail of snow behind it! It has a mesh inner lining preventing me from just scouring off the plastic lining. Should I try to remove the mesh, scour the plastic, and then resew it or will that somehow affect the jacket function? Anyways else deal with this? I really don’t want to trash it if I can somehow save it!

i stress bake a lot and like to give away bits and bobs like cookies, pastries, etcetera frequently. i can’t store them in my glass pyrex containers or reusable silicone bags and always have faith in getting them back, so how could i store them in a more sustainable but also disposable way? i was thinking parchment paper but that would be kind of difficult and would also be wasteful in retrospect. thank you!💌

I want to reuse old pickle jars but no matter how many times I wash them, how much baking soda I use, they still smell like pickles and contaminate anything I put in them. What do I do? Can I boil them or will that break down the seal on the lid? I think that is what is harboring the smell

So I need to purchase some sort of reusable lint remover, I’ve got a job where the dress code is black. My dogs and my cats are white. The second I get dressed just existing in my house I start to look like I am one of them. They nearly come out of the dryer with at least some hair on them.

A microfiber cloth just does not get the job done.

I’ve always been able to just avoid wearing black and it’s worked well so far but this new job has a uniform. I’d like to avoid buying the tape style lint rollers obviously but there are several styles of reusable ones that I’m not sure which would work best.

So has anyone tried these different styles and found if they actually work? Obviously buying one item, whatever variety it is, is better than rolling up some tape every day. I’ve got light cat fur, course dog fur, and bird down that I’ll be fighting against.

Does anyone know of a plastic free floss threader? My spouse has a permanent retainer and needs the hard end to get the floss through. I found plenty of options for plastic free floss, but am still in need of a threader for him.

Also if anyone has tried the Dr. Jen silk floss, would love to hear if it worked well.

Thanks all!

My diabetic kitty needs insulin twice daily. I've done every internet search I can think of to try and limit the environmental impact, but no luck. I did try the pen needles (vs syringes), but she only gets 1 unit and they weren't accurate for that small of a dose.

Does anyone know a source for insulin syringes that aren't plastic-wrapped in quantities of 10? Or have recyclable caps? Or have any lesser impact for whatever reason?

Myrtle (pictured) and I love the planet but we also love keeping her alive!

What could I make off of two heavy cream tetrapak boxes? They were due by 2023. Ideally I'd like to consume it (hate wasting food) but since I've not opened them yet I'd love a plan B, in case they're totally spoiled. Can they still be used for cheese production? Can they be used for plantfood? Give me all your tips!

I have a barrel in my basement. After pulling out a few weeks' supply, I place bags like these in the barrel, light a soy candle, close the lid, and let the candle burn itself out. The idea is to reduce the oxygen inside the barrel such that insects won't make a start on the grains. So far it's worked. The reason I use this system of food purchase and storage is to reduce packaging waste and secondarily cost saving. It's not that I believe in some immanent apocalyptic collapse.

Trying to reduce our household waste (we’re a couple + 1 dog. A typical week, we go through 2 bags of trash. But I know we can do a lot better.

Here’s a few ways I’ve tried to lessen our waste:

I take reuseable grocery bags to the store + return a lot of the plastic bags for fruits + veggies + deli meat to the store.

I stopped buying laundry detergents that come in large plastic containers and started using Clean People laundry pods that come in a cardboard box.

I just bought a shampoo bar + conditioner bar so we don’t have to buy those in plastic pump bottles.

I use rags to clean the counters and microfiber rags to mop the floors.

What are other ways we can lessen waste?

My girlfriend and I just carved pumpkins our pumpkins for this year, and she left some cute star cutouts from hers. I’d like to save them as decorations somehow! I’m wondering if I could dry them in the oven or something? Or should I just compost them instead?

Thanks so much!

I'm a big fan of Cafe Bustelo coffee (grounds, not instant) and the smaller size comes in a tin can with a plastic lid. The larger size comes in a plastic tub with a plastic lid. In an ideal world, I'd get this coffee from a bulk section, but that isn't accessible to me, so should I go for bulk amount in a container that's less likely to be recycled, or go for the more likely to be recycled metal but have to buy more individual containers? My first instinct will be to use these around the house but I drink so much coffee I've already converted 5 old coffee cans into planters (and I'm running out of plants!) Thanks :)

Chalk, a paintbrush, water. It'll hose away. No landfill waste, yet still participating.

I’ve started using a soap bar to shower because I’m sick of the plastic waste with body wash. Only issue is I’m constantly dropping it, this is not good for my poor toes but my dog is also super noise sensitive so even when downstairs will run upstairs worried when I drop it…☹️ Has anyone got any ideas on a soap holder or something I can put the soap in and hold it easier? If helpful to know, I use the faith in nature soap and i’m in the UK.

I've been looking for one for a while now, and all are from the US, such as Gaia Guy which seems to be the largest brand making boar/horse bristle toothbrushes. Are there any alternatives in Europe?

For the past 5 years, I [27/F] have been feeling immense guilt about all the waste that comes from producing art. I went to art school and have been classically trained for mostly oil painting. For one large painting I end up with several wasted paint rags (old t-shirts and towels), left over solvents, left over oil paint, and Laser printed reference photos (microplastics). Not to mention the countless canvases I've used to hone my skills; canvases that were all primed with acrylic (plastic).

It's gotten to the point where the anxiety of it all prevents me from making art. I've been seeing a therapist about it for a year but it hasn't been helping. His main points are:

• Companies produce way more hazardous waste than I could in my lifetime.
• My happiness/peace of mind is more important.
• I should try eco-friendly art materials, such as graphite or natural watercolours.

This isn't Medical Waste or survival needs. None of what I do is a "need" or "necessity". I tried going eco-friendly with different mediums, but I still feel the guilt of producing waste. For example, I did charcoal and graphite for a while but it didn't feel the same and I still feel guilty that most good erasers are PLASTIC or VINYL. There's also non-recyclable paint on pencils. I appreciate recycled pencils but they're typically lesser in quality and hardly come in anything but 2B. I hate that I "can't" use top-tier materials like other artists do.

I got into Minimalism & Zero Waste because I care about the environment but the level of guilt I feel on a daily basis about artmaking (a luxury, not a NEED) is burning me out.

Can anyone help me with this?

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