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Reuse & Repurpose

It's very tempting to throw things away or even drop them in a recycling bin when we are done with them. Is there a better way?

Share your ideas for extending the “lives” of the items that we buy and use, and their packaging as well!




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Reuse & Repurpose

Recent posts:

Nina10!   2024-11-18 14:35:34 (Last post: 2025-05-18 21:14:21)
Thrifting and crafting is a great way to reuse and repurpose.

In our society, lots of new things are being made cheap and quickly every second of the day. They are made out of plastic, being imported into wealthier countries, and they don't tend to last. Instead of participating in fast fashion, people should try going to thrift stores and buying used clothes or items. Thrifting is also typically much cheaper than buying brand new items. You may even find products which are made with higher quality fabrics. If you grow out of your clothes you should donate them to thrift stores, reuse the fabric for something else, or try making a Tshirt no sew reusable bag.

kkarlaa4   2025-04-30 12:18:31

I like your opinion and I completely agree with you. More and more clothes are bought every day and I think too many clothes are thrown away. Some stores recycle used/old clothes but not enough. I think influencers could contribute to solving this problem because they have a great influence on young people. Some of my friends also use the app to sell things at low prices. I think it's good for both people and the environment.

sabababa   2025-05-15 22:38:44

I totally agree with you. Fast fashion has done so much harm to the environment, and the items being produced are cheaply made and often break down after a short period of time. I’ve started thrifting a lot and can honestly say that it is much better than buying fast fashion. Many of the things I find are even vintage and the quality of the clothing is built to last a long time. Additionally, the clothes are being reused instead of being dumped. I am proud to say that a large amount of my wardrobe has been thrifted instead of bought brand new. Also, I crochet accessories for myself instead of buying them, like beanies, bags, and leg warmers. By crocheting, I am paying much less for items than what I would pay for if I bought them brand new from a fast fashion brand. It’s also very rewarding to be able to say that I made an item by hand. I think buying clothes and accessories secondhand or even making them yourself is a great alternative to fast fashion and a great way to reduce waste and pollution.

AvSmBOD   2025-05-15 23:14:16

I agree with you that thrifting and crafting are great ways to be more sustainable. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) states that over 11 million tons of textile waste were thrown away in the U.S. in 2018, which is really concerning. Thrifting can help make a change by giving clothes a second chance rather than tossing them in the landfills. From my own experience, I've been able to find some very nice clothes while thrifting and sometimes the quality is way better than fast fashion. Also Fast fashion is cheap and does not last long. Lastly, I like the idea of reusing old clothes to make things like reusable bags or other crafts. It's a creative way to repurpose old clothes instead of throwing them out.

mafoBOD21626   2025-05-18 16:45:27

I completely agree with you. The cycle of fast fashion and constant consumption is not only harmful to the environment but also encourages a throwaway mindset where individuals will waste clothing that someone else could've used. I also agree that thrifting is such a great alternative — it helps reduce waste, supports sustainability, and often leads to finding unique, high-quality items that you can't get in regular stores. I also love your idea about reusing fabric, it’s eco-friendly, and a great way to give old clothes new life. In addition, I wonder if there are any companies that already use old fabric to create new clothes.

AlfoBOD   2025-05-18 21:14:21

I see your point, Nina. Thrifting and upcycling things not only conserve waste but also give us the chance to find high-quality pieces. Thrifting has a big affect in reducing waste. I also like the idea of making reusable bags out of discarded shirts. Have you ever tried making other things from thrift shopping items?

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GePaBOD   2025-05-18 16:36:10
Reuse & Repurpose

Throwing away old clothes is a wasteful problem many people participate in. All those old, used, even new clothes that people throw out, get incinerated and used as fuel that pollutes the environment and hurts the earth. I read an article from NLST and RTS all relating to recycling clothes, and it mentioned how 85% of people toss away old clothes to be burned and to eventually damage the environment, when there are many more simpler and resourceful solutions. Rather than throwing away clothes, people can donate them or sell them to other people. The main solution of recycling clothes is giving them to thrift stores so they can resell it and it can make someone else happy. In the articles I read, 15% of people reuse/recycle their clothes either giving them away to people, stores or reusing them to make new and trendy clothes. My mom and I always donate my old clothes to charity or clothing drives to help other families that need clothes. We used to give them to my cousins but they have outgrown them so we donate them and see other families happy and safer with new clothes. It gives them a chance to be cared for, warm, and stylish.

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GePaBOD   2025-05-18 16:35:10
Reuse & Repurpose

Throwing away old clothes is a wasteful problem many people participate in. All those old, used, even new clothes that people throw out, get incinerated and used as fuel that pollutes the environment and hurts the earth. I read an article from NLST and RTS all relating to recycling clothes, and it mentioned how 85% of people toss away old clothes to be burned and to eventually damage the environment, when there are many more simpler and resourceful solutions. Rather than throwing away clothes, people can donate them or sell them to other people. The main solution of recycling clothes is giving them to thrift stores so they can resell it and it can make someone else happy. In the articles I read, 15% of people reuse/recycle their clothes either giving them away to people, stores or reusing them to make new and trendy clothes. My mom and I always donate my old clothes to charity or clothing drives to help other families that need clothes. We used to give them to my cousins but they have outgrown them so we donate them and see other families happy and safer with new clothes. It gives them a chance to be cared for, warm, and stylish.

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roflBOD1   2025-05-16 10:17:52
How you can use old clothes to keep your house warm.

People all over the world don't realize that jeans that you buy take 1000 Gallons of water to make one pair of jeans. As humans, we drink 1/2 a gallon a day. One pair of jeans is the equivalent to 2000 people having enough water to drink for the day. When we throw away jeans, we waste that good denim material that we can use for future use. For example, in the article "Denim Insulation Review: Comparison Guide and Pros and Cons", I learned that if we use jeans that we throw away as insulation, we can save so much material on making the insulation that is commonly used, it's terrible for the environment! It can add up to 26 million Tons of CO2 emissions a year! If we started reusing jeans that we buy, we would help the environment a lot. I used this in my daily life after we remade our garage, we thrifted old jeans and used the denim from the jeans to insulate our walls and keep us warm throughout the winter. Cutting waste in material needs to be focused on more.

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SAVABOD   2025-05-16 00:23:41
Plastic shopping bags

One easy and cost effective way to reduce your carbon footprint is by using reusable shopping bags instead of plastic ones. Plastic bags are made from petroleum, and they take hundreds of years to break down in landfills. The Environmental Protection Agency (2021) reports that Americans use around 100 billion plastic bags every year, and less than 10% are recycled. By switching to reusable bags, you can reduce waste and help lower the demand for plastic production. Consumers are the source, when we stop buying there is no demand, which means no market for plastic bags. Me and my family started using reusable bags when we go shopping, and it’s such an easy change, all we do is leave the reusable bags in the trunk so if we need them they are handy and putting them away is easy. Not only does it help the environment, but it also saves money because some stores even charge extra for plastic bags. Once you change to reusable bags, it't something that is just a small change that can make a huge difference in our carbon footprint, something that doing it for a week will feel like an unconcious act

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Ema K   2025-04-30 11:49:09 (Last post: 2025-05-15 20:30:54)
DIY and second-hand shopping

Fast fashion is one of the issues in our society that isn't addressed properly. By buying fast fashion and following micro-trends, we not only further encourage child labor and such, but we also contribute to an extremely large portion of the world's Carbon production. Not only are the clothes from fast fashion stores and brands made of poor quality materials, but they have also been proven to contain lots of extremely harmful chemicals. On top of all that, fast fashion is intended to change quickly to fit the new trends - hence the name - which is why a concerning amount of clothes (probably worn only like 5 times) end up in landfill after they're no longer trendy, only further polluting the planet.

A few ways to stay as far away from fast fashion culture that have worked the best for me are second-hand shopping and DIY (Do It Yourself). Half of my closet consists of my relatives' old clothing items, a lot of them waiting for summer to get customized and repurposed, while my own old clothes have already found their new owners (actual people, not the trash!).
Personally, I adore DIY. The possibilities are endless, regardless of skill or experience - all you need is a vision. I've made band t-shirts, bracelets, necklaces, cuffs and other accessories completely from scratch, and I can guarantee you that there is no better feeling than wearing something you made yourself.

So, I encourage more people to try out more sustainable fashion sources: go to thrift stores, alter and customize your old clothes. Reuse, recycle, repurpose!

masuBOD1   2025-05-15 20:30:54

I completely agree with your points about fast fashion! It’s a serious issue that often gets overlooked, especially with the rise of trends. I’ve also started shopping second-hand and repurposing old clothes, and it’s been a rewarding shift. In addition, I enjoy giving my used clothing to thrift stores and Goodwill’s because not only is it a relief for me, it has the opportunity to help a lot of people. It feels good to know i’m reducing waste as well. Making or customizing your own clothes adds so much personal value. Like you said, there’s nothing like wearing something you made yourself. I definitely think that more people need to realize that fashion can be both creative and sustainable, and by encouraging creativity, I believe that more people will be captivated to give reusing clothing a try! I have been thinking about this pretty consistently, and it has made me wonder how drastic of a change we can make by incorporating DIY and repurposing fashion into our everyday lives? It would be very interesting to observe, and even more to experiment with.

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Zack S   2023-11-03 11:08:54 (Last post: 2025-05-01 08:45:41)
What is reuse and repurpose?

Reuse and Repurpose is recycling. This is good because instead of adding to the garbage dumps we can re-use junk and keep reusing it. This is good because if we keep just throwing stuff away then our oceans will keep being dirty and the beaches will also be dirty and thats not good because sea creatures die by choking on stuff.

Paula T.   2025-05-01 08:45:41

I agree with you absolutely. Clothes that aren't actually wearable are often reused by my family. If the clothing is cotton, we usually use it as a cleaning tool for glass surfaces. It's quite useful and efficient. Additionally, we typically use cotton shopping bags for our grocery shopping.

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Jayonna C.   2024-10-24 07:13:07 (Last post: 2025-04-30 13:54:08)
Recycling

Recycling isn't hard at all. I think an easy way to start off recycling is to buy a recycling bin and sort out all the trash that you have into groups of whatever can be recycled and that's the basics of recycling. If you really want to be environmentally friendly you could volunteer for recycling programs to help out around your area and around other places as well.

alyssak2024   2024-10-24 08:30:51

I agree with you.It helps reduce waste. Like, we produce so much trash every day,and recycling means that we’re giving materials a second chance instead of just tossing them in a landfill.That’s way better for the environment! Plus, recycling saves energy. When we recycle things like paper and plastic, it takes way less energy to turn them into new products than it does to create those products from scratch.

Mija   2025-04-29 12:13:10

In my city, we sort trash (paper, plastic, glass, metal, biowaste and mixed waste). I agree that it is not hard. All the waste then goes for recycling which is very important for the planet. Sometimes I wonder if the products that I buy are made from recycled material? Recycling is very significant for the environment.

marthqq   2025-04-30 13:54:08

I think this is a great way to start recycling. It's not hard, you just need a recycling bin and know what type of waste goes where. We should all at least do that. I also like the idea of volunteering because that way we're not just helping nature, but also the people around us. If we all take at least a small step, together we can do a lot for our planet.

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gmacv1234   2025-04-17 04:13:40 (Last post: 2025-04-26 12:03:27)
Reuse plastic bags Scotland

In Scotland a law was passed single so shops and supermarkets could give away single use plastic bags for free, there is a minimum charge of £0.05 for a bag
This has really encouraged people to reuse plastic shopping bags or take their own bags

MargaretaV   2025-04-26 12:03:27

I agree that charging for plastic bags in supermarkets is a good decision. They started charging for them in Croatia too, and after a while people realized how useful it is in reducing the use of plastic. I would like to point out something even more useful that each of us can do. We can reuse some old clothing material and sew a cloth bag that can also be used multiple times and is more environmentally friendly.

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kyra7   2024-10-24 18:08:44 (Last post: 2025-02-07 16:07:54)
New Life for Old Things.

From the article “ Introduction: Reuse, Recycle, and Repurpose: The Afterlives of Japanese Material Culture” by Halle O’Neal the action of reuse and repurpose is focused and explained.
As defined within the article, “To reuse, recycle, or repurpose an object often necessitates repairing that object so that its usefulness can continue.” By completing the action of repurposing an object this will help allow in a decrease of trash buildup. Not only does it help with decreasing waste but the reuse aspect allows for that object to continue to be useful in a variety of ways.

https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/a … e/id/3985/

Mammon   2024-10-25 06:36:32

I really like this idea, not only does it cut down on waste but it could potentially give the item a new home and purpose.

sleepy_chris   2025-02-07 16:04:21

This idea could save countless things used for the materials we need and use the old things and repurpose them to be used in the new ages.

RemiReyes12   2025-02-07 16:07:54

YEAH I AGREE DUDEEEEEEEEEEE!

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Rohitha   2023-11-09 00:06:06 (Last post: 2024-11-18 16:03:45)
Dress Green! Save Green!

Fast Fashion. This has become a term everyone has become familiar with. Over the last couple of years, fast fashion has made its presence known. The fashion industry itself is known to be responsible for almost 10% of our global emissions. Fast fashion produces massive amounts of clothing that are more affordable and more efficient to produce. These industries jump on latest trends to draw in large crowds. However, even though this sounds extremely convenient, fast fashion has made numerous detrimental effects on the environment. Clothing requires unimaginable amounts of oil, space, chemicals and water to produce. According to BBC, it is estimated that it takes 2,700 litres of water to produce ONE t-shirt! Unbelievable right?! Over the years, globally, clothing has made a huge impact on our own personal carbon footprints. To combat this issue, we have to make the choice of supporting more sustainable brands. We should also be willing to reuse and repurpose our materials.  Every single action of ours, impacts someone or something else in one way or another. It’s important that we are aware of the results of our actions. By dressing green, we can save green!

latiao_strips   2024-11-18 16:03:45

I agree. Fast fashion has been a problem. One thing you can do is to stop going to fast fashion places and start thrifting. thrifting is a good way to stop buying fast fashion. When you thrift the clothes are generally cheaper and could be better quality and also decreases your carbon footprint. It's also a good way to reuse and repurpose clothing that were once used.

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bkg_3   2024-11-18 15:58:26
reuse and repurpose

Did you know that 19 precent of Canadian households drink primarily bottled water. This just shows that there are still so many people that don't use a water bottle. It us very important to use a water bottle because it prevents us from using so much unnecessary plastic. it is also way cheeper to use a water bottle instead of buying bottles water because if you have a water bottle you can just refill it but if you buy bottled water than you have to buy it every time you need water. You can also just refill the bottle of water you buy and keep refilling it instead of getting a new one every time. This is why you should just buy a reusable water bottle because it will save you money, time and help the environment.

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pnd222   2024-11-18 15:41:21
reuse

Reusing things are really important like going to the grocery store and buying new bags for ur grocery's but instead u can use reusable bags and bring them from home. By doing that your saving urself money and being eco friendly. Ur also cutting down the waste of the extra plastic bags your buying that is goanna end up in the landfill or ocean. Also fixing up t-shirts like sewing ones with holes or rips in them and if ur clothes get smaller donate them.

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slayday555   2024-11-18 14:33:56
Reuse!!

I know a lot of people now buy new bags whenever they go grocery shopping and always get new plastic boxes when getting takeout for food. Although what happens to all those bags and boxes once you are finished with them? Most are just throw in the trash and forgotten about which causes more carbon and methane into our atmosphere. So start reusing your bags and boxes instead of getting new ones everytime you go out to eat or go shopping.

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Vivi.L   2024-10-24 19:33:11
Reuse and Repurpose

A lot of people may think that repurposing and recycling is limited to just plastics, however this is not the case. The article https://www.almanac.com/upcycling-ideas … -repurpose gives a variety of ideas in order to repurpose everyday items such as, rubber bands, toilet paper cardboard, and even toothbrushes. I believe that if influencers and people who have a big social media presence advertised this more and made repurposing trendier, then it would lead to an overall positive effect on the environment. Think about thrifting, while it has always been around, apps like TikTok and Instagram made it a trend to buy secondhand clothing. This has led to a positive effect on the amount of clothing that makes it to landfills. If influencers advertised that more over fast fashion, it would create such a huge impact on our waste.

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amalia__aaaaa   2024-10-22 22:41:16 (Last post: 2024-10-24 18:21:30)
Reuse & Repurpose

The number of plastic we use is an insane number.In my opinion  we shouldn't throw it away immediately,but use it as much as we can and recycle it.

croyal03   2024-10-23 12:58:59

Thank you so much and I completely agree with everything that you said! There is so much overproduction and overuse of plastic especially with water bottles and then they just end up in landfills or in the oceans. I think that with this issue there are many answers to this problem. One solution could be to buy water bottles that are reusable and are not made out of plastic. This has been a new trend, especially in the United States through Stanley and Hydroflask water bottles where people have these on them at all times. Another solution that I practice at home is by rinsing out all plastic bottles and then use them to propagate plants. I take the bottles and cut them to the desired size and height and then fill them with water and put the plants in them. Not only do I do this but I also went to go have lunch one day and saw a business putting plants and avocado seeds in plastic bottles to propagate them. Plastic and bottles are so multifunctional and if we just stop to think about the different purposes we can come up with great ideas and unique ways to help save our planet. If we can just start reusing little by little we can continue to get plastic out of Mother Nature. Thank you and have a great rest of your day!

FYHC3IXG9S0ZKOU.jpg?auto=webp

achinea17   2024-10-23 18:27:09

It is very important to be aware of Your impact on the Earth, which includes the products you buy and use. However, it is just as important to be aware of how you can reuse those same products so you can reduce your carbon footprint as well. For example, you can reuse plastic containers that came with food when you bought it for future usage. It's also just as important to help bring awareness to others on how they can be more earth friendly like putting up posters on public areas about where and how to properly recycle.

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wa … you-can-do

kyra7   2024-10-24 18:21:30

I agree that the usage of plastic in everyday life has reached an extremely high number. In addition to this, the act of using “one time use” plastic items like plastic water bottles or plastic bags at grocery stores feels so normal as so many people do it in their everyday lives without concern of the harm it does to the environment. Overall, I agree that the usage of plastic is not good and instead people should seek an alternative like a metal water bottle or a reusable bag for groceries.

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alyssak2024   2024-10-24 11:33:03
Recycling And Re purposing

Recycling and reusing are important strategies for reducing waste and conserving resources, which benefits our environment. By recycling materials like paper, plastic, and glass, we reduce the need for new materials, which helps lower energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Reusing items, whether it’s repurposing containers or donating clothes, extends the life cycle of products and minimizes landfill waste. We can help by including these practices into our daily lives—setting up a home recycling system, buying secondhand items, By making small, conscious choices, we can collectively make a positive impact on the planet and promote a more sustainable future. This link will take you to a clothing website that uses used clothes and re purposes them into cute vintage clothing.

https://recycled.clothing/?srsltid=AfmB … hmvgihTmxd

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JakeyPooh   2024-10-23 22:36:55 (Last post: 2024-10-24 07:08:29)
Single use plastic

One thing I can do to better help the environment is reducing the use of single use plastic products. This can be plastic water bottles, straws, and even the wrapping of packages that products come in. There is a saying that goes reduce, reuse, and THEN recycle. It is firstly important to reduce the use of single use plastics. I found that having a water bottle that isn't made of single use plastic is a good way to reduce the amount of single use plastic I use. One of the ways I reuse plastic is through takeout containers. We have a Vietnamese restaurant that serves takeout food in plastic containers. Instead of throwing them out, we have started using them to store leftovers when we eat.

https://www.nrdc.org/stories/single-use … -101#avoid

KaleahE   2024-10-24 07:08:29

My mom does this a lot and I do too because those containers are good when you have a lunch box and want something to put food in and most of all it's free who would want to miss out on that?

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KaleahE   2024-10-24 07:04:48
Most people don't reuse

I learned that old makeup packaging makes up 120 million units of thrash and when I found that I wanted to see what I could do to keep that from happening. So, most of my makeup packages I would reuse for other things which is to hold other things and the ones I couldn't reuse I would do the Sephora and they have a bin where you could recycle makeup packaging.

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econroy   2024-10-23 20:41:37 (Last post: 2024-10-24 06:50:21)
Reusing

I think people throw away things that can be reused way too often. There are many ways that people can reuse things to rerduce the waste they produce. I found a few ways to reuse some items on This Website.

Jayonna C.   2024-10-24 06:50:21

I completely agree with you. Through recent years people have seemed to care less about how they're harming the environment or they're just oblivious to what they're doing. I think people should really take the time to sit back and think about recent global problems like climate change, water scarcity, marine ecosystem deterioration, the decrease in biodiversity, etc.

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achinea17   2024-10-23 19:15:21
Rules of Recycling

It is important to acknowledge that recycling can be one of the best ways you can help save the planet even by a little bit. It is equally as important to know the proper items that can be recycled so you do not cause a disruption to the recycling centers when they have to sort out improper items. For example, I would not have assumed gardening hoses to be unrecyclable considering it is material can be burned down to make other objects. The website I have provided is a good reference point for anyone who would like to have an idea how the American recycling system works. It would be interesting to see if the recycling systems of other countries are similar to the US.

https://www.epa.gov/recycle/frequent-qu … cycling101

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LILlii   2024-10-15 01:26:45 (Last post: 2024-10-23 19:08:13)
Reuse and repurpose

When i change my clothes, sometimes i discard some of them. The parish church collects clothes and objects to give to people in need. In the last period, an application has spread, it's called "vinted", where all people in the world can sell and buy used things.
I think that using these methods can give new life to the items and clothes to avoid to throw them in the landfills.

Bpatrone   2024-10-23 17:57:57

Hello! I personally donate my clothes to organizations that give them to people who need it, and I think that popular application is great! There is always someone who will want something another person doesn't. Thrifting is very popular, which is shopping preowned items, similar to the application you mentioned. This can cut down waste significantly, especially for clothes and household items.

achinea17   2024-10-23 19:08:13

I do agree that making sure products don't go to waste and can be reused if not by yourself then by someone else is an excellent way to reduce your carbon footprint. However, it is important to make sure that you know how to decipher which clothes can be donated and which ones are not. The website I have provided gives you good tips and rules on which clothes are excellent candidates. It would really benefit the Earth if we could reuse or recycle some of the 50 billion pieces of articles of clothing that we throw out to some good use.

https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/hom … ling-guide

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Alessia.xcarnaru013   2024-10-22 22:41:21 (Last post: 2024-10-22 22:42:30)
Reciclying with creativity

If we want to recycle,but don't know how,here's a metod:We can take the object that we want to recycle(ex.a plastic bottle ) and do something useful with it by painting it, cutting it,etc.(like a vase for plants)
So,dear children we can create a healthier environment for our body by creating!✨???

amalia__aaaaa   2024-10-22 22:42:30

I totally agree✨✨

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sethw20   2024-10-18 09:34:40
Reuse and Repurpose

We as humans are so wasteful. We have so many possessions that we just throw away or never use again. I found an article that shows a bunch of items that we all have lying around our house that could be repurposed! Such as using an old toothbrush to scrub those tight spots around the house or using old socks as cleaning rags!
https://www.kindafrugal.com/17-creative … day-items/

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