Street Rubber Bands

Need a rubber band while you're out walking? Britain is the best place
to find one. Just look down and one will appear in a few minutes, most
likely near a door with a letterbox slit.

These are red rubber bands discarded by the post/man/woman. At the post office, mail is bundled up into delivery groups and as they are delivered, the rubber bands are tossed. How much do you think the post office spends on rubber bands every year?

But indeed, they must be cutting back (that is, conserving rubber bands), since fewer are visible on the streets than in previous years. Still, I found one recently to hold a mandolin in a rucksack that couldn't be zipped closed, and I've since heard that two friends actually collect them (that's rubber bands, not mandolins)...

Red rubber band abandoned on doorstep    ➞