Category:

Recycling Old Tires

8/14/2012

Recycling can do wonders to anything that it touches. It's like having Midas touch or Harry Potter's magical wand making magic to the object. Not only it can transform a used and old item into something useful and beautiful again, we are also doing a great favor to our environment.

Let's take the old rubber tires as a case study.

Rubber tires are really not so pretty to see lying around our backyard. If we throw them away, they will be transferred to landfill and will occupy most of the space. Not only that, they can also be good domicile opportunities for vermins and mosquitoes that can be the source of our medical problems.

Tires should not be burned. Benzene and phenol are found in the smoke of burned tires. while the melted substance contain arsenic and lead that can possibly contaminate runoff water and soil. Science dictates that these substances are detrimental to one's health. By recycling tires, it vastly reduces the chance of pollutants that it emits to our environment.

Having these concerns, I have gathered several photos to inspire us on what to do with old tires. In case you are into gardening, the first wave of photos is dedicated to you.

For the Garden: Pretty Planters

I'm sure you can always rely on a handyman to do the stapling in this particular project since you will need the necessary tool to staple the tires together to make it like a pot.

As mini pond or fountain...

Isn't this clever? Having a pocket garden and make this as the centerpiece and I'm sure it's a hit. (Just make sure to add fish into the pond to prevent mosquitoes from making it as a breeding place).

This one served its purpose of being a mailbox stand cum planter.

As a Centerpiece....

...or a welcoming agent in the doorway.

For the Home: Flashy Furnitures

Just like what I have said, like Midas' touch, the old black tire can be turned into gold and get the attention of your guests as they sit in this refurbished ottomans.

More chair ideas.....

Recycled rubber stool.

A speaker cabinet made from 100% recycled tire parts Read more: The Subwoofer Made out of Recycled Tires | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building

Multi-purpose Baskets

Create a Fashion Statement

Nightbag.

Messenger bag.

Backpack.

Friday Night Bag.

Laptop Sleeve

Storage box.

Photo frames.

Recycled bike tread belts.

Here's an expensive find for a recycled item . This necklace is made of old rubber tires, however it costs $747.

For the Kid's at Heart.

A rocker.

Finally, the traditional tire swing that we can never outgrow and brings a lot of childhood memories.

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Garden Fresh Ideas

8/7/2012

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If there is one thing that I don't see myself doing in my spare time, then that would be --- gardening.

I would rather sit and smell the flowers, admire its beauty, but I don't have the patience and passion to cultivate plants.

My mother disclosed to me lately that gardening has helped her during her menopausal stage. And it's a fact. A commune with nature, much more, planting and cultivating the plants to live, can truly balance one's homeostasis.

In a more scientific term, horticultural therapy is an emerging field of clinical practice based on proven benefits to the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing that accrues from gardening as a healing or therapeutic process.

The psychological impact of gardening is that it is considered a serene occupation, an oasis of calm, a grounding experience. The combination of the fresh air and the physicality of the tasks helps oxygenate the bloodstream and energize the physical body while simultaneously releasing endorphins involved with stress alleviation. Numerous scientific studies validate the calming effect of the garden by showing findings that reveal simply being in a garden lowers blood pressure.

The physical impact is such that gardening not only provides fitness via calorie burning and muscle toning activities but offers opportunities to improving strength, endurance and flexibility in legs, arms and hands. It has been show to help with hand to eye coordination and improved motor skills, not to mention that the process of gardening stimulates appetite and fosters a good night's sleep. The later two being the key benefits to rehabilitation of the infirm, those in recovery or those coming to terms with trauma or cognitive difficulties.

Gardens stimulate, they engage all of our senses not just the sights, sounds and smells around us, but touch too; the textures of soil tell a story, and feeling; the emotional satisfaction of a harvest or a successful cutting as well as the deeper side in a sense of belonging or a realization of a spiritual connection or spiritual/emotional peace.

Gardening can offer strides in the development of social and intellectual skills, especially those required for social inclusion or rehabilitation. Gardening involves personal initiative, personal effectiveness, a nurturing responsibility to living things. It can involve team work and encourage dialogue. It reveals our capacity to become involved and offers opportunities for accomplishment. Gardening is also a form of self-expression; creativity builds confidence while enabling a healthy outlet for emotions.

Gardening makes one philosophical in outlook; we come to accept that not every seed germinates, not every slug falls into the trap, perfection is a myth, but we as a whole are flexible and undaunted and we happily adapt to circumstances beyond our control – the non germinated seed did not dislike me so much that it chose not to enter the world. It simply was not viable and a lot of things in life are not viable but wow look at how tall the ones that did germinate are now.

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All About Recycling