If you use loose leaf tea to make yourself a cuppa, you know that, in addition to being difficult to clean out every last bit of tea leaf, a lot of them get thrown away. They might not be strong enough to make more tea with, but there are a lot of uses for used up tea leaves, some of which still benefit from the antioxidant power of green tea. To prepare the used leaves, first dry them completely by laying them on a sieve or even a series of paper towels. Once dry, they can be used to:

• Take odors out of cutting boards by rubbing a freshly washed board with the leaves, then washing again. They can also help to absorb odor in carpets and even cat litter.
• Fill a small cotton bag with the leaves, dampen it, and place on your eyes to reduce puffiness. If you want to use this technique on your whole body, you can make the bag larger and put it in the bath.
• Green tea is a natural source of fluorine, which fights cavities and gingivitis, as well as strengthening teeth, so the leaves can be mixed with water and used as a mouthwash.

[Thanks, Robert]

The UK's top supermarket Tesco has announced that they are to introduce bio-degradable carrier bags. It also aims to cut the number of plastic bags given to customers by nearly a billion each year.

According to letsrecycle.com the UK gets through over 17.5 billion plastic carrier bags a year from supermarkets alone. So you would have thought they would be happy with the supermarkets plans. Not at all.

The fact they are to be biodegradable got the Liberal Democrat environment spokesman Chris Huhne a bit fired up. He accused the supermarket chain of misunderstanding waste issues, suggesting that degradable plastic bags will produce greenhouse gases when they break down. You just can't win sometimes.

Biobags are storage bags made from completely natural and biodegradable materials. Although they resemble plastic bags, they are made from cornstarch - and even the corn is certified as non-GMO. The material used to make them is actually a "bioplastic" called Mater-Bi, which is made by an Italian company that specializes in finding alternatives to petroleum-based plastics.

Biobags allow the produce (or anything else) placed inside them to “breathe”, so heat and moisture will be wicked away, reducing the chance of bacterial buildup and even keeping produce fresh longer. It will also reduce the odors from trash and other waste products. The bags, if placed in a compost pile, will break down completely within 10-45 days, and will achieve the same result, albeit at a somewhat slower rate, in a natural setting. This means that they're great for taking along as storage on picnics and camping trips in addition to home use, just in case you lose track of any bags while you're out in the woods.

The bags are available online and come in a variety of sizes, including everything from grocery bags (pictured) to trash can liners to doggie bags.

Starbucks is in the process of replacing their current cups with cups made of 10% recycled paper and their heat-insulating cup sleeves are already made of recycled paper, but the company may soon have a new, environmentally-friendly option. A new company based in the Seattle Area, MicroGreen Polymers, says that it has developed a way to make insulated coffee cups out of recycled plastic bottles. Not only does the company believe that their cups, which are less than a year away from full commercial production, will be cheaper than the more traditional paper cups, but the production process creates no harmful gasses. The cups are created by infusing plastic with tiny air bubbles, creating an air cushion within the material of the cup to protect your hand from the heat. Because there is less physical material in the cups, the plastic from one bottle can be used to make five to seven 12-ounce coffee cups. MicroGreen Polymers has signed a development agreement with Reynolds Food Packaging, so it may not be long before a new wave of eco-friendly materials hit the stores.