Flipchart for local meetings

Delete this slide and print the remaining slides double-sided

(preferably on cardstock). The side with the design is the “poster” and the white side provides notes the lesson leader can use to make the

presentation to the local group.

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Recycle Reuse Reinvent

2010 District OHCE Leader Training

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Recycle, Reuse and Reinvent

• Until the mid 20th Century, most families were very efficient and conservative in their use of resources.

• Today, thanks to concerns about the environment and the economy, there is renewed interest in protecting and conserving natural resources in addition to getting the most from every dollar.

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What’s in our Garbage?

• The average American family generates 2.5 tons of garbage per year. About 80% of what we throw away could be recycled, reused, donated, composted or made into something new.

• Looking at this chart, think about YOUR trash and what YOU can do to change your household’s contribution to the waste stream

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Energy Use:Recycled & Virgin Content Products

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Energy use Recycled vs. Virgin content products

• As you can see on the chart, every product listed can be produced more efficiently from recycled material than from raw materials.

• The obvious winners are Aluminum and Plastic. • It is 95% more efficient to recycle than to mine the component

materials and make “new” aluminum.• Although plastics recyclers are not as plentiful as those that take

aluminum, it is worth looking, because it is 66% more efficient to recycle plastic than to make new

• For the remainder of products, the differences are not so stark. The real benefits from recycling paper products is keeping them out of landfills. Just over half of all steel/tin cans can be recycled, but the bulk of all steel recycled comes from appliances, cars, etc. Glass can be recycled indefinitely, but glass containers are often reused in the home and items such as glass ovenware (Pyrex), glassware and broken window glass are not accepted with household recycling.

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Recycle

2010 District OHCE Leader Training

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Recycle

• In Japan, only 16% of household waste goes to landfills. Why do you think that might be?– About 50% of Japan’s solid waste is recycled– Because of their limited land mass, landfills are few

and far between and residents pay a premium price to send their garbage to the landfill

– The Japanese pay the disposal fee for durable goods like appliances and cars when they purchase the item. When they purchase a new item, the store picks up the old one to repair and resell or salvage.

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Special care items

• CFL bulbs • Batteries• Tires• Electronics• Motor Oil• Fire Extinguishers• Appliances

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Special Care itemsThese items can and should be recycled, but require special handling

• Compact Fluorescent bulbs contain a small amount of mercury and shouldn’t be thrown in the trash – most Home Depot stores have drop off sites

• Many rechargeable batteries can be dropped off where you recycle/return a cell phone. Car batteries should be taken back to the retailer when you buy a new one

• Although we pay a disposal fee up front for tires, in rural areas, many tires go home to serve as trailer tires, raised bed gardens, etc.

• Even though recyclers generally don’t pay for electronics – in fact many charge you to bring computers – it is still important to take these items to a places like Office Depot, Staples and Best Buy so newer computers can be refurbished and the components harvested from older ones. In addition to keeping chemicals out of landfills and trash out of ditches, a ton of salvaged computer components contains more gold than 17 tons of gold ore.

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Donate or recycle…

• Eyeglasses• Hearing aids• Bathtubs, toilets &

sinks• Computers• Cell phones • Smoke detectors• Ink Cartridges• Telephones

• Books/Magazines• Packing

foam/peanuts• Paint• Cars• Clothes Hangars• Propane tanks

(grill)• Sewing Machines

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Donate or recycle

• Eyeglasses – most local Lion’s clubs accept used eyeglasses, in addition to local eye care practitioners and Hearing aids can often be refurbished

• Bathtubs, toilets & sinks that are in good shape can be reused in home construction for those less fortunate. If reuse is not an option, the scrap iron from a cast iron bathtub can be salvaged.

• Many office supply stores give you credit for returning/recycling Ink Cartridges• Telephones can often be refurbished/reused • Books/Magazines should be donated or shared with friends & neighbors• Packing foam/peanuts – While you will likely use a number of foam peanuts yourself, they

have a variety of uses within the building industry• Paint – once you’ve finished with a project, keep a small amount of paint for touch-ups and

donate the paint for a community beautification project – paint is generally not recycled in the traditional sense. Note – a glass jar with a tight fitting lid makes a great container for leftover paint.

• Cars can be donated to charity and the donor receives a tax break, but cars that have outlived their usefulness as a source of transportation can also be salvaged

• Clothes Hangars – many dry cleaners accept used hangers and a few will give you a discount when you bring a bundle of hangers back.

• Propane tanks (grill) – be sure to return empty propane tanks when picking up another tank• Sewing Machines – with renewed interest in home sewing, if your old sewing machine is in

working order, give it to a relative who needs a machine or to the local community center or Goodwill store

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Never Recycle:

• Aerosol Cans• Brightly colored

paper• Ceramics/pottery• Disposable Diapers• Hazardous Waste• Household Glass• Juice boxes/coated

cardboard• Medical Waste• Wet paper

• Napkins/paper towels

• Pizza Boxes• Plastic bags &

plastic wrap• Plastic coated boxes

& plastic without recycle symbol

• Plastic screw on caps

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Never Recycle these items• Aerosol Cans – unless the recycle symbol is present• Brightly colored paper – the strong dyes can contaminate the recycling mix• Ceramics/pottery items have different properties than glass and cannot be recycled• Disposable Diapers – at this point we have no way to recover the component materials• Juice boxes/coated cardboard – the coating that keeps moisture from leaking through keeps this

paper product out of the recycle bin• Wet paper of any kind shouldn’t be recycled – but it’s a good component in the compost pile• Napkins/paper towels – because of their intended purpose, these items can harbor bacteria and be

unusable• Pizza Boxes often have grease stains or stuck-on food and both can contaminate a batch of

recycled paper• Plastic bags & plastic wrap that have been in direct contact with food are hard to recycle because it

is impractical to wash• Plastic coated boxes & plastic without recycle symbol should be reused as long as possible, but

because they are a combination item, they can’t be recycled with today’s equipment• Plastic screw on caps• Hazardous Waste & Medical waste - this sounds very obvious, but be sure you are aware of

everything that falls into this category.

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Reuse

2010 District OHCE Leader Training

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Reuse

• If you do not live near a recycling center, reusing items may be your best option.

Reuse is less expensive than:– Recycling– Incineration– Composting– Adding to a landfill

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Use these more than once:• Dry Cleaning Bags• Butter/Margarine

wrappers • Plastic grocery bags• Plastic bread

clips/twist ties• Plastic produce

baskets• Spray bottles• Mesh bags• Pantyhose• Laundry bottle caps

and scoops

• Cereal Bag liners• Glass jars• Shoe Boxes• Worn out towels,

sheets• Computer paper• Paper Bags• Leftover building

material• Egg cartons (for non-

food uses)• Holiday greeting cards• Outdated phone

books

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Use these items more than once• Use Dry Cleaning Bags to cushion clothing when packing (or to protect out of season clothing in

the closet)• Butter/Margarine wrappers can be used to butter a dish before baking• Plastic grocery bags can go back to the store to be used again, they are great liners for small waste

baskets and they are invaluable when cleaning the cat’s litterbox• Plastic bread clips/twist ties are great for closing up bags (like Powdered Sugar) that don’t come

with a closure• Plastic produce baskets are great for organizing small items in the pantry or garage• Spray bottles – any clean spray bottle can be used until the spray mechanism fails• Mesh vegetable bags make great scrubbers• Pantyhose in addition to wearing pantyhose with a run under slacks, they are great for

straining/filtering and storing onions to dry• Cereal Bag liners are great to separate ground beef patties before freezing and they can also

double as a disposable bag for decorator icing• Glass jars can be reused indefinitely, since the component materials do not interact with other

substances• Shoe Boxes can transport baked goods or become the foundation for a diorama• Worn out towels & sheets can be cut up for cleaning rags, line the dog house, etc.• Paper Bags can generally be used several times before recycling. If the paper become stained or

dirty, crumple the bag and use to start a fire in the fireplace• Leftover building material can become the foundation for all types of crafts• Egg cartons – especially the paperboard cartons - are great for starting seedlings for transplanting• Holiday greeting cards – the card fronts can be used for a number of crafts• Tear out the pages you rely on from your outdated phone book and put them in a folder in your

car for reference19

Reuse of food containers:

• Glass containers can be reused for all foods – but should not be used for pressure canning

• Reuse other materials as follows:• Foods with similar chemical composition• Foods that will be exposed to the same type

of process• Do not reuse porous materials such as:

• Paper• Paperboard• Expanded foam

• Do not reuse microwave packages with browning/crisping functions

• It is best not to reuse containers for foods with strong odors

Source: University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service 20

Reuse of food packagingAlthough studies of the safe reuse of food packaging materials have been limited, the followinggeneral guidelines apply:• Packages from products other than food should never be used as food containers. Similarly,

plastic trash bags (unless labeled as “safe for food storage”) should never be used to store food.

• Glass can be reused for all foods, regardless of what food was originally packed in the glass container. However, single-use jars should not be used for foods processed in a pressure canner.

• Reuse food packaging for foods with similar acidity, sugar, fat or alcohol content or foods that will be exposed to the same type of processes.

• In general, do not subject food packages to heat unless instructions on the original package give heating information.

• Do not reuse porous packaging such as paper, paperboard & expanded foam (Styrofoam) as air pockets can trap bacteria.

• Do not reuse microwave packages that contain materials to enhance browning or crispness.• Avoid storing foods with strong odors or flavors in reused food packages. The packaging

material might absorb the chemicals that produce the odor or flavor and transfer them to other foods.

• If materials are safe for use in a microwave, they are generally labeled.• If you store a non-food item in a food container, do not reuse the container for food storage.• Use only “food grade” paper or plastic in direct contact with food.

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Reinvent

2010 District OHCE Leader Training

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Reinvent

Definitions:Reinvent – to bring back into existenceRevive – to bring back to life• 98% of all textile items that go to landfills

could be reused or reinvented• With a plan, all leftover food can be part of

another dish• Most furniture has more than one life

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An old t-shirt can become:

• A shopping bag• A pillow case• A throw pillow• A child’s dress• A new shirt• A quilt or throw• A rug • A craft supply

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What can you do with an old t-shirt?

• In addition to the things listed here, what are some things you might do with an old t-shirt (besides cut it up for rags)?

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Re-invent in the Kitchen

• Keep a “soup” container in the freezer• Slow cook leftover roast beef, pork or

chicken & shred for sandwiches or tacos

• Mix leftover pasta & veggies with Italian dressing for a quick salad

• Puree celery, onions and peppers and freeze in ice cube trays

• Make croutons or breadcrumbs from stale bread

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Reinvent in the Kitchen• Leftover food should be cooled quickly and re-heated or used in

another dish within 2-3 days. If you can’t use it within that time, chop and freeze and use within a month or so.

• Keep a 2-3 quart container In the freezer to collect small amounts of leftover meat and vegetables (including broth). When it’s full, make a pot of soup.

• Slow cook leftover roast beef, pork or chicken and shred for sandwiches or tacos

• Mix leftover pasta and vegetables with Italian dressing and chill for a salad

• Puree or “juice” celery, onions and peppers and freeze in ice cube trays and add to soups and sauces for flavor

• Too much bread—make croutons (cut in cubes before drying) or breadcrumbs (dry the while slice—then crumble)

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Reinvent your kitchen/yard waste

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Compost reinvents waste

• Composting is nature’s process of decomposing organic materials into rich soil, known as compost. Anything that was once living will decompose. Composting is an accelerated version of what happens in nature. By composting your organic waste, you are returning nutrients to the soil so the life cycle can continue. To learn more about composting, visit the OSU Extension Center

• Your handout lists items that can and cannot be composted

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How could you reinvent

• Orphan socks?

• Old jeans?

• Your fabric stash?

• An old dresser?

• An ugly couch or chair?

• Clothing that is too big or too small?

• Scrapbooking papers

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How could you reinvent?

• Ask members to call out ways one might reinvent some of the items on the list.

• Then ask what skills are needed to reinvent those items

• Do they have the needed skills?• Do their neighbors or their children?

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Money-Saving Skills Do it yourself Professional

Minor sewing repairs Sewing kit - $5 Replace buttons - $6Hem a skirt - $9-12

Make Soup Less than 50¢/serving Canned soup - $1/servingTake out - $3-7/serving

Take care of your wardrobe

Wash & iron at home< 25¢/item for water, energy, starch, etc.

Launder/press @ cleaners $2-3 for shirts$3-4 for pants

Clean with household products

A gallon of vinegar - $2.50A box of baking soda - $.75

A gallon of brand name cleaner $7-8

Replace AC/Furnace Filters

Cost of filter - $10-15 Cost of a service visit - $125 and up

Grow a garden Seed & fertilizer - $5-10 for a small garden

$50-75 at the grocery store Even more for organic

Source: MSN Money 32

Ten skills everyone needs today1. Make minor sewing repairs/alterations2. Create a household budget/balance a checkbook3. Make soup4. Know how to comparison shop5. Take care of your wardrobe6. Clean your house7. Bake in the microwave8. Apply paint9. Replace screens/filters10. Put together a resume

Most of these skills are still taught in Home Economics classes. As schoolbudgets tighten, be sure your local school boards know that Family andConsumer Sciences Education (home economics) teaches important life skills.

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