Or just about….
A website called Alt Use provides tips and information on the multiple usages for many household products that would otherwise go untapped. All around us exist items that can be used for a variety of things, but all too often are wasted.
Benjamin Goldfarb is the founder of Alt Use and started up the site last summer in the hopes of decreasing household wastes. He told the Los Angeles Times recently, “”The more things are used, the less things that are thrown away, the
less landfill space is used.”
The website is still young, being supported by a fair amount of advertising. However, it’s popularity has continued to grown and shows no signs of stopping. Any user can create their own profile, ask questions, and contribute their own tips and stories about reusing products.
The statement on the home page reads: “Save money and heal the earth by extending the life of everything you already own. Whether it’s using hairspray to remove ink stains, vodka to clean your eyeglasses, or coffee grounds to fertilize your garden, AltUse taps into the planet’s collective
wisdom so you can keep more in your wallet and send less to landfill!”
According to the Times article, the site “lists 2,000-plus alternative uses for 700 or so household items.”
For example, newspapers can be used as rags, and vinegar can be used to clean windows and kill weeds. The site lists all the products in an organized way, as they are easy to find and search for. Alongside the product, it lists the number of alternative uses already discovered. For example, toothpaste boasts 16 other uses, while baking soda has 23.
So often we attribute consumer goods with the one function they are being sold as. Naturally, when items are advertised as only having one use, we as consumers are forced to purchase more, thereby amassing many goods. If we take the time to find other purposes, and not only recycle as much as we can, but reuse products as well, we save waste. And as always, we will save money in the process.
