Like tin foil the other week, I can’t believe we haven’t covered this one already.

To extend the product shelf lift and to protect it from moisture, most breakfast cereal is wrapped in some sort of plastic – either a snug film wrapping or, more frequently, a plastic bag/liner – inside its cardboard box.

The bags tend to be made from high-density polyethylene (HDPE), which is resin code 2 and so is theoretically recyclable wherever type 2 plastics are collected. (Do check with your local councils/collection spot though – some places don’t accept film type packaging, even when they accept the same resin code in bottle form.)

But what about reuses before recycling?

My father-in-love stores bread in them since they’re better quality than any sandwich bag you could buy for the purpose. Other people cut them open to use instead of wax paper when preparing many sticky items for baking, or when freezing things like burgers or dough.

What do you do with yours? What are your favourite recycling ideas?

• With Halloween approaching, check out this fab tutorial on making mini skull lanterns out of little plastic bottles – she says “milk bottles” but from a British POV, they look more like little yoghurt drink bottles. Either way though, ace!
• SueAnn on Lil Bird Told Me has posted a great idea to make old carrier bags easier & neater to storage/carry around – fold them into triangles. I can’t believe I didn’t think of this since I do it obsessively with every crisp packet I see!
• Have gloves magically disappeared from your winter warmer collection over the summer? If so, you could use the remaining odd ones to make a cute animal plushie toy! Dinner for Mousci has a how-to.
• I love these chunky beads made from old cereal boxes – very fun!
• Finally, in case you didn’t see it, friend of Recycle This Petra made a clothes peg airer thing out of “some electricity pipe, an old iron coat hanger, some rope and pegs” – I want to make my own too now!

(Photo by Care for DollarStoreCrafts)

John and I are breakfast cereal-fanatics at the moment and are munching our way through box after box of pre-sweetened, chocolate-flavour flavoured puffed nonsense (me) and dull, wholewheat goodness (him).

Most of our favourite cereals come in plastic bags within glossy-printed cardboard boxes so we’re left with a lot of rubbish at the end of each pack.

When I was small, cereal boxes were regularly harvested for their card but I don’t do as much cutting and sticking for fun now – and when I do need some non-corrugated card, cat food boxes tend to be sturdier (if slightly smelling of fish and ash).

As with most paper products, they will compost down but some people worry about the full colour printed designs – some inks are toxic and will leech chemicals into the compost.

Any reusing or recycling for the card sides or the boxes as a whole?

(Photo by simbncn)