Mary Ann and I have preached about recycling items such as paper, plastic, and glass but that is just the tip of the iceberg. I found an article at The Daily Green that takes recycling one step further.
Quite a few of the items mentioned for recycling were quite personal. For example, there is now a non-profit organization in Japan that is specializing in recycling dentures. Now before you go gagging, note that the Japan Denture Recycle Association recycles the metals that are found in dentures. The organization has recycled 30,000 dentures and made about a quarter of a million dollars so far. The non-profit organization gives half the money to UNICEF to help needy children around the world and the other half goes to welfare projects for the local community.
People may also cringe when they hear about recycling coffins, but we are not exactly talking about throwing Aunt Dottie out before she is buried. You can rent coffins from the funeral home for the viewing, and then get buried in a cardboard coffin, which is made from recycled materials.
Right now, prosthetic limbs are not usually recycled in the U.S. for legal reasons, but what a terrible waste that seems. However, there are organizations such as The International Foundation for the Physically Disabled that will recycle your prosthetic limbs for use in Third World countries.
You may not think about it, but many people already recycle human hair through the Locks of Love organization. You can donate your hair to be made into hairpieces for those suffering from hair loss due to cancer and other illnesses.
There is a company in Great Britain (Knowaste) that recycles disposable diapers. Rather than have your old mattress end up in a landfill, consider having it parts (fiber, wood, metal) recycled. You can even recycle hotel soap through the Clean the World organization.
(The copyright holder of this image (Valplast International Corp) allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed.)
