To celebrate World Environment Day, FixIts Founder and materials guru Chris Lefteri wrote a guide to recycling. We picked five of the most interesting facts to share with you on how to use recycled materials more efficiently, ensuring that recycling continues to improve in the future.
"In fact, it is estimated that only about 9% of plastics are recycled globally. One reason is that so-called mechanical recycling, the most common plastic recycling process available today, requires different types of plastic to be separated before recycling."
(Photo: The Concept Shoe is a project set up by Salomon to recycle TPU materials from running shoes for use in ski boots)
"The meaning of ‘recycled’ and ‘recyclable’ is crucial in the context of textiles. Currently, most recycled textiles are made with waste from other industries, such as plastic packaging or fishing nets, while actual textiles are hardly recycled at all."
(Photo: Recycled wollen textiles by Cardato in Prato Italy)
"Reusing metal products is always more efficient than recycling and few materials can compete with metals when it comes to potential for repairs. Metal surfaces that are slightly damaged through scratching or corrosion can often be touched up and polished so that they look as good as new, rather than throwing away the product."
"A global waste problem It is estimated that fully a third of global waste is made up of construction waste from demolished buildings and industrial waste from the construction material industries. A very large proportion of this waste is ceramic and glass."
(Photo: Various construction waste used by StoneCycling, a Dutch supplier of recycled bricks)
"Paper waste is a valuable resource that is also increasingly becoming a valuable raw material outside the traditional paper industry. You may be surprised to find the wide range of paper waste-based materials available."
(Photo: 42 Newspaper Wood composite material made with compressed newspaper waste)
This idea came to us whilst visiting South Korea, sharing the story of FixIts with amazing people there. We were so inspired every time we sat down to eat, we had to have a go at making these chopsticks rests and trainers ourselves. They're fun to make, unique to you, and a great talking piece.
Give it a go if you fancy it? As ever with FixIts, it's easy to use and endlessly reusable, so unlike the delicious food you are about to eat, you can't make a meal out of it.
We’ve all been there. Something is a bit wobbly and needs a tightened screw. You reach out for the wing nut. It’s gone.
Nightmare.
Don't waste time hunting for a replacement. Just make your own one. It's exactly what FixIts was made for. In minutes, you can use FixIts to make your own wing nut.
Here's the pro tip: dip it in cold water to speed the set.
Simple as that.
We've got your back. Well, your wing nut.
Keep your milk fresh for longer and skip the messy spills with these homemade Fixits milk bottle tops.
They're fun to make, they look good, and you can even colour-code them using different FixIts shades, which is handy if more than one bottle lives in your fridge.
