Reducing single-use/disposable plastic
1 lurker |
72 watchers
Apr 2018
9:34am, 13 Apr 2018
3,552 posts
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Curly45
Map of places in Brighton for BYO Mug discounts for the marathon weekend: google.com |
Apr 2018
10:36am, 13 Apr 2018
28,552 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Has anyone looked at the environmental impact / cost of things like heating water for washing of re-usables, heating the beeswax mentioned earlier, driving (if one must) multiple times to shops for smaller quantities etc? I'm not being a nay-sayer. Quite the opposite. I'm looking for evidence that support re-use. For example, the line the car industry was peddling, that newer cars with lower emissions and lower fuel consumption, were better for the environment turned out to be untrue because of the enormous amounts of energy required in building the new car and waste in scrapping the old one. "Make do and mend" an old car was by far (I can't remember the multiple - 10 x ?) greener option than buying a shiny new one.  G
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Apr 2018
11:03am, 13 Apr 2018
3,554 posts
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Curly45
Its never going to be clear cut Happy - but my understanding from my stepdad who is a sustainability consultant, is that plastic creation is energy intensive as well (extracting crude, distillation, processing, shipping of granules & heating to form as well as shipping to destination). I think in the US this is about 4% of their total energy cost. Then there is the fact that recycling is also energy intensive, plastic is particularly difficult, unlike glass that can recover up to 50% of energy cost in creation. Always best to reuse something made already (even if a small energy cost in heating the water) than recycle and make again. Even better to reduce in the first place of course, e.g. buy veg without plastic. And you should be cycling/walking to the shops or getting an efficient delivery (check out Ocado for the green van symbol)
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Apr 2018
2:22pm, 13 Apr 2018
1,216 posts
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Silvershadow
Reporting back on the Burt's Bees looky-likey lip balm. I used Coconut oil, shea butter, bees wax, 1/4 tsp of honey and a drop of peppermint. The honey doesn't mix in with the melted oils and just sits on the bottom. I mixed it thoroughly and sat the little containers in ice water so it would harden quickly but it still sunk to the bottom. Overall its a bit hard, I think it would be better in a wind up lipstick type container but if I keep it in my pocket it's soft enough to apply with my finger. It feels nice and seems to do the job. My lips feel less dry. |
Apr 2018
9:49am, 16 Apr 2018
3,107 posts
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run free
@HappyG want to add to what Curly has said. Reduce more than anything else, Reuse what you have and Recycle if there are no choices. There is sooo much evidence and stats out there. Putting stuff in our bin is antiquainted as we have become educated by #BluePlanet, #Panorama, Visual sightings, many national newspaper reports and the internet is full of information about our toxic convenience on our world. Panorama has highlighted on soooo many occasions about how we handle our trash with supposed "recycle-able plastic" being shipped to developing countries who are unable to process our crap properly and hence discard of whatever we binned inappropriately. In 2008, I attended a conference where councils admited to sending over 50% of "recycleables" to developing countries. The environmental impact of plastic is huge. #BluePlanet should have highlighted this with hundred of thousand animals killed each year + reports of various animals like whales with stomaches full of plastic in their gut (Research shows 100,000 marine creatures a year die from plastic entanglement and these are the ones found. Approximately 1 million sea birds also die from plastic. A plastic bag can kill numerous animals because they take so long to disintegrate.) #BluePlanet The Eu has publiished that plastic in the water soaks up pollutants becoming toxic: ec.europa.eu + again highlighted by #BluePlanet The plastic degrades in the ocean to micro/nano plastic but is still plastic! So smaller stuff like plankton and plants are ingesting plastic. The national newspapers have highlighted about plastic in our water tap/bottled from plastic fibres. National Geographic has reported of the 8.3 billion metric tons that has been produced, 6.3 billion metric tons has become plastic waste. Of that, only nine percent has been recycled. The vast majority—79 percent—is accumulating in landfills or sloughing off in the natural environment as litter. As plastic degrades in landill site, toxic chemicals leach from the site into the water tables. We can either continue to stick our heads in the sand or we can be proactive and do something about this. Every little bit helps. |
Apr 2018
8:17pm, 16 Apr 2018
13,745 posts
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EvilPixie
Worth checking your council curb side recycling I recycle as much as I can and found out mine will take clean foil wrap or trays as well as aerosols All kinds of wrapping paper in paper and greeting cards in cardboard |
Apr 2018
10:52am, 19 Apr 2018
14,185 posts
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Carpathius
First week using solid bar shampoo. My hair (long and curly) looks and feels revolting Please someone tell me it will get better! Also; anyone found plastic-free toothpaste? I am trialling a plastic free deodorant which seems to be OK but is 6.5x more expensive than a plastic one from Tesco. |
Apr 2018
10:59am, 19 Apr 2018
4,342 posts
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Wine Legs
What shampoo are you using Carp? Are you still using conditioner? Runny or solid?
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Apr 2018
11:12am, 19 Apr 2018
3,573 posts
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Curly45
They are generally not plastic free even if bamboo handle Carp. Myself and Magpie were discussing this today - we would like to see the proposed ban on single use plastics extended to dental practices as at the moment it is almost impossible to get non plastic versions of floss, teepees and brushes! I find the shampoo bars leave my hair really greasy, but dry (also curly), I still have a huge bottle of shampoo that I am working my way through so am alternating which seems to be okay at the moment. |
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Apr 2018
11:18am, 19 Apr 2018
28,619 posts
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HappyG(rrr)
Re-usable coffee cups in our office are now a fashion (way to change habits - shame or kudos!) with comparisons of designs, chat about when / how to wash and challenge of "why haven't you got a cup?" This is positive. G
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