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Plastic -- bah -- I have been waging war on the filthy stuff for over a year now and I don't mean just refusing carrier bags. One use plastic products are a dirty, expensive, possibly carcinogenic, profligate use of the worlds resources resulting in an overwhelming tide of permanent, non biodegradable debris.
I hate them
So last year decided I would boycott one use disposable plastic packaging, bags, bottles and stupid free coat hangers that snap before you get home.
But is it actually possible to live without such stuff?
Looking around my house January 07 - so many months ago everything was plastic packed from food to knickers to post. An immediate boycott would obviously result in personal hygiene issues, scurvy, rickets and ultimate starvation not to mention some very draughty skirts.
I mean just look in your cupboards and bins to see just how much plastic there is in there.
So I decided to implement a rolling programme. Each month I would veto a plastic product. This would give me time to research better packaged, more sustainable, biodegradable alternatives or come to terms with doing without.
I started in January 07 and since then have boycotted up all manner of things from cotton buds to plastic packed cheese, shampoo to tic tacs. For most of these objects I have managed to find sustainable alternatives - yes there are non plastic packaged goods out there. I have had to give up suprisingly few things.What seemed almost impossible at the beginning of my boycott has in fact proved easier than I thought and the contents of my black bin have been massively reduced.
I am on year two of my plastic boycott and but now its getting serious - my god soon I will have to give up tonic water - what about the gin and its. I will make my own toothpaste and never eat crisps again but no G&Ts?????????
Will this be the end of my quest. To find out if a ginless life is the cause of my downfall and lots more information on plastic free products go to
http://www.plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com/.
Sorry E blogger - you didnt quite meet my needs.
I hate them
So last year decided I would boycott one use disposable plastic packaging, bags, bottles and stupid free coat hangers that snap before you get home.
But is it actually possible to live without such stuff?
Looking around my house January 07 - so many months ago everything was plastic packed from food to knickers to post. An immediate boycott would obviously result in personal hygiene issues, scurvy, rickets and ultimate starvation not to mention some very draughty skirts.
I mean just look in your cupboards and bins to see just how much plastic there is in there.
So I decided to implement a rolling programme. Each month I would veto a plastic product. This would give me time to research better packaged, more sustainable, biodegradable alternatives or come to terms with doing without.
I started in January 07 and since then have boycotted up all manner of things from cotton buds to plastic packed cheese, shampoo to tic tacs. For most of these objects I have managed to find sustainable alternatives - yes there are non plastic packaged goods out there. I have had to give up suprisingly few things.What seemed almost impossible at the beginning of my boycott has in fact proved easier than I thought and the contents of my black bin have been massively reduced.
I am on year two of my plastic boycott and but now its getting serious - my god soon I will have to give up tonic water - what about the gin and its. I will make my own toothpaste and never eat crisps again but no G&Ts?????????
Will this be the end of my quest. To find out if a ginless life is the cause of my downfall and lots more information on plastic free products go to
http://www.plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com/.
Sorry E blogger - you didnt quite meet my needs.
Giving up Plastic
November
No more rolling my own tobacco that is
The sweet small of success heavily packaged deoderants and antiperspirants are replaced by a small rock
Greaseproof bags mean cheese please bring your own bags to the cheese stall where they cut it for you
October
Biobags and the butcher use biobags to get plastic free meat
Partybags get them young buy plastic free party bags for the kiddywinks
September
Sweets and Crisp plastic wrapped snacks are outBiobags and the butcher checking out biodegradable packaging and plastic free meat
AUGUST
Rub It In - Made my own homemade body cream and lotion.
Sign the Ban the Bag Petition
Plastic Free Cheese -Cheese with no plastic packaging
Plastic Free Tea - tea bags with no plastic packagingFor details on plastic free food go to JULY
Ban The Bin Liners -Done exactly that.
JUNE
Buttering Up, A Nice Package & A Permanant SqueezeNo more marge cos butter comes in paper. find out about refillable washing up bottles and start the good packaging guide -
MAY
Peas and DegradationDegradable plastic - it is not the answer - bah - I have to give up frozen peas.
APRIL
Back On The BottleWater from the tap
MARCH
Wash That Plastic Pollution Right Out Of My Hair -and make my own shampoo out of soap flakes.
FEBRUARY
The Milkman Cometh - I got myself a milk man with real glass bottles.
JANUARY
Old Bags & Fresh FruitsStopped using plastic carrier bags only use super string bags to carry my shopping home. Stopped buying plastic wrapped fruit and veg. Now I only buy loose vegetables and wayward fruits Stopped using plastic produce bags for loose veges - now i put them in my re-useable cotton produce bags.
For details on all the above go to
www.plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com
No more rolling my own tobacco that is
The sweet small of success heavily packaged deoderants and antiperspirants are replaced by a small rock
Greaseproof bags mean cheese please bring your own bags to the cheese stall where they cut it for you
October
Biobags and the butcher use biobags to get plastic free meat
Partybags get them young buy plastic free party bags for the kiddywinks
September
Sweets and Crisp plastic wrapped snacks are outBiobags and the butcher checking out biodegradable packaging and plastic free meat
AUGUST
Rub It In - Made my own homemade body cream and lotion.
Sign the Ban the Bag Petition
Plastic Free Cheese -Cheese with no plastic packaging
Plastic Free Tea - tea bags with no plastic packagingFor details on plastic free food go to JULY
Ban The Bin Liners -Done exactly that.
JUNE
Buttering Up, A Nice Package & A Permanant SqueezeNo more marge cos butter comes in paper. find out about refillable washing up bottles and start the good packaging guide -
MAY
Peas and DegradationDegradable plastic - it is not the answer - bah - I have to give up frozen peas.
APRIL
Back On The BottleWater from the tap
MARCH
Wash That Plastic Pollution Right Out Of My Hair -and make my own shampoo out of soap flakes.
FEBRUARY
The Milkman Cometh - I got myself a milk man with real glass bottles.
JANUARY
Old Bags & Fresh FruitsStopped using plastic carrier bags only use super string bags to carry my shopping home. Stopped buying plastic wrapped fruit and veg. Now I only buy loose vegetables and wayward fruits Stopped using plastic produce bags for loose veges - now i put them in my re-useable cotton produce bags.
For details on all the above go to
www.plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com
Cream me Up
That post title was a shameless attempt to get attention.
The amount of cream I need to slather over my wrinkled frame has increased, not surprisingly, with the years.
However I really don’t see why my need to keep my skin supple should result in a mountain of plastic pots that will last for centuries - far longer then my looks. A timeless, non biodegradable monument to my vanity - ooh err.
So I have been running down supplies of lotion, saving the pots and have invested in the make your own cream starter kit from
http://www.aromantic.co.uk
They are Swedish and organic but based in Scotland.
It arrived with everything you need including sadly 30 little plastic pots to put it in. All the ingredients were wrapped in plastic bags as well. Hmmm.
Last month I made my first batch. It was really easy and the results are excellent. I now have several pots of really high quality cream for a fraction of the price. I have been using it on face and body for weeks with no side effects.
So while the pots and plastic bags may seem like rather an own goal, next time I will be able to buy just the ingredients so no pots, and in larger amounts so less bags.
Do try this at home.
The amount of cream I need to slather over my wrinkled frame has increased, not surprisingly, with the years.
However I really don’t see why my need to keep my skin supple should result in a mountain of plastic pots that will last for centuries - far longer then my looks. A timeless, non biodegradable monument to my vanity - ooh err.
So I have been running down supplies of lotion, saving the pots and have invested in the make your own cream starter kit from
http://www.aromantic.co.uk
They are Swedish and organic but based in Scotland.
It arrived with everything you need including sadly 30 little plastic pots to put it in. All the ingredients were wrapped in plastic bags as well. Hmmm.
Last month I made my first batch. It was really easy and the results are excellent. I now have several pots of really high quality cream for a fraction of the price. I have been using it on face and body for weeks with no side effects.
So while the pots and plastic bags may seem like rather an own goal, next time I will be able to buy just the ingredients so no pots, and in larger amounts so less bags.
Do try this at home.
Ban The Bin Bag
Used to use hundreds now I have given them up!
So what do I keep my rubbish in then?
Well I already had a bin system in place. Everything that could be recycled was put in the green bin or taken to the recycling place.
That left all the squidgy stinky food scraps which I decided to compost.
At the beginning of the year I bought a compost bin - one of the cheapest plastic ( yes I know but it was recycled ) containers - a big bucket really. I set it up at the bottom of the garden and chucked everything biodegradable into its gaping maw. Cardboard food wrappers, cooked and uncooked food.
There’s a lot talked about the mysteries of composting - the mixing of green and brown, piddling on it while the full moon shines etc. I don’t know about the full moon bit but I can confirm that cooked food does attract rats. Actually even without the meaty treats rats can be attracted to the bins - this web site has some useful hints on out-witting the ugly things http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/ratsincompost.htm.
So now all kitchen waste except cooked food goes in the compost bin which leaves the kitchen bin almost empty but for fish and meat packaging, biscuit wrappers, covering from tea packets etc. Most of it is clean waste but what isn’t i.e. the fish bags, we wrap in clean waste packaging. As the rubbish no longer sticks or gets soggy, we don’t need to use bin liners in our kitchen bin. It has one of those hard removable plastic liners that can be washed out after emptying.
That only leaves cooked food left overs. We don’t have much in the way of leftovers but what we cant eat we wrap in paper and it goes straight into the one bin bag in the black bin outside.
We have a black bin bag in our wheelie bin. The council insists we use them. However since the new regime it takes us three weeks to fill it.
Result - no plastic bin liners and a 60% reduction in black bin bag usage.
Composting Info
I have a garden but where space is limited composting with worms is an alternative. http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk have a very enthusiastic website.
Or if you don’t want to produce compost you could try a green cone. This is a waste reducer designed to be half buried in the ground. More info can be found at the Green Cone website
So what do I keep my rubbish in then?
Well I already had a bin system in place. Everything that could be recycled was put in the green bin or taken to the recycling place.
That left all the squidgy stinky food scraps which I decided to compost.
At the beginning of the year I bought a compost bin - one of the cheapest plastic ( yes I know but it was recycled ) containers - a big bucket really. I set it up at the bottom of the garden and chucked everything biodegradable into its gaping maw. Cardboard food wrappers, cooked and uncooked food.
There’s a lot talked about the mysteries of composting - the mixing of green and brown, piddling on it while the full moon shines etc. I don’t know about the full moon bit but I can confirm that cooked food does attract rats. Actually even without the meaty treats rats can be attracted to the bins - this web site has some useful hints on out-witting the ugly things http://whatcom.wsu.edu/ag/compost/ratsincompost.htm.
So now all kitchen waste except cooked food goes in the compost bin which leaves the kitchen bin almost empty but for fish and meat packaging, biscuit wrappers, covering from tea packets etc. Most of it is clean waste but what isn’t i.e. the fish bags, we wrap in clean waste packaging. As the rubbish no longer sticks or gets soggy, we don’t need to use bin liners in our kitchen bin. It has one of those hard removable plastic liners that can be washed out after emptying.
That only leaves cooked food left overs. We don’t have much in the way of leftovers but what we cant eat we wrap in paper and it goes straight into the one bin bag in the black bin outside.
We have a black bin bag in our wheelie bin. The council insists we use them. However since the new regime it takes us three weeks to fill it.
Result - no plastic bin liners and a 60% reduction in black bin bag usage.
Composting Info
I have a garden but where space is limited composting with worms is an alternative. http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk have a very enthusiastic website.
Or if you don’t want to produce compost you could try a green cone. This is a waste reducer designed to be half buried in the ground. More info can be found at the Green Cone website
Nice Package and Sqeezy Does it
This month I have taken up butter because it comes wrapped in paper rather than in a plastic tub. Now I know there are issues with butter - animal fat and all that but I have decided I will just have to use very little occasionally as a treat.
The Good Packaging Guide
This made me think about good packaging.
For those of you who would like to be plastic free I am putting together a good packaging guide. Please do remember that in my book good packaging is biodegradable but the best packaging is of course no packaging.
The guide can be found on my other blogsite
http://nicepackage.blog.co.uk
Please do join in
Squeezy Does It
Do you remember back in the old days when a squeezy bottle full of cold water and your enemies, the vile Roberts brothers, about to walk past your cunningly concealed ambush, was the height of fun. Obviously arming your troops was of paramount importance and demand for weapons was high. These days of course, the availability of high powered water pistols and the fact that I am actually an adult, has meant I no longer need to stockpile empty, washing-up liquid bottles.
In fact, as they are of course plastic, they need to be eradicated from my life.
I did try to use soap flakes to wash up. Though I was assured this was possible, I did not find it a pleasant experience. I also tried using soap flakes to make washing up liquid - again not a success. Then I found that I can get my ecover washing up liquid bottle refilled at my local health food shop.
So though the bottle is indeed plastic it can be reused many many times.
The Good Packaging Guide
This made me think about good packaging.
For those of you who would like to be plastic free I am putting together a good packaging guide. Please do remember that in my book good packaging is biodegradable but the best packaging is of course no packaging.
The guide can be found on my other blogsite
http://nicepackage.blog.co.uk
Please do join in
Squeezy Does It
Do you remember back in the old days when a squeezy bottle full of cold water and your enemies, the vile Roberts brothers, about to walk past your cunningly concealed ambush, was the height of fun. Obviously arming your troops was of paramount importance and demand for weapons was high. These days of course, the availability of high powered water pistols and the fact that I am actually an adult, has meant I no longer need to stockpile empty, washing-up liquid bottles.
In fact, as they are of course plastic, they need to be eradicated from my life.
I did try to use soap flakes to wash up. Though I was assured this was possible, I did not find it a pleasant experience. I also tried using soap flakes to make washing up liquid - again not a success. Then I found that I can get my ecover washing up liquid bottle refilled at my local health food shop.
So though the bottle is indeed plastic it can be reused many many times.
Peas and Degradation
As May comes in with a hey nonny nonny, I know that those of you kind enough to peruse these pages, may be imagining me decking my smock with spring blooms and unwrapping my Birkenstocks for the summer ahead. I mean as some kind of earth goddess who loves nothing better than weaving yogurt while a pot of free trade, organic lentils bond themselves into a healthsome stew on the wood fuelled stove.
Sadly not true. Dinner time finds me attacking the glacier that has taken up residence in our freezer in an attempt to liberate food, any kind of food, from its icy grasp.
Frozen food is important to us and I am particularly partial to frozen peas.
Sad to say plastic is rather important to frozen food .
Imagine then my whoops of joy ( I am inordinately fond of peas) when I saw the coop wrap much of its frosty goodness in degradable packaging
.
Degradable to me sounds much like biodegradable.
I could have let it go.
But I didn’t - degradable does not mean biodegradable.
It means plastic particles stuck together with biodegradable glue. Sure it breaks down faster, much faster, than conventional plastic but still into tiny invisible plastic particles - it is still basically plastic.
Good from a litter point of view but not so good from a no plastic point of veiw.
So I have banned dgradable plastic from my life and this month I said good bye to frozen peas.
Sadly not true. Dinner time finds me attacking the glacier that has taken up residence in our freezer in an attempt to liberate food, any kind of food, from its icy grasp.
Frozen food is important to us and I am particularly partial to frozen peas.
Sad to say plastic is rather important to frozen food .
Imagine then my whoops of joy ( I am inordinately fond of peas) when I saw the coop wrap much of its frosty goodness in degradable packaging
.
Degradable to me sounds much like biodegradable.
I could have let it go.
But I didn’t - degradable does not mean biodegradable.
It means plastic particles stuck together with biodegradable glue. Sure it breaks down faster, much faster, than conventional plastic but still into tiny invisible plastic particles - it is still basically plastic.
Good from a litter point of view but not so good from a no plastic point of veiw.
So I have banned dgradable plastic from my life and this month I said good bye to frozen peas.
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