Hi Rowena
Good idea on recycled products directory. The main one I use is Terra Eco Systems multi purpose compost - made from green waste and biosolids (that's treated sewage sludge) - available from garden centres. Would be great to get supply of East Sussex own compost that dried up at HWRC last year. Also Bishops Hardware supply some garden products made from recycled plastic - british too - so avoids export to China! Other local suppliers include worktop made from recycled glass by eightinch - they are based in Newhaven See
http://www.eightinch.co.uk/ - expensive but quality. Mykea - hand crafted toys and rustic furniture from reclaimed timber - they exhibit at Michael Hall market. Many other products can be supplied by mail order. However...
we should exercise caution when looking to buy recycled for a number of reasons:
1. Green claims - some products make claims that just exploit green buyers. For example your aluminium foil offer - most aluminium foil will be made from recycled aluminium, as will much steel based product and glass. Basically for these materials using recycled is a lot cheaper so they will use as much as they can get. Simply stating makes it a premium product in some eyes. I have also picked up on other products that make claims that don't stand up to scrutiny for example a log maker that enables you to recycle up to 30% of your burnable waste - when burning is clearly not recycling. I have taken this up with suppliers. This raises the issue of a need for an independant auditing and labelling scheme.
2. Buying recycled may not always be the most environmentally preferred outcome. So decking made from recycled plastic composite vs locally sustainably harvested timber. Also the recycled pencils really only give the materials (vending cups) an extra life before being reduced to shavings in a bin that goes to landfill. Same applies to the pens made from recycled car parts unless refills are also supplied... This also raises a wider issue of looking at the lifecycle of products before purchasing.
More fundementally they may support unsustainable consumption patterns - by finding outlets for plastic vending cups we are only being a little less unsustainable and not asking the question as to why not use proper glasses and avoid vending machines/water coolers?
While recycling is important we should always think Reduce (how can I avoid generating the waste) -Reuse (how can I make use of the material again) before -Recycle...
Sorry to complicate matters but as they say - its not (always) easy being Green!
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