"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Saturday 29 August 2015

Tagged

I'm definitely a hoarder.  Anything and everything.  Including plastic bag tags - from bread, when I used to buy it, from some fruit (oranges), etc.

For the past 3 years I have been tossing them into a mug and forgetting about them.  Until the mug overflowed.
My collection of plastic bag tags - I reckon there
could be close to 350 - 400 of them
So I went searching the Net for what I could do with them / what they could be used for.  And came across this site : 


The Sweetheart Foundation collection point
map which promotes the collection of bread tags
The used bread tags / polystyrene is recycled into wheelchairs / Tutu Desks and Wonderbags.  Or decor items, beads, or even buildings for the informal sector.

Happily there is a collection point in Swellendam, so I have dropped off my tags.  All it takes is 1 000 000 tags and someone gains a wheelchair.

This link also has links to where you can recycle anything from batteries, cell phones, eye wear, x-rays, cfl's, printer cartridges, etc.

Reckon with these links there is no excuse for anyone to throw anything into landfill.

14 comments:

  1. What a great idea, I havent seen bread tags for years I dont they do them anymore in the UK.

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    Replies
    1. Dawn - How do they seal the bags then - sticky tape? How do you re-seal the bags? And oranges / apples, etc?

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  2. That is amazing and wonderful! Love this :)

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  3. What a wonderful thing! Much of the bread here in the states use tie twisties but there are still many of these used. I will have to see if there is a US version of this program. Love it!!

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    Replies
    1. 1st Man - If there isn't, why not get some info from the SA company, and start something similar there? Big ask, I know... :D

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  4. Bread tags are like blast from the past, haven't seen them since I was a kid.

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    Replies
    1. Kirsty - Lol - did you enjoy your trip down memory lane...?

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  5. Wow-what a great resource you have.
    We were so happy to finally find a recycling center near us that takes glass! I couldn't believe nobody took that.
    Hubby and I are disgusted with how much waste people put out here. Everyone around us fills the HUGE trash cans we are given on a weekly basis---and by fill, I mean to overflowing! It takes us a month to put out one bag of trash.....and I feel bad about that!

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    Replies
    1. Sue - I completely understand wherfe you're coming from. Before we started recycling we used to have 2 X large bags of garbage every week, Now, we fill a 1/4 - 1/3 of a bag. The rest goes to recycling. If recycling was law, people would have no option - but at the moment they're just too lazy to make the effort...???

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  6. You scared me with your post title. "Tagged" means to get shot here.

    We tried recycling here. They built a shed at the dump, and you could drop off clear glass, colored glass,plastics, metal, old batteries, etc. But it didn't make any money. Here, everything has to make money. So they just went back to burying the stuff.

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    Replies
    1. Harry - Sorry to give you a fright.

      That's a pity - so sad to think / know that no effort is being made to prevent recyclables from ending up inlandfil!! Money isn't going to provide for them when their lives as they know it change due to global warming / climate change...

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  7. We do a lot of recycling. We actually bought metal garbage bins - one for plastic, one for glass, one for aluminum, one for paper! It sure makes it a lot easier. When they get full, we head down to our local recycler! We are able to avoid having to pay for a trash service in this way!

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    Replies
    1. Vicki - Don't you feel better for doing your bit? :D Thankfully, we don't have to separate our recyclables - the centre does it for us. But, when we were living in town we had different bins for the different items.

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