Recycle, recycle, recycle...

Apart from the fact that there is absolutely no way to dispose of rubbish here in Rwanda (apart from carrying it on a moto for over an hour to Kigali where you can deposit in a bin…where it will probably later be burnt, throwing it in your garden amongst the banana trees, or posting it down the loo… none of which really appeal) it makes you very mindful of your waste and how things can be creatively recycled. This is also a consideration when water and electricity can be expensive and often in short supply!

So here are a few of the ways that I reuse and recycle (and you wouldn't believe the rubbish I hang onto here!):

After I have cooked using my electric hotplate, I turn it off and use it to heat a pan of water for washing up as it cools down.

When I boil the kettle for tea, I always decant the remaining water either into my jug to cool for cold drinking water, or into my flask to make tea later. Filtered AND boilled water is a luxury!

After I’ve rinsed my clothes in my hand-washing bowl, I use the water to wash either my shoes or the floor – no use wasting good water or detergent!!

As plastic bags are banned here, groceries often get packaged into big brown paper bags, or envelopes as they are called here. (They come free in Kigali, but you have to pay here in the village!!). Apart from trying to remember to head to the market with a bagful of brown paper bags for fruit and veg purchases, they also make excellent rubbish bags, especially when you try to limit your waste to compost only.

Old milk powder jars and plastic water bottles make excellent pen/pencil/ruler pots in the TTC – water bottles can also be cut down to make funnels – no idea what I’d need a funnel for though – still trying to work that out!

Tomato puree comes in tiny cans – perfect to rinse out and use as tea light holders for the frequent power cuts we have here in the evenings - atmospheric recycling - my favourite!

 

Old towels get recycled as door mats, rainwater gets collected for handwashing, old tyres get recycled as sandals, used exercise books and information leaflets from medicine boxes (my neighbour works at the health centre) are used as toilet paper... interesting reading on the loo - fascinating to work out the most commonly prescribed medicines in my village each week...