Buying New to Recycle

[MaryN]

This probably sounds bonkers, but bear with me. I collect jam jars, glass jars and anything that has a possible storage use. I make our own jam, conserve, cordials and hedgerow wine. Well, I have discovered that OH has a penchant for a particular beer that comes in those lovely bottles with the porcelain stopper - remember tizer and all those other fizzy goodies? Those bottles are brilliant for storing liquids - think elderberry champagne or homemade cordials - and best of all you can replace the rubber seals if they wear out. I make no apologies for encouraging OH to indulge himself on occasion, and I pounce gleefully on the bottle before it hits the recycling bin. Then it occurred to me that carefully choosing what to buy with a view to recycling something was quite a practical way to shop, not to mention tye potential savings to me made on storage items.

So now I head for glass jars with nice stoppers (Douwe Egbert do a lovely one and it's half price Morrisons or FarmFoods if anyone is interested), and jam jars that have replaceable lids like the Bonne Maman range. You might pay a little bit extra to start off with, but the future savings would certainly make it worthwhile in sheer practicability.