Help Needed from ENVIRONMENTALISTS

[Jager X]

Hey guys, I am doing a project for environmental studies in which we have to find alternative and efficient uses for objects that we would otherwise throw away in the trash after we are done with them. Now, I found a way to make a reflector light out of old cans but i lost my references on it and am at a loss. I was wondering if you guys know a creative and alternative uses for ANY household items that we would usually throw away.

 

[Majic Walrus]

You see old tires rusty barbed wire and one wall of a shed and I see an obstacle course for door to door evangelists.

 

[Aesop Rocks]

put the tailgate down, saves on gas.

 

[Morg]

put the tailgate down, saves on gas.

didn't mythbusters debunk that?

 

[Aesop Rocks]

I'd have to re-watch it.

 

[bored]

That empty salsa jar? Rinse it out, take off the label, use it as a cup.

 

[Alex The Great]

Wait, I remember a Science Fair thing that a girl did, she was able to make a road completely out of Plastic. No Asphalt.


Don't know if that's enviro friendly but it's kind of cool.

 

[C. Lee]

didn't mythbusters debunk that?

Yep...they proved that a tailgate left down causes you to use more gas.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Soda/beer can/bottle = ash tray.

Plastic drink bottle = bong

 

[david icke]

Soda/beer can/bottle = ash tray.

Plastic drink bottle = bong

you can also make a pipe out of an empty can. crush it down in the middle, poke little holes in the crushed centre and stab a pen into the side to make a smallish round hole to help release the 'smoke' out. place mouth at usual drinking area to absorb smoke.

turn an old tv set into a fishtank.

an old toaster into a letter holder.

keep your slippers in an old vcr.

a smelly old teapot into one of those things that looks like a plastic teapot that you water a garden with.

fill up old pots of paint with water and use them as weights, 'Unbreakable' style.

old electrical chords into whips for S&M, or lion taming.

arrange and attach old dvds and cds into the inside of a jacket for lightweight body armour for the lion taming, or crowd control.

turn a fridge into a nuclear blast shelter and/or a photography darkroom.

 

[Ace of Knaves]

Nice list

You can use old magazines as a stab proof vest... if the need ever arises. They do it in prison.

 

[Majic Walrus]

 

[david icke]

Nice list

You can use old magazines as a stab proof vest... if the need ever arises. They do it in prison.

i would keep the old magazines for wallpaper.

comics/sci-fi for the living room

porn for the bathroom/bedroom

old phone books for stab proof vest. you're not going to be phoning anyone from prison anyway, well, no-one that's in the book anyway.

edit: this is a very good one actually.....you can use the bottom half of cardboard egg boxes, the part that holds the eggs, don't know if they put them in upside down in some countries, for soundproofing a room, whether for music rehersal, recording or...other purposes.
my friend's dad did this for his home recording studio, there must be some science as to why the pyramid shaped layout helps dampen sound, because in some music rehersal rooms they have foam on the walls shaped with the exact same type of pyramid/triangles as eggboxes.

and...you can use the casing of old biro pens as straws, and the pen bit to pick yer nose, but make sure it is inkless.

 

[Jager X]

Lots of cool responses, thanks guys. I am interested in this tv fish tank and plastic highway. but are they more or less harmful to the environment?

 

[david icke]

nvrmind, lol

 

[Carcharodon]

i would keep the old magazines for wallpaper.

comics/sci-fi for the living room

porn for the bathroom/bedroom

old phone books for stab proof vest. you're not going to be phoning anyone from prison anyway, well, no-one that's in the book anyway.

edit: this is a very good one actually.....you can use the bottom half of cardboard egg boxes, the part that holds the eggs, don't know if they put them in upside down in some countries, for soundproofing a room, whether for music rehersal, recording or...other purposes.
my friend's dad did this for his home recording studio, there must be some science as to why the pyramid shaped layout helps dampen sound, because in some music rehersal rooms they have foam on the walls shaped with the exact same type of pyramid/triangles as eggboxes.

and...you can use the casing of old biro pens as straws, and the pen bit to pick yer nose, but make sure it is inkless.

I think the biggest principle in dampening the sound is the absorption of vibrational/kinetic energy. That's why foam is so effective: it absorbs the kinetic energy of the sound-waves with minimal transfer of energy through the material itself, and with minimal transfer of energy to the other side (the "wall side"). The energy is absorbed before it can ever act on the surrounding walls, for example. The shape may aid in the dispersal of the sound either before or after absorption. I don't know. I have seen what you're talking about, though.

^ This is all a guess.

Lots of cool responses, thanks guys. I am interested in this tv fish tank and plastic highway. but are they more or less harmful to the environment?

Well, keep in mind that when they use plastics and/or synthetic rubber for these projects, the material is almost wholly recycled. They typically don't put a lot of NEW material in. The fact of the matter is that plastic doesn't really decompose (the rate of decomposition is so slow that in practical discussions of this matter we can reasonably say it doesn't decompose...but that's not 100% correct; it WOULD be correct to say that with the exception of that which has been destroyed or transformed, every bit of plastic we've manufactured in the history of the world is still here).

So by removing waste plastic from a situation where it would otherwise be out and freely circulating within the biosphere, you could argue that those projects go a long way towards being more environmentally friendly. I would be interested, however, to learn whether the rubber/plastic road material has a greater capacity for the absorption and re-emission of solar radiation than asphalt, which could *potentially* have an effect on climate change.

The T.V. fish-tank idea is great. Any time you can recycle that material, it's probably a good thing. My only concern would be potential effects on the health of the fish, actually, depending on the materials used to build said T.V. and to what lengths you go to clean/restore/re-purpose it.