Hobby Horses

Here at the Bugle we are always open to suggestions for new and entertaining recreational pastimes (‘hobbies’) to make our leisure time here on Crete even more rewarding and fulfilling, and, of course, to contribute to our personal development. For reasons that we won’t go into right here, the editorial team don’t ‘do’ golf, crochet or mud-wrestling any more, but we’re up for most things. The emphasis here, is on ‘recreational’. For non-native English speakers unfamiliar with the concept, a ’hobby’ is defined as ’an activity which one enjoys doing in one’s free time’.

Some of you may be starting to see where we are going with this. Not so long ago, we had to buy a new dustpan. As you can see from the photo on the left, it’s very smart, shiny and purple. And as much fun to use as a dustpan can be. Even so, (unless we have totally misunderstood the purpose of this implement and it is in fact a new type of Frisbee) labelling it with the word ’hobby’ might be considered in some quarters to be somewhat wide of the mark.

We hesitate to point the finger, or even to ask the question “Who thinks that housework is something you do just for fun?” (though we can hazard a guess). Whatever next - vacuuming as sport?

After the depressing news about the Amari landfill (see our ‘Around Town’ Page), here is some good news on the eco front. In the picture on the right you can see the amazing recycling robot of Agia Galini. This machine compresses recyclable waste and can store the equivalent amount of rubbish that would ordinarily fill 80 wheelie bins. It may not be terribly aesthetically pleasing at the moment, but it can be camouflaged. In fact, it can even be disguised as a palm tree - you can plant a real tree in the top of the tower. To operate the machine, you wave your hand in front of a door, which opens. An electronic voice tells you how and when to throw your rubbish in. It’s a Greek invention, initially tried out on the mainland. The Agia Galini robot is the first one to be installed on Crete. As always with new inventions, there are some minor details yet to be sorted out. Emptying the machine is causing a few difficulties, as none of the rubbish trucks on the island are big enough to take the amount of rubbish that spills out in one go. But still, we think it’s great!

Green Tips

Thanks go to Anna Capernaros for suggesting that we make this a regular feature: Anna writes: ‘Following on from the recycling information that has been given in previous issues of the Bugle, each month we will be publishing suggestions for eco friendly alternatives to commonly used cleaning and health and beauty products using natural products readily available in most store cupboards which have not been tested on animals. Let's save the planet and money too!! Feedback is requested as we have not tested all of these out yet (and we do not guarantee the results!), and please feel free to submit any of your own tips.’ This month we give you a couple hints for natural cleaning products: Potatoes are supposed to be very good for removing mud from trousers. Rub a cut potato over the mud on the trousers prior to washing. Apparently, the starch helps to remove and break down the mud. Apple peel can be used to remove stains from discoloured aluminium pans. Fill the pan with water, throw the apple peel in and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes. The acid in the peel will remove the dark discolouration on the inside of the pan.

Where Can I Recycle Waste Items?

Apart from using the blue and yellow recycling bins for household waste other items can be recycled as follows:
Disposal of broken electrical goods. There is a depot just outside town which will take anything ‘that had a plug on it’ (including washing machines and fridges). Drivers, take the National Road towards Heraklion in Misiria. Turn off the highway after about 100—150 metres, hang a right and you should soon see recycling bins etc. The depot is open from 6am to 3pm on weekdays, and from 6am to 12 noon at weekends. For further information call 28310 57940. For large objects that need collection call 195 from any phone.
Old telephones and small telecoms items. There is a green bin in the entrance of the main OTE office..
Batteries. various places in town including OTE, DEI, Germanos, Marinopoulos and Champion.
Old cars. DRAKOS on the left hand side of the National Road a short way out of Rethymnon (going towards Hania). They even pay you as they recycle the spares and give you a paper for tax purposes!