Roadkill for Good Causes

Over on her blog, Making Good Use is keeping track of roadkill money - cash she finds in the street etc. It got me thinking about stuff we overlook or throw away everyday that can be put to good use, either for ourselves or for others.

The Old Flame and I collect aluminium cans which are sold to support a local community group. My nieces and nephew collect them to supplement their pocket money as their father and I did before them. There's not a huge amount of money in it, but it's an activity with lots of social positives, including cleaning up the neighbourhood and increasing recycling. It also teaches the kids that you have to work for money - although they do tend to delegate a lot of the actual collecting and crushing of cans to we adults. Managers in the making, I fear.

While we give the cans to the community group, they don't get the ring pulls. The ring pulls are made of titanium and can be recycled to make artificial limbs for the victims of land mines. We were a bit dubious when we heard this (and it did have a touch of the jumpers for penguins about it) but we are assured by an acquaintance (and I know her mother, so she wouldn't make it up) that she can ensure the ring pulls get to a local contact. About 36,000 ring pulls are needed for a single limb. That's lot of aluminium cans, but it doesn't take that long to remove them, and again, lots of positive benefits.

Postage stamps are something I've saved for charity all my adult life. The Presbyterian Women's Missionary Union in NSW is my preferred outlet, but often Rotary groups sell used stamps to raise funds for their projects as well. Stamps should be clipped or ripped with a few millimetres of space around the edge of the stamp. All stamps are welcome and I can provide contact details for the PWMU if anyone wants it, otherwise a call to your local Rotary group will probably put you in touch with a non-religious outlet.

Wine Corks from Taph Towers and associated abodes are donated to the Girl Guides who make cork boards from them to raise funds for their activities.

Clear plastic mailers. You know the clear plastic that magazines and other publications come posted in these days? Great as knitting pattern holders, I also use them for picking up the dog mess on walks. I get a few at home, but at work we get lots and at least one extra use of them is better than just throwing them in the bin as soon as the mail is opened.

Any one else have outlets for roadkill of this kind?