recycling cardboard tubes

[willowman]

In our homebased business we use lots of paper towels, and consequently end up with the cardboard tubes.
We can put them in the recycle bin for collection by the council, but feel we should be able to use them at home.
Has anyone got any suggestions what we could use the tubes for round the house or garden.
Please, no ideas that involve sticky back plastic!!

[Kathyan]

Maybe a local school/nursery would make use of them?

[heathfield]

Contact 'Blue Peter' They'll have thousands of suggestions! ;-)

[doglady]

My dogs love ripping up toilet roll tubes. They don't last very long, but they keep them happy for 10 minutes. Just have to pick the bits up before they eat them!

[mimififi]

make a base for the cardboard tube out of a similar weight piece of cardboard, or a margerin tub/icecream tub etc...tape the base in place inside the tube.

Then dilute some PVA glue until it is still sticky (so not as dilute as papermache paste, but easy to paint with ) and paint the bottom inch or so of the container. Now, take some ordinary string or twin, natural colour variety; and carefully coil the string round the tube fitting it tightly so that you can't see the tube through the string. Paint the string with PVA glue also. Gradually work you way all the way up until the entire tube is covered.

Once dry you can use to hold dried flowers, or line with a clear plastic bag and use for fresh flowers. Depending on the size of the tubes, yo will have to cut them to size as appropriate.

As a variation, you can do exactly the same, but cut the tube to just a few inches long. Then make a lid for the tube from a piece of card and coil the string, flat around the lide and use as a small box for gift presentation.

[mimififi]

you can also use it to store wrapping paper etc by coiling the paper up and storing inside.

Also, what you could do, is use them to curve christmas cards. suing a template, cut out the pictures of seveal christmas cards so that they are all identical. Then paste them back to back.

Then while the glue is still slightly wet and the card more pliable, tie them around the tube so the the curve of the tube goes from left to right, not up to down. When they are dry, you can perforate holes all around the edges at about 1 cm intervals using a braddle.

Then, use sliver/gold/coloured thread and use blanket sticht to stitcth them together to form a box shape and blanket stitche the top and bottom also. You can also make a lid.

Fill with a sweets/chocolates and give as christmas gifts.

[mimififi]

cut them into 1" strips and cover in ribbon. Then tie some invisible thread to the 12, 4 and 8 o clock points of the hoops and tie together at ends. This hoops will now be able to be hung from a hoop from the cieling. Then use more invisbile string or pretty ribbon and tie beautiful shapes from card/plastic/salt dough/sea shells/wooden shapes etc etc and hang in a children's room as a beautiful mobile.

Alternitively, if narrow enough, paint, or cover in ribbon and they would make beautiful dressing up jewellery.

[mimififi]

use them to cover small plants, or cuttings in the lawn when mowing the grass.

If they are really strong and sturdy enough for a toddler to stand on, make two holes opposite each other at one end about 2 " down from the top. Thread some strong twine or string through the hole and tie up into a loop.

The toddler can now hold the string and and stand on the tubes and use them as stilts.

[mimififi]

I'll have another think and get back to you with some more ideas.

[conover]

Are you into gardening? Use them to plant up seedlings cuttings etc ,then when ready for transplanting set the whole thing and the card will disintegrate.....