First of all, there are tin cans. The wondrous technology available to us includes can openers that will cut off the lid of a can in such a way that it can be replaced, and all without leaving an exposed, sharp edge. This opens the door for all kinds of shenanigans! Of course, there are the obvious uses--pen cups, craft storage, etc. My personal favorite use for cans is making camping gadgets. I learned to make lanterns and camp stoves from tin cans in the Boy Scouts, back before they were afraid of people getting hurt doing such things. Two different designs I've made can befound here and here (be warned, the last one was one of my first videos, so it's not very exciting).
Another nice little use for tin cans is, of course, a survival kit. The average sized tin can is capable of holding enough small gear to make the expert survivalist feel like he or she is staying in a luxury suite with mosquitoes. For the average Joe, it carries enough equipment (if you know how to use it) to make you possibly feel like you are just on a lousy camping trip, rather than dying slowly in the wilderness.
Cooking on a tin can stove (a.k.a. "hobo stove") can be challenging, to say the least, as you have a very small space in which to start and maintain your fire. Larger cans can be used to obtain bigger cooking surfaces and fire space, but the bigger you go, the more difficult it is to pack small and light.
Now, for a truly useful object, wine corks come in a very close second. As a cooking adventurer, you just might have an abundance of wine bottles passing through your kitchen over the course, leaving you with a collection (if such is your way) of both real and synthetic corks. These can be used for everything from floating eyeglass lanyards, to bulletin boards, and even bath mats and furniture tops. I keep a couple in my survival pack to use as fishing floats and fire starters. Wine cork keychains have kept my keys from hitting the bottom of the lake on more than one occasion, and simply made coasters keep your houseguests from ruining the finish on your prized coffee table.
The end-all recyclable from the kitchen is food, itself. Where vegetable matter is concerned, there is almost an endless parade of possible continued uses. Romaine lettuce, pictured here, is easily rooted in water and will soon provide more leaves for several sandwiches before finally switching to "survival mode" and growing spindly. If you keep it around for a while longer, it will provide seeds to plant, starting the process over again. Potatoes are another easily planted scrap food. If you cut chunks of potatoes and plant them (the parts with the growing "eyes"), you will find that the vines are quite prolific. There are several ways to raise potatoes, each one accommodating your particular space. Indoor potato planters can produce year-round, if given proper sunlight and water, though you may not necessarily grow massive bakers. Peppers and tomatoes give seeds that are quite eager to grow, also adapting to pots and buckets just as easily as the garden. The point I am trying to make here is that everything has its use and, sometimes, it also has a litany of other uses. We are living in a world of filling landfills and failing ecosystems, so the planet could stand a little less garbage. Before you pitch an object, think to yourself, "could this still have purpose?" We'll talk about this a little bit more in the near future, including a use for bottle caps that even Uncle Scrooge would find impressive.
Good night for now, fellow adventurers!
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