We’ve had an email from Jane, asking:

I just wondered if you are aware of how to recycle Tyvek overalls?

My first question when I received this was “what are Tyvek overalls?” and Wikipedia informs me that Tyvek is the brand name for those “disposable” overalls that look like they’re made out of tough paper but are in fact made out of high-density polyethylene fibres (apparently).

Wikipedia also informs me that DuPont, who makes Tyvek, there is a programme in place for reusing them in the US (according to the Tyvek FAQ, “non-contaminated garments used in cleanroom operations can be recycled for non-hazardous applications. Contact DuPont Protective Apparel Customer Service for additional information”) and I have emailed to see what they offer and where they offer it. (I’ll update when I get a response.)

I also asked them about other green disposal suggestions – their FAQ says the preferred method of disposal is landfill (!) but they can be incinerated (!!) – so we’ll see if anything comes of that. But in the meantime/in addition, does anyone else have any other ideas?

(Photo by Jsjacob)

I’ve recently started going swimming at my local pool and every time I go (three times a week at the moment – yay previously incredibly unfit me!), I see old polyethylene (?) floats waiting in the bin to be thrown away.

The pool is pretty much constantly used to for children’s swimming lessons so they must go through loads of them as they get beaten up and (I guess) start to deteriorate because they’re constantly ducked in chlorine-y water.

The floats are either small, flat boards (about 30cm/12inches square) or long, thin cylinders of foam like giant haircurlers.

I think about asking to take them but worry they’re just end up cluttering up my cellar unless I can think of good ways to reuse them. So any suggestions?

(And yes, I will be using the save-the-swimsuit and reuse suggestions for my old swimming costumes. ;) )

(Oh, and apologies to anyone reading the site through an RSS reader who saw a bunch of spam links at the bottom of a post the other day – we got slightly hacked… We’ve looked into it and hopefully it won’t happen again – but if it does, please let us know — thanks to Helen for the heads-up this time)