I was a fairly fanatical re-user in Canada. I fear I'll be even worse after being in Cameroon where any sort of receptacle is re-used again and again until entirely kaput, and clothes worn until they're beyond mending at which point they're turned into rags. Will I be able to throw anything out ever again? We'll see; I'm sure friends and family will encourage my cultural adjustment in this area.
But here's one idea I'll tuck into my back pocket and take with me-- for it's humour value, if nothing else. I don't know if this is a widely used trick, but I learned from a World Teamer in East Cameroon with the Baka (pygmies) that a flipflop can have a second life as a torch. Apparently these flimsy plastic shoes burn interminably once lit. "So I now carry a broken shoe in my truck in case I ever need a flare or flashlight or firestarter," he joked. We alternately chuckled and shuddered as the possibilities this revelation opened up, imagining the toxins leaking into food cooked over a flipflop fire.
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