Do they have a name? Those plastic pocket things used in ring binders or lever arch files, for paper you don’t want to or can’t hole punch? If there is a name, I don’t know it, which makes it might hard to find a photo of them ;) UPDATE: Jack sent over a photo for me to use – thanks Jack!

Anyway, they’re great for reusing for their original purpose time and time again until you overfill them one time and the hole reinforcement strip tears/pulls out and from then on, it constantly, annoyingly, falls out of the folder every time you lift it up.

What can be done with the rest of the plastic then? It’s usually smooth, flat and clear – there must be some practical and crafty reuses for something like that.

They’re usually made from polypropylene apparently (plastic code number 5) which can be recycled but isn’t collected as standard in all places. So how can they be reused instead?

Envelopes? Easy peasy, a million reuses. Padded envelopes have plenty of reuses too. But what about plastic mailing bags? They seem to be the default choice these days for sending out fabric or clothing because they’re stronger/less likely to tear than paper envelopes or brown paper but also lighter so cheaper to mail.

If they’re neatly opened with scissors near the original seal, they can be reused as a slightly smaller mailing bag. Or you can use them instead of bin liners in small waste bins, or cut them into strips to make plastic “yarn” for repurposing projects.

They’re usually made from polythene, the same material as most plastic carrier bags, so can be recycled in the same places as those but you know me, I prefer to reuse than just recycle.

What else can we do with them?

Continuing with Alice‘s Reduce This questions from last week, she’s also asked:

Any thoughts on reducing paper used at work? In my housing co-op we send out several pages of minutes and agendas every month, and I’d appreciate any bright ideas about that.

We’ve covered ways to make offices and schools recycle more during our stationery week late last year but how about reducing the amount of paper generated in the first place?

My first thought is make sure all those minutes and agendas are absolutely necessary – not just whether it’s necessary to print them out but whether it’s necessary to minute in the first place. I used to work at a old-school university and we minuted every committee/group meeting, then circulated both electronic & paper copies to everyone involved. Then someone sat down and worked out which meetings had to be minuted by law/university rules – I think it was maybe two groups instead of a dozen. The other groups switched to just taking notes of action points instead of full minutes, which were just circulated electronically = a huge saving of both time and paper.

Any other suggestions?

Gift bags are great alternative to wrapping paper because it’s a lot easier to reuse them, and amongst everyone I’ve ever spoken to about it, it’s generally accepted that people will reuse them to give similar sized gifts in the future.

But what about when they get a bit tatty to be recirculated again?

I’ve got one – made out of a light card instead of heavy paper – to keep my small, current crochet project out of the preying paws of cats, and I’ve seen big paper ones remade into smaller paper ones – cutting off the tatty edges and refolding it again.

Any other suggestions?

(Photo by lusi)

We’ve had another email from Maja:

It’s me once again :) since I have so much junk to recycle, I came up with another question: what to do with various comics?

My little brothers collected a whole stash of Donald Duck, W.I.T.C.H and other comics books. Can I recycle them in some crafty way?

The first things that springs to mind are using them for decoupage or wrapping paper.

You could also make them into colourful envelopes – like Lynsey from Swirly Arts does with old children’s books.

Other suggestions?