Tag Archives: recycling

It’s Easy Being Green: Hose Prose

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water

May 30 is Water A Flower Day (we suppose you could even go a little crazy and water more than one, but that’s entirely up to you). The day’s festivities – combined with this week’s heat wave – got us thinking: surely there must be some way to use an old leaky hose, right?

It turns out that a worn or defective hose can be recycled for a number of interesting uses. Perhaps the most enticing to us (Water A Flower Day, remember?) is to convert that iffy hose into a simple drip irrigation system for the garden. Simply snip off the male end (the end that you’d attach to a sprinkler or nozzle), tie it shut using a zip tie or metal hose clamp, and make small punctures along the length of the hose. Now you can attach the female end of the hose to its usual spigot and lay it among the plants in your garden to provide a steady stream of moisture.

So whether it’s that one flower or a multitude, this is an inexpensive and green way to reuse that old hose. Best of all? It frees you up to enjoy a mint julep (today’s Mint Julep Day as well).

No Need for Weeds (Of Any Sort)

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WeedBlock

If you browse thepapershop.com, you’ll notice that the items for sale are carefully organized by category and that you won’t see spam or scams among them. We pride ourselves on making the buying and selling experience with us as efficient as possible; who needs to wade through shady and suspicious online postings? Nobody, that’s who.

We’re aces at keeping the online weeds to a minimum, and we’d like to remind you that we’re very able to help with real-life weeds, too!

Because every edition is printed on biodegradable non-glossy newsprint, old books are infinitely usable. Expired issues make an excellent weed block: when placed under garden mulch, our pages will keep weeds at bay while still allowing water to penetrate into the ground to keep those shrubs, ornamental plantings and trees happy.

Paper Shop: we’ve got you (and your garden) covered!

Earth Day

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Earth Day

Happy Earth Day to you!

What began in 1970 as an effort to spur green legislation and to get the public involved in environmental awareness has turned into a pretty widely celebrated holiday. And we love it! When you think about it, recycling, reusing & repurposing  has been our stock in trade for 45 years.

It’s not just the items we help you sell, either: we recycle unused issues of Paper Shop. We also print every edition on paper from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)-approved paper mills.

Let it shine!

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Chrome

We shine!

Yeah, you already knew that, but we do it in even more ways than you might have expected. We not only shine at helping you sell your items, we also shine … your chrome? Yes.

When you’re cleaning chrome on a truck, a car or even on an appliance or fixture, you need to avoid using any kind of abrasive since it will eventually damage and dull the finish. But if you take pages from that used issue of Paper Shop and use a little Windex or other glass cleaner, you can safely polish that chrome to a striking shine.

Pellet like it is.

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pellet

Funny-looking little things, aren’t they? If you’re the owner of a pellet stove (or even someone who’s done their homework & considered buying one), you’ll recognize them immediately: fuel.

It might shock you to know that pellet stoves burn pellets (we know! Completely floored us, that one did). Sarcasm aside, here’s the really interesting part: those pellets are made from biomass. Biomass is basically compressed sawdust and other wood products; in other words, those little pellets are fuel that’s produced from waste wood that would otherwise end up in landfills. The pellets are poured into a hopper and an auger gradually feeds them into a burn pot area of the stove where they’re burned to produce a steady source of heat.

Pellet stoves were developed in the ’70s in reaction to fuel shortages caused by the Oil Crisis, and they’ve steadily increased in popularity ever since. With current rising heating costs, they’ve become a very viable option for home heating. There’s a wide range of types and grades of pellets, and the stoves can be either stand-alone or installed as a fireplace insert.

And, yes, we’ve got ‘em. You’ll find pellet stoves in our Heating & Plumbing category; if you need to consult with a professional about pellet stove installation or if you’d like to find a source to buy pellets, we’ve got those, too.

Compost Composition

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seedlings

Do you compost? If you’re a gardener or someone who feels strongly about environmental issues, chances are that you do. (If it’s something you’d like to try, here’s a pretty good how-to guide.)

While composting has a striking number of upsides, there is one (rather mild) downside: from time to time, the composting items can carry a bit of a, well, somewhat unpleasant smell. Paper Shop to the rescue!

Because every edition is printed on non-glossy newsprint, old issues of Paper Shop are incredibly reusable. Shredded pages of our book can be added to your compost bin; the paper will break down naturally and also minimize any odors.

Dig it! Using Paper Shop in the Garden

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seedlings

You already know that you can find garden items in Paper Shop. But did you know that you can use Paper Shop in your garden? It’s pretty simple to make seedling starter pots out of our pages. Since the paper used in our books is recycled newsprint (not glossy or stiff paper), it’s ideal to use in creating a frugal and earth-friendly alternative to store-bought peat pots. When filled with soil the pots are surprisingly sturdy, yet they’ll quickly break down when planted.

Whether you’re getting a jump on those tomatoes or starting some sunflowers, we’ve got you covered!

Recycling? Eco-friendly? We’re on it!

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logo

Sorry, Kermit, but it is rather easy to be green. We do our best to care for the environment every week – and in a couple of different ways, too.

When you think about it, our entire mission is rather eco-friendly: we provide a platform for people to buy and sell their used items. Without items to reuse, repurpose and recycle, we’d hardly have much of a function. Reused materials are our stock in trade! It’s certainly safe to say we know a little about recycling.

Here’s something you might not know, though: not only do we recycle used copies of Paper Shop, we also print every copy on paper from mills with FSC certification. In other words, our newsprint paper suppliers are certifiably green.

Recycling – it’s what we do!