Is there a plague of red rubber bands?

[Thomzo]

Hi
Has anybody else in the UK noticed a plague of red rubber bands all over the footpaths of our towns and cities?

For those of you outside the UK, these rubber bands are used by the postmen to keep letters together. They drop them like confetti. On my way to my local co-op, less than 1/4 mile, I picked up 6!

I've started putting them in the letter boxes.

Zoe

[ina]

Oh, I've noticed this plague... But here they aren't red, they are - brownish, I suppose. Always wondered - has anybody worked out yet how much money the post office throws away like that over a year? I tend to collect them; rubber bands come in handy, and I never have to buy any.

[Tigerhair]

You know why, don't you? The Post Office uses red ones.

And now you have to take a ruler to your post to find the right stamp - arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

[ina]

You know why, don't you? The Post Office uses red ones.

Ergh, no - I don't quite get it. The post office here doesn't use red ones... Don't forget, I live in a different country - I suppose rubber bands go under devolution!

[Milims]

Out here in the stix we don't seem to have the rubber band plague- I'm really disappointed - I wanted to collect them to make skippies and teach my daughter how to do it!!!

[Shirley]

no elastic band plague here... but why not collect them and gather them together as a ball... when it gets big enough you can play bouncy ball with it... or even sell it to the royal mail so that they can use them again. It would be interesting to see how big it gets.

[Andy Hamilton]

Yep I have noticed and have been collecting them since June last year.

This is how they look now.



These bands have mostly been collected between my house and the town center of Bristol (a 2 mile walk).

[Bonniegirl]

I'm an ex-postie and I always used to bring mine back and put them in one of the pigeon holes in my sorting frame.

BUT!! They waould all be pinched...no doubt by some lazy bugger of a postie who is no doubt guilty of chucking them on the floor!

Complain to your local sorting office, it probably won't get you anywhere, but the more of you that do complain may get some results!

Unless of course you happen to like making little pink balls!

[Thomzo]

I have a little pink ball on the go at work. It's tiny at the moment and there's only two weeks left for it to grow . I only started it last week when I took over the post opening duties, so it's still very much a baby pink ball

Zoe

[ina]

That's interesting to know, though: England uses a different colour of rubber bands... Now why would that be so!

[Thomzo]

Maybe it's certain sorting offices. Perhaps Bristol and Swindon use the same supplier of rubber bands but other sorting offices use different ones?

Zoe

[ina]

All the ones I've seen in Scotland so far are of this brownish non-colour.

[Thomzo]

Would you like some red ones? They are quite pretty. I can send you some if you'd like.

Zoe

[mrsflibble]

we get red ones. aparently more down the other end of the village. if I find any I'll post you some.



Mr Flibble says we should make rubber band balls, attach notes saying "I believe you dropped this" and fling them through post office windows.

[Thomzo]

Judging by the way they bounce it would just bounce straight back and hit you in the face, then back to the window, then back to your face, then back to the ...

well you get the idea.

Zoe