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mop and bucket

by Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up Tagged 2 Comments

 mop bucketI am something of an old pro when it comes to scrubbing. In my youth I was the cleaner of casinos. I swabbed down the gaming area, restaurant and croupiers changing rooms. What with the slopped drinks, overflowing urinals, greasy kitchens and industrial strength makeup  spills, theres not a thing I don’t know about  mopping up.

I can tell you that a cotton mop and galvanized mop bucket  are the only things that can take the strain. Plastic tubs and sponge heads are crap (that is a technical term used by cleaners). Only the strength of galvanized steel allows you to get a good squeeze on your mop essential for good scrubbing action.

mopCotton mop heads are also replaceable. The old ones can be safely burnt on the bonfire or used to make Guy Fawkes hair – it makes him look really rascally. If you think Guy had the right idea and you don’t want to burn an effigy of him,  put the old mop head on the compost heap. The wooden mop handles last for ever, but should they ever break they too can be burnt or composted.

So give up on plastic mop buckets and sqidgy sponges and get down with the old school charlady look. Its really cool, plastic free, biodegradable and lasts for ever.

So you want to use a cotton mop? There are a few things you may wish to consider before you purchase.
Firstly, not all mop heads are not created equal. They come in different ply which means that the strands of cotton come in different thicknesses.

Which mop head should you use? 

Thinner twines will wear away quickly leaving your mop head scraping on the floor, but dry quickly after use.

Thick twines are better for heavy duty mopping but a thick head takes longer to dry and a damp mop head can very quickly become a stinky mop head.

Drying out, or getting stinky, is not an issue if you use the mop every other day.

If you don’t need to mop every day the 16PY is a good choice. It is a medium weight so thicker than your average mop head but not so heavy it takes forever to dry out.

Changing a mop head

Remove old head put on new – as easy as

You can nail the head into place but we have never bothered.

Works fine for us

Buy Mop & Bucket

Mops and buckets can often be found on markets and in hardware stalls.

You can also buy them on line here from independent sellers operating through Amazon.

Amazon is a very dirty word at the moment and I thought long and hard before suggesting them.  Heres why I went ahead…..

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Toilet Roll

by Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged , ,

For a long time the only plastic free toilet paper I could find was Isal Medicated. It is extremely hard more like greaseproof paper with a shiny almost waterproof finish. Obviously this makes it extremely uncomfortable to use in a number of ways. Still I was prepared to use the beastly stuff till I went to buy in bulk and found the paper wrapped rolls were shrink filmed in plastic. Damned if I am going to suffer scratches if the rolls are not in fact plastic free.

Loose

However if you are prepared to buy loose, try your corner shop.Here in Huddersfield  Khadims sell loose toilets rolls very cheap.

Compostable Packaging

Eco Leaf Toilet Tissue.

Supplied by the good folks at Suma ( a workers cooperative), it comes in a 100% cornstarch compostable wrap called Bioplast. Just so you know, Bioplast is certified to EN 13432 and confirms to the European OK Compost Standard. Made of potato starch it is similar to biobags I am guessing. The rolls themselves are 100% recycled paper and Suma donate some of their profits to www.treesponsibility.com.

If you live in Huddersfield you can buy these at Half Moon Health FoodsAddress: 6 Half MoonStreet HD1 2JJ.

Or you can buy it on line from the Ethical Superstore.

You might want to check these shops. They sell plastic free products and send them out in plasticless packages. Find them HERE

A big plus with these Suma rolls is that they are made in the UK from recycled paper.

Quick Overview

As with our other Ecoleaf paper products, our toilet tissue is made from 100% recycled fibre sourced exclusively from the UK. It’s produced from a mix of consumer and trade waste using chlorine-free processing. The tissue comes in 100% compostable wrap making our packaging sustainable, renewable, non-polluting and non-toxic.
We work in partnership with Treesponsibility to minimize the environmental impact of our products

Made in the UK by Suma, an ethical worker cooperative.
Read more here

Plastic Spoiler
Plus I have heard reports that if you buy in bulk it comes in a plastic bag!

Greencane

Will deliver toilets rolls in a cardboard box.

Each box contains
Total 48 rolls
12 packs of 4 rolls.
Each roll 300 sheets, 2 ply.
UK £23.80 per carton.

The rolls are wrapped in cellophane, a compostable plastic.

Find out more about Greencaneproducts here.

To order products  visit the website

Give A Crap do something similar.

The downside is the paper products are made in and imported from China.

Composting Plastic At Home
While most agree that some  plastics are indeed compostable, many say that they can only composted in large scale municipal schemes. As we don’t have many large scale municipal schemes this they say is a pointless advantage.I say the days of large scale municipal schemes is fast approaching as governments aim to divert biodegradable rubbish from landfill sites.
AND I have been composting my PLA plastic for years. We have used and composted a number PLA plastic products (including Biobags , Deli pots  and disposable Cutlery)
It does take longer than other products and  sometimes I have found shreds of it in my compost but I dig it into the soil where it quickly disappears.

Biodegradable, Compostable Plastics

What is biodegradable? Biodegradable products break down through a naturally occurring microorganism into simple, stable compounds which can be absorbed into the ecosystem. More about biodegrading here

What is compostable? To be classed compostable, items must biodegrade within a certain time (around the rate at which paper biodegrades), and the resulting biomass must be free of toxins, able to sustain plant life and be used as an organic fertilizer or soil additive. For a man-made product to be sold as compostable, it has to meet certain standards. One such is the European Norm EN13432. You can find out more here.

Read more about compostable plastics here

More Info

You can find other ways to wipe here….

And you might like these other health & hygiene posts

Buy On Line

These shops sell plastic free products and send them out in plasticless packages. Find them HERE

N.B.

lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x

And before you go…

If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

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All Post List

by Posted in 5 Blog Social Media & Map

WordPress users – this is a really great plugin that shows all your posts organised by category. Better still, its free!

It’s called WP Sitemap Page. Just use the shortcode in a page or post and it will generate a sitemap of all your pages and posts.

Pages

Posts by category

Recycling foil

by Posted in 3.7 Other Solutions

This is on a need to know basis – you will need to know this when I talk plastic free puddings.

Some foil facts;

Aluminum or tin foil is not biodegradable. It takes 200 to 500 years to decompose. It does degrade into pieces in 20 to 50 years, but the components take much longer.

Aluminum is also used as a layer in many types of lightweight packaging — the aseptic boxes that soy milk and juice come in being one example. So if you’re not recycling those, start losing sleep over that too. Here’s just one motivational factoid: Americans are said to throw away enough aluminum in three months to rebuild our entire commercial air fleet.

Foil can be recycled – see here for what and why 7bdfb9b5f272172fe4ae2802ee228786

Small pieces need to be scrunched up into a ball so they dont damage the machine… my mate Mrs Average ( her of the Rubbish Diet and how to cut your waste) can tell you all you need to know about balls of foil here for how to collect and then recycle it …

If you are a bit arty you can make a very lovely ball and photo it with Pee Wee Herman

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Sweets, Snacks & Nibbles

by Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged , , , 6 Comments
I don’t care if the lady loves milk tray, she’s not getting a box of chocks from me. Not with that plastic wrapping, plastic cover sheet and plastic sweet tray. Before you call me hard hearted there is a plastic free alternative.

Chocolates

There are shops out there selling British and Belgium chocolates loose.  You can buy a separate, cardboard box to put them in or you could make your own packaging.

Chocolate Bars

And there is always chocolate wrapped in foil and cardboard. Tescos do some wrapped in cardboard and foil. Original Beans who sell  their chocolate in certified compostable packaging. Expensive but plasticfree and delivered to your door
https://lovecocoa.com/collections/letterbox-gifts-chocolate
Why choose Love Cocoa? This product is:
  • Free from Palm Oil
  • Vegan Friendly
  • Slavery Free
  • Made from Single Origin Chocolate
  • Comes in Plastic Free Packaging, beautifully designed by us in London
By buying this product, you will help to plant a tree in Kenya. Find out more about our tree planting here. 🌱

Waitrose

Not so expensive and also plastic free, Waitrose do a great range of home brand chocolate bars. Packed in cardboard and foil.

More

Homemade If handing some one a big slab of chocolate seems a bit blunt, you could tart it up by turning it into something else. Check out the marbled minty things made by Jen. Or these wonderful truffles.  Find them here. They also make a great Mother’s Day gift.

Sweets

If the loose chocolates are too expensive you can buy other kinds of sweets from jars – for mothers day my  mum got two ounces of liquorice torpedo’s in a paper bag from Queensgate Market. Huddersfield.
Tescos and Ikea have a pick and mix stand where you can get chocolate beans ( smarties), and other sweets unwrapped and loose.
Every time I have been to any of the above, they have had paper bags but you may want to take your own plastic-free bag to be sure. Crisps Its now possible to buy crisps in home compostable packaging! Find them here! Other Snacks And fruit jerky also in home compostable packaging.

N.B.

Lines changes, products get removed. For more information why not ask the Plastic Is Rubbish FB group for updates. They are a great source of tidbits, personal experience and the latest news. Why not join them and share the plastic free love x

And before you go…

If you have found the #plasticfree information useful, please consider supporting us. It all goes to financing the project (read more here) or Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com
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Sneaky Plastic Tea Bags

by Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged , , 8 Comments

Whats in your tea bag? Paper and tea you wish but actually no.

Firstly is your bag made from paper? Are you sure? Because when you think about it if it really was made from paper why doesn’t it go all soggy when you submerge it in boiling water?

Plastic In The Bag
Well it could be because the actual bag that you thought was paper, does in fact contain plastic. This came to light when keen composters found fine plastic mesh in their  compost bins. It was the plastic web that holds the teabags together and that doesn’t biodegrade.
The following was taken from the  Guardian  A report published today by Which? Gardening reveals that teabags produced by top tea manufacturers are only between 70-80% biodegradable. As a result, gardeners are finding the net part of teabags – caused by the inclusion of heat-resistant polypropylene – left on their compost heaps. Which? Gardening contacted the major tea manufacturers to check the content of their products. PG Tips responded: “‘Like most of the teabags in the UK, our teabags are made with about 80% paper fibre, which is fully compostable along with the tea leaves contained in the bag. The remaining packaging includes a small amount of plastic which is not fully biodegradable.”

Plastic Glue To Seal Them
Then there is the sealing. Wikipedia claims “Heat-sealed tea bag paper usually has a heat-sealable thermoplastic such as PVC

Chemical Treatment
OR that the paper has been treated with Epichlorohydrin to make it stronger
In the USA Epichlorohydrin is considered to be a potential carcinogen for purposes of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) hazard communication standard, 29 CFR 1910.1200.
European Statement from Dow Chemical:
“The substance should be regarded as if it is carcinogenic to man. There is sufficient evidence to provide a strong presumption that human exposure to the substance may result in the development of cancer.”
It is also used in epoxy resins, textiles, inks, dyes and rubber. Read more here.

Chlorine Bleaching
And those bags are so white because they have been bleached with chlorine.

All Plastic Bags
So much so you might feel almost relieved to know that some tea bags are actually made from plastic. Just plastic . Those silky pyramids for posh tea may not be silk but synthetic fibres.
Or maybe not. This post claims that chemicals each from the plastic into your te.

Plastic Free Tea Bags

The technology is out there to make plastic free teabags. You can find them here

Loose Tea

if none of the above suit you could always try The only alternative is loose tea. Initially this might seem like a lot of faff. First you will need to source some loose tea. You can find that here

More

Find other sneaky plastics here….

You can see all our hot drink posts here.

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Cooperative Supermarket

by Posted in 3.2.3 Supermarkets & Chains Tagged ,

Plastic free teabags

For those of you who didn’t know, most teabags contain plastic. not just the packaging but actually in the bag.
However the co-op have stepped up to the mark.

“The Co-op’s own-brand 99 tea will be developed without the use of polypropylene polymers, which are used to enable the teabag to hold its shape. The Co-op sells around 376 million teabags annually and has worked with tea suppliers Typhoo and sustainable fibre developers Ahlstrom-Munksjö to eliminate the use of plastic. It is believed the move could stop nine tonnes of plastic being sent to landfill annually.

Co-op Food’s chief executive Jo Whitfield said: “Many tea drinkers are blissfully unaware that the teabag from their daily cuppa is sealed using plastic. Even though it’s a relatively small amount, when you consider the six billion cups of tea that are brewed up every year in the UK, we are looking at around 150 tonnes of polypropylene – that’s an enormous amount of accumulated plastic waste that is either contaminating food waste compost collections or simply going to landfill.
“A cup of tea is part of our national psyche, so we felt it was imperative that we fix the problem as soon as possible. We’re absolutely committed to reducing plastic in our packaging and want to ensure that tea lovers can enjoy a guilt-free brew.”
The new method uses heat sealing bags which eliminate the need for the widely-used plastic seal. The bio-degradable bags will undergo rigorous testing throughout the next month, and Co-op is hoping to commercialise them later this year. The intent is for the product to be rolled out across the Co-op’s entire own-labelled tea range. The retailer confirmed that the teabags will be fully compostable in food waste collections.
Plastic pledges
The Co-op already has a target in place to make 100% of its product packaging recyclable, with an interim target of 80% by 2020. The target also accounts for reducing hard-to-recycle plastics and using more recycled content “wherever possible”.
Co-op, which was also the first retailer to source 100% Fairtrade cocoa, has previously voiced its support for the introduction of a nationwide bottle deposit return scheme (DRS) to help reduce plastic pollution.

Other Products

*Bread and Cake mixes – Paper – Really good selection in some larger stores

*Louises Data Base
The starred information was taken from Louise Bayfields   “POSTIVE PRODUCTS LIST (UK) a list of High Street and Supermar-ket products that have no packaging or in some way help reduce packaging.”

The List
The original PDF will be updated as  Louise shops around so do check back there for updates. 
Remember not all stores stock all products. It might be wise to check ahead if you are making a special visit.
Once again thank you  Louise for such a fantastic resource!

Shopping Tips

If you want to buy loose, you will need to take your own reusable packaging – produce bags, tupperware even compostable disposables. You can find them here.
The plastic free freak should remember that
metal lids to glass jars are of course plastic lined .
Tin and cans including those for cosmetics are also plastic lined
Paper and foil wraps will be plastic lined.

Choose Well
If you really can’t do without it and you have a choice a plastic wrapped products, choose to buy the one in simple plastics that can easily be recycled

More

see all our supermarket info HERE

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Hodmedods – British Grown Beans, Grains & Pulses

by Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink, 3.6 Businesses & social enterprises, 3.6 P-f U.K Directory Tagged , , , ,

Did you now you can get homegrown British beans, lentils (soon) and even Quinoa. Many of them organically grown….

Introducing Hodmedod’s

“We work with British farms to source a range of top quality ingredients and delicious foods. We’re particularly interested in searching out less well-known foods, like the fava bean – grown in Britain since the Iron Age but now almost forgotten – and black badger peas.
THE GREAT BRITISH BEANS PROJECT
We founded Hodmedod following the successful Great British Beans trial project to stimulate and assess demand for indigenous pulses.”

So far so fantastic but it gets better…

Plastic Free Packaging

“Many thanks for your enquiry.

Using recyclable packaging is something we feel very strongly about and we are avoiding plastic where we can. We are aiming for all plastic-free packaging.
So far all our 500g packs of dried pulses and grains are packed in compostable plant based cellophane.
At the moment we are still struggling to find a compostable sticker adhesive, but you can peel off the sticker and pop the rest in the compost.
most bulk bags are paper
our packaging puffs are compostable non-GM maize.

Unfortunately we are unable to offer this for our snack range which are packaged in impermeable packaging and resistant to break down from the oils within them and no biodegradable packaging we are aware of fulfils these stipulations.”

Heres the product range but do check the site as there may be more by now

Pulses & Beans
Yellow Peas split
Green Peas, Split
Fava Bean split and whole
Carlin / Yellow / Blue Peas,
Red Haricot Beans

Lentils coming soon

Quinoa
Wholegrain White Quinoa

Grains
Spelt,
Emmer,
Einkorn,
Naked Oats

Flaked & Puffed Grains
Quinoa Flakes,
Quinoa Puffs,
Naked Barley Flakes

Seeds
Camelina Seed

Buy from the Hodmedod’s website

More

Buy Local, Buy British
Check out other British based stores and products HERE

Other options for loose beans include

Wholefood Market a supermarket chain
Weigh & Save shops a UK franchise
And other loose food outlets as listed below

Loose Food A to Z
Find out if a shop near you sells bulk food loose. This is stuff that that normally comes plastic packaged ie rice, pasta and salt. And yes these shops do exist in the U.K. There’s just not many of them.
Heres alist of towns with shops selling loose food.


 Packaging

While these shops provide bags and they are almost always plastic ones. You will need to take your own plastic-free /reusable bags.

More Food

Check out the tasty food index to find lots of plastic-free GRUB yum yum!

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Health & Hygiene

by Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 4 Comments

Please note that none of these suggestions replace medical advice and if you need to take medicine’s do so. Living plastic free is great but being healthy is better. That said….

For those of you into self medicating, the BBC are showing you how to grow, harvest and prepare your own herbal remedies.

The show is called Grow Your Own Drugs  ( saucy) and features James Wong. He  is an  ethnobotanist and not, and he was very clear about this,  a hippy – despite the bare feet and the beads. Hey far be it from me to stereo type.

Any way the boy mixed up some remedies from flowers and weeds and seemed to know what he was talking about. Moreover he  is an all time sweetie  even though he is a SCIENTIST and not a hippy. Got a very nice kitchen too. There is book full of recipes to accompany the show.. Cover of "Grow Your Own Drugs: Easy Recip...

As you know from my own creamy exploits, making your own cosmetics is a great way to cut down dramatically on your plastic – making your own remedies will obviously do the same. You can find my favourite recipes right here.

Mouthwash & Tooth Whitener

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Inhalers Homemade / Recycling

Now I would never suggest you don't take your plastic packed medication. If you need it you take it. But ...
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Eucaplyptus Oil

Replace plastic inhalers with a bottle of eucalyptus oil - but be careful, very careful how you sniff! Using Essential ...
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Mosquito Repellent

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Condoms & Lubricants

If all goes well on Valentines day you may well be planning some intimate moments. Time to check out condoms ...
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Cigarettes

Far be it from me to promote smoking but the purpose of this blog is to find plastic free alternatives ...
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Vinegar

Vinegar is great. You can use it for all kinds of things and is almost plastic free to buy. Vinegar is ...
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Antiseptics & Disinfectants

This post talks about Microbes Antiseptics Disinfectants Alcohol Bicarbonate Of Soda Vinegar Hydrogen  peroxide Soap Essential oils This is an area ...
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Bicarbonate Of Soda

This one product can replace hundreds of plastic bottles on your shelves. It does biodegrade. However there are issues about ...
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This is a post in progress. As I learn so I will add to it. For now this is what ...
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Bioplastics

by Posted in 1.3 Plastic Types - Fact Sheets Tagged , 1 Comment

Bioplastics or organic plastics are derived from renewable sources such as starch, vegetable oil and even chicken feathers.
Some plant derived plastics biodegrade, some do not.

The term bio-plastics is used to describe both types of plant derived plastic i.e. biodegradable and biomass derived.

This has led to some CONFUSION as some now think all bioplastics, biodegrade.
Not so.
Some bioplastics, like PLA plastic do biodegrade, indeed are certified compostable. 
Others, like the plant derived PET plastic, do not biodegrade.

Plant Derived PET
Ethane can be derived from plants.This is the same as ethane derived from oil and is used in the same way to make the same PET plastics.
Plant derived PET shares the same long-lasting, non-biodegradable qualities as petroleum derived PET i.e lasts pretty much forever.

Sorts Of Bioplastics

  • Cellulose derived plastics such as Cellophane. These plant derived plastics are amongst the first examples of the product and do biodegrade. ­
  • Starch based plastics which are compostable such as PLA plastics. They are certified compostable and do biodegrade.
  • Polyhydroxyalkanoates or PHAs  are linear polyesters produced in nature by bacterial fermentation of ­sugar or lipids. They are produced by the bacteria to store carbon and energy. They do biodegrade
  • chicken feathers bioplastic – biodegrades.
  • Ethane based plastics as used Coca-Cola’s PlantBottle which replaces 30 percent of the ethanol in their normal polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle with 30 percent plant-derived ethanol. This means the bottle is still considered PET and can be recycled but is NOT biodegradable.

In short, just because a plastic has been made from plants does not mean it is biodegradable.

Useful To Know
The case for and against plant derived PET plastics – great article here
Why most plastics don’t biodegrade
What is Ethane .

Biodegradable/ degradable plastics.

Some conventional plastics are labeled biodegradable which may lead you to think they are, well, biodegradable! They are not. They have an additive that makes the plastic fall apart, degrade, more quickly. And only in certain conditions. You can read more here

 

The house made from plastic rubbish

by Posted in 1.51 Reusing & Recycling Plastic Tagged

This guy is definatly part of the solution……………….do check it out

This is my ecoHouse… which I Build DIY at 10,000 USD.
cheers.
– Using recycled rice hull plastic material.
– 100% non toxic
– 100% Green.
– 100% made from waste material
– with International Eco Label.
– 0 trees are chopped. 0% timber
– 100% DIY, in 10 days, build like LEGO
– Which can be KNOCK DOWN. THROW THE BUILDING MATERIAL INTO THE MELTING POT AND RECYCLED…. UP TO 20 TIMES.
Do you to find out more on this Recycling?
Check out this blog Part 2/10
http://www.squidoo.com/HousemadeofRubbish

asokahouse

http://www.squidoo.com/10000USDhouse#module10051074

 

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Laminated Cartons /Tetra Paks

by Posted in 1.2 Plastic The Product Tagged ,

They might look cardboard and many think they are even some kind of waxed paper but tetrapaks and the like are basically a thin plastic container reinforced with card.
Or rather laminated cartons composed of paper/card and layers of polythene.

Made How?
Cartons, are made up of paperboard (73%), plastic (22%) and aluminium foil (5%).
The board is made from wood pulp boiled at 160 degrees to remove the Lignin, a chemical compound and separate the fibres from the cellulose.
The fibres are washed and cleaned. Some are bleached white. The fibres are then used to make card with the white face on the outside. Any design work is printed onto the white bleached side.
Three layers of molten polythene are sprayed on the inside and a single layer on the outside. This will protect the future contents, such as orange juice and the design printed on the outside.

They Have A Recyclable Logo

Yes they can be recycled but it is a complex procedure and so not very cost effective. All the components have to be separated and then individually reused.

Laminated cartons cannot be included with normal paper recycling. Most local councils offer Tetrapak recycling as part of their kerbside collections. If not, they can usually be taken to your local recycling centre. To find out more visit www.tetrapakrecycling.co.uk which includes an interactive map showing which local councils offer kerbside collections or have collection facilities at recycling banks.

Recyclable Does Not Mean Recycled

Vital Statistics

Tetra Pak from Sweden are the best known. over 130 billion tetra paks are manufactured each year.
Tetra paks are used in over 150 countries, around the world.

Wikipedia claims that As of 2011, 20% of Tetra Pak cartons are recycled globally, with countries like Belgium, Germany, Spain and Norway showing local recycling rates of over 50%.

Tetra Versus PET aplastic bottle

From the Guardian

“A drastic difference also exists when evaluating the “water footprint” of plastic bottles and Tetra Pak cartons. It takes anywhere between 1 to 2 litres to manufacture a 500ml PET bottle. The water footprint for a 500ml Tetra Pak carton stands at 200 ml of water. Tetra Pak can argue that the trees from which the cartons are made come from managed farms, and furthermore, those trees absorb carbon dioxide during their lifespan. PET bottle promoters retort that the amount of fossil fuels consumed to make bottles is a sliver of the world’s supply, and the recycling process is energy efficient.”

More

You can find other sneaky plastics HERE

With thanks to The Technology Student

Read treehugger on Tetrapaks