Humans need to start being aware of how much harm some types of waste can do to the environment.  If we do not start acting now, then we are at risk of contaminating our drinking water and damaging our health and societies.  It is a vicious cycle.

One way to do this is to recycle some of our waste products.  Stuff like glass jars and glass bottles can be easily re-used as containers for something else.  If you prefer to recycle with a bit more challenge, however, there are ways to completely transform trash into something else entirely. Here are two recipes on home recycling.

Home Recycled Paper

Do you buy newspapers regularly?  Then you can make beautiful recycled paper out of these, with the use of tools you can easily find at home.

recycled paper product

1. You will need a fly screen, wooden frame (or suitable alternatives), used papers/newspapers, water, cloth, blender and some bleach or coloring if desired.
2. First, you will need to make a mold using a fly screen by stapling it to a wooden frame.
3. Soak some torn up pieces of newspaper in hot water for around half an hour.
4. Using a blender, blend the water and paper up until it becomes mushy.  Add some bleach to whiten the color of the mush or add some coloring or small amounts of flowers to decorate it and blend again.
5. Pour the pulp into a basin of water, making sure the proportion is at 1 part pulp and 4 parts water, and stir.
6. Dip the fly screen mold into the pulp water mix and scoop the floating particles out of the water.  Make sure that the particles pieces are evenly spread on the mold.
7. Meanwhile, stack some newspapers and spread a piece of cloth on top of it. This will make a drying pad.
8. When all the water has been drained out of the fly screen mold, flip the mold to lay the pulp onto the drying pad.  The pulp should be able to separate itself from the mold
9. Allow the pulp to air dry for some time.  When it is dry, run an iron over the recycled paper to smoothen it out – and you’re done!

Home Made Eco Soap

Do you know what to do with your used cooking oil? Do not pour it down the drain, as it will clog your pipes.  Instead, make soap out of them!  Here’s how to do it.

used cooking oil as soap

1. You will need used cooking oil, a measuring cup, a balance scale, some caustic soda, some clothes softener, protective glasses, a protective mask and rubber gloves.
2. For every liter of used oil, use 200 grams caustic soda, 40mm of softener and 400mm of warm water.  Make sure that you filter out all the bits of food from the oil before you proceed.
3. Dissolve the caustic soda in the water while wearing your protective gears, as this mixture will release toxic gases. Be careful when doing this. Also dissolve the soda into the water instead of pouring water over the soda.
4. Add the oil to mixture from step 3 and stir for 15 minutes with a spoon.
5. The softener is then added so give the mixture its fragrance.  For some variants, you could add in essential oils and bits of flowers petals for fragrances
6. Pour this final mixture into different containers such as old tin cans or small plastic containers to mold the soap.
7. The mixture will turn white in two days. Let the soap stands for two more weeks before using it.