8 innovative ways to recycle that are saving the planet

Every two hours, we dump enough rubbish to fill the largest container ship in the world. And even though more and more people are starting to think more consciously these days, the truth is that we still need to find new solutions to the problem of contamination and put new habits into practice. Fortunately, the human imagination has no limits and modern technology can help us bring new ideas to life.

O incredible.club wants to show that it’s easy to think about the environment and selected eight creative and innovative ideas from different corners of the world for recycling and reusing materials that would otherwise end up in the trash.

Even if our tendency is to use more and more digital sources of information to the detriment of traditional ones, there are still tons of paper wasted every day in the form of used newspapers and magazines🇧🇷 To solve this problem, a designer named Yoshinaka Ono invented a “green” paper, which is 100% biodegradable and contains plant seeds. The concept was then adopted by the Mainichi newspaper, one of the most important in Japan.

For it to “work” just bury the paper and put some water on it🇧🇷 Over time, it will turn into a beautiful bush!

Nowadays, reverse dispensing machines are not uncommon. In them, you put, for example, an empty PET bottle or soda or beer cans and, in exchange, you receive a few cents. You can find these machines in supermarkets, for example in Germany or in IKEA stores in the UK and many other places.

However, some countries have gone further and come up with some creative ways to encourage their citizens to protect our Planet. A special type of machine that you can add credits to your metro card has been installed in Istanbul, Turkey and Beijing, China. Simply insert a plastic bottle or an aluminum can into the machine, which will crush it immediately and you will get, as payment, a few cents directly on your card. It’s a bonus for you and a help for the environment!

If your mascara is over, don’t think it’s no longer useful. Instead of throwing the whole bottle away, clean the applicator with warm soapy water, place it in a zip-lock bag and send it to a rescue center in Scotland, The New Arc. In this establishment, workers use this type of applicator to clean the small orphaned animals and remove mites and fleas from them.

You can also donate your mascara wands to other rescue centers like the Wildlife Aid, in the United Kingdom, and the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge, in the United States. It would be a great idea for our Brazilian NGOs!

The zero waste movement is getting more popular (thankfully). Therefore, bulk stores are gaining ground in many countries. To reduce the amount of disposable packaging, these stores offer products in large compartments with spoons so customers can serve whatever they want.

To buy at a “zero waste” establishment, simply fill your own bottle or empty container to take the product. At the checkout, everything you want to take is weighed to calculate how much you owe for your purchase. In other words: no more useless packaging that is harmful to the environment.

In addition to food, some of these stores also usually offer products non-edible items such as shampoo, soap, detergents and other cleaning products. Here in Brazil, unfortunately, this wave has not yet arrived. But we are sure that, within some time, we will start to have the first stores.

If you are an entrepreneur or are thinking about opening your own business, here’s the tip 😉

The vast majority of wet wipes sold in supermarkets and pharmacies are made of polypropylene, which is a type of plastic. We must never flush them down the toilet! However, most people ignore this care, and the result is many clogged pipes, and even more pollution.

Wet tissues manufactured by the British company Natracare are the first exception. The company guarantees that its washcloths are organic and respect the environment. It is currently the only product in the UK that has achieved ‘Fine to Flush’ certification.

When it comes to cutlery or straws, the most ecological option is usually to eat your food with reusable cutlery, the kind we use at home🇧🇷 However, there are situations when you need a version of disposable cutlery – nowadays, they are almost always made of plastic. Think, for example, of meals served on airplanes or birthday parties. But the era of plastic cutlery may be coming to an end.

Mexican company Biofase makes bioplastic forks, knives, spoons and straws made from discarded avocado pits. This one new plastic can be absorbed by nature and decomposes in a few years. In this way, it does not contaminate the environment and can still be useful for the earth. O incredible.clubby the way, already spoke in detail about this company in this post.

In Spain, people collect caps from plastic bottles (PET) in many supermarkets, government institutions and other public buildings and even in your homes.

It all started with a story about a seven-year-old who needed open-heart surgery but her parents couldn’t afford it. A company involved in plastic processing agreed to help them as long as they collected 200 tonnes of the product for recycling. Therefore, friends and family of the child had the idea of ​​installing collection points in various buildings. This helped to gather the necessary amount of bottle caps in a few weeks.

After that, the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcollecting plastic caps for charitable purposes consolidated in Spain. People loved the idea because it’s really simple, it’s not messy and not only does it help those who need it most, but also the Planet.

Fortunately, it seems that here in Brazil this is also becoming fashionable: there are already some institutions that revert the funds raised with the collection of bottle caps (plastic and aluminum) to causes such as the animal cause and the fight against cancer.

A lot of people appreciate a good cup of coffee, especially on the way to work in the morning. But, did you know that disposable containers and cups represent approximately 50% of all material collected in street garbage bins?

A program called CUPPY was created in Canada to share cups and cups and, in this way, reduce the amount of disposable waste by offering unlimited access to reusable cups for just $5 a year. The process is very simple: you pay a low fee to join the program. He then places an order at the coffee shop and takes the cup. All you have to do after finishing your drink is find a participating store or coffee shop to return the cup.

What do you think of these ideas? Do you believe we can use them here, in our cities and neighborhoods? Share your point of view in the comments!