Making use of Product Packaging

Do you keep the packaging containers from product you purchased? 

I do keep some of them if they are suitable for storing my stuff. I like the clear containers from Ferrero Rocher. I usually use them to store my beads and finishings for making handmade jewellery.  I recently discovered a way to make use of their 24 piece container which is rather shallow.  

It is perfect as a base for my crochet granny square bag which I can use without its cover.  I like it that it is the perfect size for carrying a box of cake.

If I leave it as is, this crochet piece and the container will work well as a decorative receptacle for serving food during a festive event, like the forthcoming Raya celebration.  

This is the video instruction for the bag.  

You will have to modify the base if the yarn you use is different in thickness.  I enlarged my base with another granny square design so that it fits the size of the Ferrero Rocher container I used.  I also used leftover wool from another project to make part of the base.

This is how my modified bag looks like.

Making Full Use of Reusable Bags

I have been receiving lots of reusable bags. The handles of some of them are not strong enough to handle load and some have issues at the seams.  I think the best way to make them last is to use them as inserts for crochet bags.  I decided to use this 22x17cm bag for the project.

And this is the crochet bag pattern that I chose to make.

I have to increase the stitches so that the insert fits in perfectly.

I turned the reusable bag inside out, so that the print will not show, before inserting it into the crochet bag.

When you use a thick yarn and choose a crochet pattern with large holes, you use less wool and complete the bag faster. If you do not have a reusable bag to use as an insert, you can weave your old scaves or leftover ribbons and whatever suitable material that you can weave through the holes.  

Use your imagination to personalise your crochet bag.  I would not mind using cut strips of plastic bags as weaving material as I have always try to make use of discarded material in my handwork.

Will you be ashamed if you decorate your bag with plastic bags?

I can also change the design of my crochet bag by sewing a granny square on it so that I can use it as a pocket for holding stuff like cards or a set of keys.

I like keeping empty bottles with grooves on them. They make it easier for me to cut the bottles neatly to the height I want. I use this 1L size oval shaped container to store all the brushes I used in my kitchen.  Sometimes I will also leave my knives with the brushes to drain them after washing. 

Check out how I decorate the empty containers I used for storing my stuff. The one decorated with granny squares was actually a lantern I made for my children. These 5L cooking oil bottles are great for storing my packets of coffee, onions and tubers.

Other than using them as storage containers, I also use them like a pail for soaking in water:

-my laddles to soften food stuck on them to make it easier to clean.
-my vegetables like celery, beans, tomatoes, bell peppers. I place a prestle or a cup on top to make sure that the vegetables stay in the water.

Recently, I discovered that it is a great way to keep the shape of my crochet bag.  I made it because my sister told me that, while at work, she don't like to carry her handbag out for lunch and that she is looking for a small bag big enough to hold just her keys, handphone and a packet of tissue.  The first one I made did not hold its shape well once she puts her stuff in.

I like this version better.

She can decide how much of the bottle she would like to cut off to hold her stuff. The cord I used as a handle was taken off a shopping bag.  

So, she can easily change the colour with cords she can find from her own collection of paperbags. She can even use her shoes laces.

I chose a pattern with large holes so that she can slip receipts through them as it will be easier for her to remove them to show the staff when her dishes are ready for collection.  She can also personalise it by inserting one of those drawstring bags we often received with gifts.

I hope she will consider inserting cut strips of plastic bag through the holes to match her outfit like I did for this bag I made with leftover wools.

How Tissue Paper is a Threat To Our World

Anuj Ramatri started #pledgetoavoidtissues.

Are aluminum drink cans better than plastic water bottles?

Are you wondering if you should buy drinks that are packed in aluminum cans or in PET bottles?

It depends on which country you are from and how the recycling rate is like for the packaging involved.  Recycling agents in Malaysia would rather take aluminium cans over plastic as one lorry load of aluminium cans earns more than one lorry load of PET bottles.

I read this article posted on July 20, 2019 by TAPP Water:

Glass vs plastic vs aluminium – what is the most sustainable choice?

This is what it reported:

% recovered for recycling in USA
Glass 80%
ALUMINIUM 45%
PLASTIC (PET) 9.5%

Though the recycling rate in reported is 80% for glass bottle, in Malaysia I am not able to find recycling agents for them.

If you read the report, "Disposable Drinking Bottles- Plastic vs. Glass vs. Aluminum" from Macquarie University in Australia website, the recycling rate is different:

Average Amount Currently Recycled reported in Australia
GLASS 50%
ALUMINIUM 50%
PLASTIC (PET) 60%

Maybe it is easier to make a decision based on your views from this report extracted from the report posted at TAPP Water:

Time to decompose
Glass bottle 1 million years*
Single use plastic 400 years
Carton Never**
Aluminium can 100-400 years

Decomposition residue
Glass bottle - Glass
Single use plastic - Microplastics
Carton - Some microplastics
Aluminium can - Metal scrap

How do you stop microplastics from polluting the environment?  Based on this, I would rather choose aluminium over PET bottles.

If you still cannot make up your own mind on it, read what "The Aluminum Association" has to say about it.

Extracted:
"Nearly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today.

Infinitely recyclable and highly durable, nearly 75 percent of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today. Aluminum is 100 percent recyclable and retains its properties indefinitely. Aluminum is one of the only materials in the consumer disposal stream that more than pays for the cost of its own collection."

Note: Though carton is reported not to decompose and there are microplastics residue when they decomposed, if you google "Tetrapak gets recycled into roof sheets" you can read about their efforts with with local charity in Thailand to turn recycled cartons into roofing sheets to provide emergency shelter for people in need.

See how Tetrapak  is recycled in India to benefit the public.


Tetrapak is working on raising awareness that their cartons can be recycled.  I think that children in school should be taught during their art and craft class lessons on how they can extract paper out of cartons as shown in this video.

Packaging You Can Eat

In future, maybe most of our food packaging will be made of waste material that we can eat. You may even consider growing your own.

What happens to the TetraPak cartons you recycled?

Are you wondering what happen to the TetraPak cartons that you had diligently put out for recycling?

In Thailand, under the Green Roof project, with the support of local charity, Tetra Pak turn recycled cartons into roofing sheets to provide emergency shelter for people in need.

See how TetraPak cartons are collected in India and made into benches to be placed at public parks and school.


You can learn to do it on a small scale by watching this video.