Thankfully, Carindale Mall’s Apple outlet encourages people to bring in their old Apple appliances for recycling. Getting rid of my old laptop didn’t need me asking someone to drive me to the tip, I swung by on one of my shopping trips.
Ditto the iPhone wandering from cupboard to shelf to benchtop unable to be switched on. I could’ve sent it to mobilemuster.org but that would’ve meant a trip to the post office by bus and money to send.
Another initiative also in the Carindale Shopping Centre, is the Food Bank out the front of Woollies. That’s where I bring unopened food products I’ve bought and brought home, and then reading the finely printed ingredients list, discover an ingredient on my dietary exclusions list.
I love how there are beginning to be recycling opportunities in places where people need to go anyway—to not have to spend money, time, and cough out CO2 and petrol fumes—to recycle.
Camera and mobile phone places often have a box out front for batteries to be recycled. One of the bookshops takes secondhand books in good condition, which was another good discovery. As I get more books relating to the course I’m studying, I also need to send other books on their way. Shelf space is limited.
Then there are opportunities for repair. All three pairs of my bamboo socks were starting to thin in places. The solution to that are patches. I usually crochet patches. This time I thought I would also try some felt.
Above, everything I need for a repair job. Below, the orange in the sock and the sewing in progress …
Rita de Heer 