Electric Plug Story

Your Old Plug Changes Lives

justincase.com, the recycling charity, is changing many more lives in the Third World as new products find their way into his recycling plant. George Thomas, 55, began his recycling charity 'justincase.com.' after removing a plug from a broken kettle.

"I decided to keep the plug 'just in case' I may have needed it. I opened a drawer and found five other plugs with various bits of cable sticking out of them. I had kept them just in case I may have needed them. I got to thinking about the chances of purchasing six electrical items that would need plugs. Under the current legislation, I began to doubt if I would even need one. I thought that these items could be recycled and the money could be used for the greater good. I kept three plugs just in case though. I'm willing to trade one for a European plug just in case I emigrate.

"Anyway, this got me thinking about other items I may have. Sure enough, I found a three-quarter length of wallpaper that was rolled up and a bit creased. I had kept that just in case I needed to replace a little bit of paper. I doubt I'll find that woodchip pattern anywhere else now. In fact, I think I’ve re-papered that wall since, but you just never know if you'll need it. Up in the attic, I found a square metre of carpet. I kept that just in case the carpet got a bad stain or a hole in it. No one would notice a patched up piece slotted in. It made perfect sense.

"In the utility, I found four tins of paint, some several years old, that I kept just in case I needed to touch up the paintwork. There was also a 3 foot piece of guttering and a box full of bathroom tiles. I also found a set of made-to-measure curtains, which I brought from my previous house, just in case they fitted the windows on my present home. They don't. I may have the windows altered, but I'll keep them anyway just in case I move. I remember I kept a broken toaster just in case I ever met Uri Geller.

"There are plenty of items that people could send to me. I understand the nagging doubts. I've got a Betamax video recorder, a Rubik cube with stickers missing and a washer off a Philips Washing Machine, which I’ve sold, that I just can't get rid of. The day I get rid of that washer will be the day Philips announce that all old washers will universally fit any other product in their range. I'd be devastated.

“Next time you decide to keep something ‘just in case’ please ask yourself if you really do need to keep it. The answer will be ‘yes’ so I recommend keeping items in drawers marked with what year you put them in. Anything over five years old is unlikely to be ever needed. Although, you just never know,” said George.