Streetlife

Good old MissU stationers come to the rescue again. I love that place and you always end up having an interesting discussion with someone or other if not to the brothers themselves.

How small does a piece of paper have to be to help to bung up the machine? An envelope - or half an envelope? Having been told that the little clear window in an envelope should be torn out because it can't be recycled, I usually end up with envelopes in pieces. We do need clearer information in order to do this recycling properly. F'rinstance, should we wash out the bottles and cans or is this using too much water? Oh, life is full of pot-holes, innit.

When they say shredded paper I think they mean paper that has gone through a shredder, rather than when you might rip apart a letter or envelope etc. I spend ages each day ripping those plastic windows off envelopes so that I can recycle the rest of it! Drives me nuts. I bet most people just chuck the whole lot in the orange sack which means that someone at the sorting centre has to riffle through finding them to chuck them in the general waste. 

Why do so many businesses use those now rather than the non-window type envelopes that seem to becoming rarer and rarer? 

Advice on rinsing is just to give something a quick rinse to get off most of the food that will go rotten. That's what I read somewhere on the council website ...

Yes Gwen, life is sure full of little pot-holes!

Re window envelopes, I used to do the same as you mm and it was a real pain in the neck, but then I spotted under FAQs on the Wandsworth website that if the window is paper based rather than plastic film they are OK. So, if you can tear the window easily it is paper based rather than the tougher plastic film that simply won't tear however much you try. 

http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/faqs/10070/recycling/answer/563/can_i_recycle_envelopes_with_windows

Oh thanks for that Fiona M! You've just saved me about 10 minutes every day. I dread to think of the hours of my life I've wasted, ripping those bloody window things out!

Anna, thanks for the link showing the shredder lubricant and sharpening sheets - have just ordered some, so hoping it will unclog my poor overworked shredder! Never thought about the blades needing sharpening!

Thanks too MM for the suggestion a while back that I should add my shreddings to my compost bin - it worked a treat.

On Gardeners' Question Time yesterday they were talking about ways to beat the hose pipe ban and said that before you plant a new plant (any sort) put shredded paper deep into the planting hole and soak it thoroughly - this goes a long way to ensure the roots won't dry out.

Thanks Gwen that is a great tip - I'm planning on doing a lot of planting in the next month or so.

I should have mentioned that I put my shredded paper into my compost bin and it rots down a treat.   Not sure of its nutritional value - must ask Gardeners' Question Time!

The shredder lubricant and sharpener sheets came in the post today - amazingly efficient! Just fed one through like a normal sheet and it has successfully unclogged a lot of the residue in my shredder, and has made it much more effective.