Last year, 460 million pounds of electronics were collected and recycled in the U.S., a 53% increase from 2010, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
Wondering what to do with your unwanted electronic devices?
The Wall Street Journal reporter Katie Boehret provides information on eight companies, including Amazon, Apple, Best Buy, and Dell, that accept non-working or otherwise unwanted items: When the Time Is Up for Your Old Gadgets - WSJ.com
(We’ve covered some of this e-cycling information on Tumblr here and here, and on the Unconsumption wiki here.)
A huge old console television, acquired for $4 at a Habitat for Humanity ReStore, gets repurposed as a sweet dog bed. Well done.
To DIY, see Fried Okra blog.
Reminds me of this computer monitor turned into a smaller pet bed.
Check out other pet beds and pet houses involving materials reuse here.
Among the focused components of the 2012 WantedDesign event calendar, 12x12 stood out as an inspiring exhibition of upcycling and repurposing. The idea was simple—supply 12 designers with timber from 12 demolished New York City buildings to create a piece of furniture. While the work presented by a juried group of Big Apple-based designers made for an impressive collection, there were four that resonated strongly for us.
Pictured: Water Tower Chair.
As the name implies Bellboy’s Water Tower Chair takes its shape from planks salvaged from a 10,000-gallon rooftop water tank that once stood atop a Park Avenue co-op. The 40-year-old California Redwood lends its beautiful color and rich grain perfectly. Each 8’ plank has been chopped down and consecutively laid to accentuate the lounge chair’s flowing, mid-century inspired silhouette.
More on Coolhunting.com: 12x12
A planter-bench like this — made from reclaimed materials — could be useful in urban yards or for small-space gardening in other places.
The bench is made from salvaged scaffolding planks and the planters are cast concrete with re-claimed aggregates.
(via Ryan Frank)
Our friends at Earth911 came up with a very useful “6 Awesome Reuse Tumblr Blogs” list — and we’re very honored to be included on it. Click through and check out the others in the slideshow: you may want to follow some new folks.
What a beautiful example of reuse.
Ballerina by Banksy.
[video]
To add to the various uses of old crates, here are three other ideas. Perhaps one will help inspire you to repurpose a vintage soda crate or two.
Have you spotted different crate-reuse examples you think we should know about?
![Many of you might have seen yesterday’s Unconsumption post on bracelets made from vintage plastic knitting needles.
After I published it, I shared a knitting-needle-bracelet photo on Unconsumption’s Facebook page, which led to comments about the idea of turning worn-out toothbrushes into bracelets. (Check out the full Facebook discussion on Unconsumption’s FB post here.)
Both kinds of bracelets can be made using a similar process: heat the plastic pieces in a pot of hot water (in a well-ventilated area, natch), then remove them and bend the warm plastic into rounded shapes.
To make your own toothbrush bracelets, check out this tutorial from Instructables. From my reading of the comments there, it seems like the most challenging part of the process is pulling out the bristles.
Many of us repurpose old toothbrushes as cleaning tools — they make great scrub brushes, say, for cleaning bathtub corners, grout between tile, faucet bases, and other awkward-to-clean spots. After the bristles are really, really worn, why not turn the brush handles into bracelets?
[Those of us who use Preserve brand brushes, mentioned previously on Unconsumption here and here, are encouraged to drop worn brushes into collection boxes at Whole Foods Market stores and other select locations (info here), or mail them back to the manufacturer to be made into new items. Yogurt cups and other items made of #5 plastics also can be dropped in those boxes; an app (here) can help you find drop-box locations.]
Do let us know if you’ve made one or both types of bracelets. We’d love to hear about it.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4l8jlNDa61qzv12bo1_r1_500.jpg)
Many of you might have seen yesterday’s Unconsumption post on bracelets made from vintage plastic knitting needles.
After I published it, I shared a knitting-needle-bracelet photo on Unconsumption’s Facebook page, which led to comments about the idea of turning worn-out toothbrushes into bracelets. (Check out the full Facebook discussion on Unconsumption’s FB post here.)
Both kinds of bracelets can be made using a similar process: heat the plastic pieces in a pot of hot water (in a well-ventilated area, natch), then remove them and bend the warm plastic into rounded shapes.
To make your own toothbrush bracelets, check out this tutorial from Instructables. From my reading of the comments there, it seems like the most challenging part of the process is pulling out the bristles.
Many of us repurpose old toothbrushes as cleaning tools — they make great scrub brushes, say, for cleaning bathtub corners, grout between tile, faucet bases, and other awkward-to-clean spots. After the bristles are really, really worn, why not turn the brush handles into bracelets?
[Those of us who use Preserve brand brushes, mentioned previously on Unconsumption here and here, are encouraged to drop worn brushes into collection boxes at Whole Foods Market stores and other select locations (info here), or mail them back to the manufacturer to be made into new items. Yogurt cups and other items made of #5 plastics also can be dropped in those boxes; an app (here) can help you find drop-box locations.]
Do let us know if you’ve made one or both types of bracelets. We’d love to hear about it.
It’s wine o’clock (somewhere) — which means it’s time to share a wine-related repurposing find.
Today’s find is a DIY project: Turn corks into a coaster and trivet set.
What you’ll need:
For full how-to, see: diy project: abigail’s cork trivet and coaster set | Design*Sponge
DIY project du jour:
Top a side table with an old vinyl record. (An unplayable one, preferably!) For a tutorial, hop over to TheFlourishingAbode.
The table in the photo reminds me of this stool — with an old album for its seat — that Brian spotted in Sweden last year.
If you missed any of our earlier posts on creative new uses for records, look for them here.
(photo via TheFlourishingAbode; spotted on Pinterest here)
Now this is arm candy, y’all.
Sydney, Australia-based Lynda Slade upcycles vintage plastic knitting needles — many with Bakelite tops — into bracelets.
Find more by Lynda, a.k.a. sewnewthings and allthepreciousthings on Etsy, here and here.
See also: Earlier Unconsumption knitting-related posts here.