Plastic detox

July 28, 2016 ~ Gillie ~ 6 Comments

5774413_orig

I have been following Plastic Free July for several years now and have learned a lot and managed to cut our use of plastic considerably. However, it’s not just about refusing plastic bags and using glass or stainless steel for food storage. The real problem is the hidden plastic. The plastic you can’t see and don’t expect.

When you buy food at the deli counter in the supermarket you may have noticed that some shops (eg. Sainsburys) no longer wrap your ham in a plastic bag but a paper one. You duly put said bag in the recycling bin. But is it paper? No it’s not, it is “mixed materials not currently recyclable” The inside will be single use (i.e. non-recyclable plastic).

What about those teabags that you confidently put in the compost? If you buy organic teabags the chances are that they are 100% paper and are safe to put in your compost. However most teabags contain polypropylene which is not biodegradable. Which Magazine contacted major teabag producers to ask the polypropylene content of their bags. These are some of the results:

Twinings: 0% polypropylene YIPPEE
Sainsburys Taste the Difference English Breakfast tea (Fairtrade): 1% Not bad
Morrisons: English Breakfast tea has 10% Could do better
PG Tips tea bags have 20%: YUK!
Yorkshire tea bags have 25%: YIKES!

If you are stuck on bags rather than loose tea then try to use those with the lowest polyproylene content and tear them before adding to the compost.

Most of us know that microbeads are not good. They are clogging up the oceans and killing wildlife. There are plenty of alternatives for scrubs. Homemade using salt/sugar and oil, or scrubs from reputable organic companies such as Dr Organic from Holland and Barratt. But what about the hidden plastics in cosemetics you didn’t know about?

A research paper published by the UN last year found a worrying level of hidden plastic in a huge range of cosmetic products (UNEP report ‘Plastic in Cosmetics’, 2015)

“Microbeads and other plastic ingredients are present in products ranging from toothpaste and shower gel to eye shadows and nail polish. Their proportions vary in different products, from less than 1 per cent to more than 90 per cent of the content. In a typical shower gel analyzed in laboratory, there was roughly as much plastic material in the gel itself as in its packaging.”

You can download an app created by Beat the Microbead to check the microplastic content of a product before you purchase and look for the Look for Zero logo below to show that the product is 100% plastic free.

static1.squarespace.com

I mentioned the cardboard take away coffee cups yesterday. Have you ever tried to pour hot water into a cardboard box! There has to be something on the inside of the those cups to ensure that you don’t end up with a hot soggy pile of cardboard in your hands as you walk through the park. Most of the time it’s polyethylene and renders the cups unrecyclable.

Likewise those cardboard juice containers, many tinned foods, some cigarette filters, till receipts, labels on everything from groceries to clothes. All contain plastic.

When I first started using my own shopping bags and refusing to put loose fruit and veg in a plastic bag but brought my own reused paper bags I got a lot of very funny looks. Now refusing a plastic bag is second nature. The way we win the war against plastic is to refuse it. Not just the plastic you can see, but educate yourself about that which you can’t.

Love Gillie x

The reusable takeaway

July 27, 2016 ~ Gillie ~ 2 Comments

Following on from yesterday I’m keeping to a bit of a theme. The reusable takeaway. We all like a good takeaway, for my husband it is a doner kebab with lots of chilli, the girls and I worship at the door of our wonderful Indian takeaway Jalsa in Ushaw Moor (their Chicken Makatoni is to die for). BUT and there is a big but, all those plastic/styroform boxes are the pits. At least our lovely Jalsa uses tin foil boxes so they can be recycled but still, we can do better.

I don’t drink coffee much, and when I do I like plain black from a cafetiere so all the fancy coffee shops are lost on me. On the other hand I do like tea, I like tea a lot, I like lots of different types of tea. I’m not a great one for buying a tea on the go, but there are times when I am out and about or waiting for a train when the only thing that I really want is a good strong cup of black tea. But I don’t want a non-recyclable cardboard cup from Starbucks. And they aren’t easily recyclable see here . Those plastic coffee pods are bad, but those cardboard cups are just as nasty.

Did you know that almost every coffee shop / tea room will let you take your takeaway in your own mug/thermos so long as it has a secure lid? This is what I take my tea away in.

Joco glass mug with silicone lid. It also comes in a lovely sturdy cardboard tub that I now use to store my Earl Grey!

You met my water bottle yesterday. I fill it up with tap water if we stop at a cafe or restaurant. Most cold drinks come in their own bottles, but not all. Plenty of smoothies, juices and cold coffees are made to order and are served in plastic cups. I use my joco mug or water bottle.

Finally food. We have these brilliant stainless steel lunchboxes which come from the same company as the water bottle. I’ve not yet tried them at my Jalsa (will update you when I do). However, I have taken sandwiches, paninis, salads, pies and even a doner kebab away in it.

Don’t be afraid to ask, the worst thing they can say is no. I have yet to find a health and safety (the usual excuse) reason why I cannot use my own container so even if you do get a no, ask why!

Love Gillie x

The reusable holiday

July 26, 2016 ~ Gillie ~ 4 Comments

I’m just back from a fabulous three weeks in Romania, which is why the blog has been so quiet (that and some techy issues that seem to have been resolved). However, I am aware that for many of you, particularly those of you with school age children, the summer holidays have only just started and you are probably packing and sorting ready for a few weeks R&R.

It doesn’t really matter where you are going, whether it’s a fortnight on the beach or hiking in the Alps, there are some things that are not just useful, but essential for a hassle-free holiday. In our case these tend to revolve around food and drink. We like lots of picnics, we like to try out the local foods and no holiday is complete without a beach or riverside bbq.

Most of the things required can easily be bought in the disposable picnic area of any supermarket. But I don’t want disposable, I don’t want plastic. I want reusuable and sustainable. So this is what we packed to go to Romania.

Bamboo Cutlery. One hundred percent biodegradable and compostable when they finally come to the end of their life. In the meantime, light and easy to use.

Food wrap. These are great and double up as plates as well I make my own using organic cotton and beeswax but there are plenty available online. Just rinse with hot water.

Drinking cups. Well you don’t really want to be swigging the wine out of a bottle!

Water bottles. There is only a few things I loathe more than plastic water bottles, not only are they unneccessary for most day to day situations, they contribute to vast amounts of waste and most contain bpa which is directly linked to some cancers.

Portable fire bowl and grill. This is the best thing ever! We used to buy a disposable bbq and reuse it all holiday but this is one stage better and is absolutely brilliant.

Finally, don’t forget a sharp knife, a corkscrew and/or a bottle opener! Happy holidays 🙂

Love Gillie