Glue

4 October 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 00 working, 3.2 house, 3.2.4 make, 4 plastivan

So many glues, so many man-made polymers. Plastic? In glue? Oh don’t get me started! Yes lots of it, and not just the packaging. Find out more about plastic HERE

Wikkipedia tells us that

Adhesives may be found naturally or produced synthetically.

Neanderthals produced tar from the dry distillation of birch bark for use in binding stone tools to wooden handles. The Greeks and Romans made great contributions to the development of adhesives. In Europe, glue was not widely used until the period 1500–1700 CE. From then until the 1900s increases in adhesive use and discovery were relatively gradual.

Only since the last century has the development of synthetic adhesives accelerated rapidly, and innovation in the field continues to the present.

You can read more but basically most modern glues are synthetic polymers. Some are actually plastic that you melt and use to stick stuff

Glue

not easy to find plastic free. Heres an introduction to some of the greener glues

And BostiK seems to be natural rubber in solvents.

A new tin of Bostik 3851 natural rubber adhesive glue. It can be used for bonding natural rubber and latex sheeting to each other and to porous surfaces such as leather, canvas etc. Volume: 250

EVO-STIK 3851
BOSTIK 3851
CONTACT ADHESIVE
NATURAL RUBBER CONTACT ADHESIVE
Bostik 3851 Adhesive is a translucent grey, natural rubber solution in petroleum solvents.

Recommended Use:
Bostik 3851 Adhesive is used for bonding natural rubber and latex sheeting to each other and to porous surfaces such as leather, canvas etc.

Bonding Instructions:
Ensure rubber surfaces are thoroughly clean and dry, abrading the surfaces if possible. Leather surfaces should also be abraded if necessary

Apply Bostik 3851 Adhesive by brush to both surfaces to be joined and allow the adhesive to become touch dry (approximately 10 – 20 minutes) before bonding the surfaces together under pressure

Why This Post Is ….

A little bit rubbish. You are reading a work in progress. Here’s how the blog is written and why we post half cocked.

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

Secateurs

10 September 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.1.5 gift, 3.1.6 Garden, 4 Reviews 1 Comment

The cutters of I use are from Joseph Bently
I bought this set from TK Max– steel and wood tools with minimal packaging.
Yes there are some irritating bits of plastic – they are attached to the cardboard/ plastic covered board with all plastic ties but that is as reduced as you can get.
However try as I might I cannot find them anywhere else, not even on Amazon. So I have had a trawl round to see what is available out there instead. All secateurs in the shops seem to have plastic handles and come packed with at least the blades covered by a plastic blister. Some come completely enclosed.

However I came across these on line

Made in Japan from high carbon steel, these secateurs are extremely high quality.
Presented in a beautifully authentic gift box.
Preserving traditional forging and grinding techniques crucial for manufacturing high quality sheers, the company incorporates modern technology such as a numerical control grinding system and industrial machinery.
From Waitrose On line – a company we like.
Obviously I cannot say how they will be sent to you i.e. what kind of packaging but of course you could enquire.
Monty Don likes Japanese secateurs!

Ebay
You can get vintage secateurs on ebay.

Amazon

Failing that you could try these from Amazon. I don’t know what the packaging is like but the tools at least look to be plastic free. Please do read our disclaimer for more info about buying from Amazon


Draper 45317 210 mm Bypass-Pattern Secateur… £13.35	Bypass secateurs with ash wood handles £13.91	8″ PROFESSIONAL STAINLESS STEEL,WOODEN HAND… £8.99

Pruning Shears – Titanium Bypass Hand Prune… £106.72	Razorsharp Professional 6959BS Spear and Ja… £25.99

Compost Bin the Green Johanna

30 June 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Composting Tagged 5 Content Veiw 4 Comments

I started composting with a simple black bin, the economy discounted version from the council. I chucked the food in and it biodegraded down into brown sticky stuff. For 14 months all was well – then the rats arrived. I stopped putting (uncooked) food waste in but the rats stayed.

So I went out and got myself a Green Johanna compost bin.

Considered to be the rolls Royce of compost bins, and is priced appropriately.

However it claimed to be rat proof and able to compost everything including cooked food waste and bones.

Wincing slightly I parted with the cash and it duly arrived flat packed ready for us to erect.

The full kit Includes:
1 x Mixing stick
4 x Outer rings
1 x Lid
1 x Base
2 x Doors
1 x Bag of fixing screws
1 x Instruction manual

It was easy to install and looked just like an ordinary compost bin. Except it had a floor. It came with complex sounding instructions which we ignored, and a stirring stick we rarely used. Despite this it worked fine.

Two years later I can confirm that it can dispose of a chicken carcasses, lamb shanks a dead rat and PLA plastic pots. The live rats have left – moved on to find more accessible bins no doubt.

Plastic we use….

This compost bin is made of plastic and I am fine with that because I think that plastic is the best man for the job. It is waterproof, rot proof, light weight, and best of all, RAT PROOF.

More importantly it keeps a lot of biodegradable rubbish out of landfill which reduces our carbon foot print.

We will also get some compost for the garden so reducing our reliance on manufactured fertilizers.

Its worth it.

Fancy composting? Want something cheaper? Read this intro

Water cooler

11 February 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3 water, 3.1.6 Office 2 Comments

Want to catch up on the gossip round the water cooler but don’t want to drink BPA laced water from a plastic bottle? Then get your boss to buy one of these bottle free models from Quench. Basically it takes your tap water, cleans it and cools it. Keen to seen as green, they list some impressive statistics for resources saved by using one of these and also contribute to a tree planting scheme for each filter sold.

Here’s some highlights their press release…………………

Bottleless water coolers bottleless drinking water systems also save money, energy and oil. Gone are the days when a bottled water delivery service is the only option for providing drinking water to businesses and corporations.

Did you know that only roughly ten percent of plastic water bottles ever make it to the recycling bin? Not only does going bottleless save oil and energy, but it also cuts down on the massive waste that all those 5-gallon water jugs creates.

We have accounted for the planting of just over four million trees, saved over 200 million gallons of water and prevented over three thousand tons of waste.

By making use of a structure’s built-in water supply, bottleless drinking water systems maximize preexisting resources. The closed-filtration system and ultraviolet sanitization option assures that only the cleanest most hygienic water flows. And our dispensers produce hot, room temperature and cold water with the option of making ice, too.
You can find out more at their website

You can find more plastic free office supplies here

You can make your own safe water with this cool, portable gadget.

Bubble wrap and jiffy bags

13 June 2011 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 00 working, 3.1.4 bags & packaging, 3.1.6 Office, 3.2.2 West Yorkshire 1 Comment

I do buy a lot of building stuff on line (for work you understand – it’s not a hobby), and though I do my best, much comes with protective packaging.

I am talking bubble wrap.

Ok, it is polythene and can be recycled but come on, who really believes we are going to recycle all this plastic or that it is ( as yet), cost effective to do so. If you do, try this from the Flotsam Diaries. Its good in a very bad way.

Long story short, I have a guilty bubble wrap secret and commit jiffy bag crimes on a large scale.

At least I used to. Now I give it all away to Cart in Huddersfield. This Christian African Relief Trust is run by local volunteers. It is based in Summer Street in Lockwood (opposite Magnet). Google Map to shop.

It relies entirely on voluntary contributions with no salaried staff. You take your pre loved stuff down there for them to sell and they sell it in the shop or often on E bay. Ergo – they always need packaging and adore bubble wrap and jiffy bags.

It’s not a perfect solution but the best I can do.

The Problems With Packaging

What if you need to post your products out in a plastic bag?

On supported e-commerce sites the customer can select to use RePack as the online order’s delivery packaging, the user will then receive the goods in RePack’s recyclable packaging. This packaging can be returned to RePack by dropping it to a local letter box and then can be reused, on average upto 20 times.[3]

Once the packaging has been registered as returned, the user will receive a digital voucher that can be used towards future purchases from RePack-supporting online stores.
The return rate of RePack’s products has reached 95%.
RePack is supported by online stores such as Frenn, Globe Hope, Makia, Pure Waste, Varusteleka and MUD Jeans.
Wikkipedia

Website here.
@OriginalRePack

Bird Food

15 May 2011 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden, 3.1.7 Wo/M/animals Tagged 3.1.3 Loose Food, 3.1.6 Garden, 3.1.7 Pets & Animals, 3.2.2 West Yorkshire

Feeding the birds can be a plasticky business but not for us happy Huddersfield folk. Up at Earnshaws saw mill, a place better known for their damn fine timber products, they sell a whole range of bird seeds loose – everything from nigra seed to peanuts. If you don’t know your linseed from your sunflower they have a chart telling you what seed will attract which bird.

After that its really easy.

Take your own plastic free bags (and I find biobags are the best for bird seed because you can knot them – some of those seeds are tiny), fill em up and take them home.

happy birdies all round.

And this was seen up on Facebook

B&M are doing a great deal on Fat Balls for birds – £8 for a box of 150 balls, no netting and no plastic! Made in Britain.

Wiggly Wigglers do different kinds of birdseed, packed in a thick paper sack which can be composted. The seed is very good quality.
RSPB do 12.5kg paper sacks delivered with 20% off at the moment. Expensive though.

What to feed when

Advice on how to feed birds when and on what can be found (along with the expensive bird seed), at the RSPB web site.

bin liners

6 April 2011 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden

We used to use hundreds but now I have given them up! So what do I keep my rubbish in then? I could use compostable bin liners made out of cornstarch or paper bags but why pay when you don’t have to? And we dont!

We boycott plastic, recycle, and compost – all of which means our kitchen bin is nearly empty. What rubbish we do create is mostly dry, at worst a bit sticky, so it can go straight into our kitchen bin.

The bin has one of those hard removable plastic liners that can be washed out after emptying – which helps if waste is a bit grubby.

We empty our kitchen bin straight into our black bin. You could use a degradable plastic liner in the wheelie bin if you really wanted to – or had to. We don’t need to as, most of our rubbish is dry, and our council is sensible.

End result – we DONT NEED TO USE ANY KIND OF BIN LINERS.

Originally we had a bin with a steel liner but it began to rust and was hard to keep clean. So I changed to plastic. See we don’t hate it (you can follow our plastic we use tag to see the plastic we indulge in).

Dont know which compost bin to buy, only got a tiny apartment, or have no need for humus? Dont worry, you can still compost – try this range of interesting compost bins

Pan Scrub Luffas

1 November 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.1.1 pan scrub, 3.2.2 West Yorkshire, 5 Content Veiw 4 Comments

The slightly rough texture of the luffa makes it ideal for gentle scouring.

The luffa, also spelled loofah, is the fruit of either L. aegyptiaca and L. acutangula. It looks rather like a cucumber. If harvested young it can be eaten but if left to mature it becomes very fibrous.

These fibrous fruits can be dried out then used for anything from exfoliating the skin or cleaning the dishes. Not the same one obviously. And so you can find loofahs for sale in anywhere from chemists to cookery shops.

I bought a monster Loofah in T.K. Max for peanuts. I use it the slough my leathery old skin

Mean while Michael’s rather more expensive and much smaller Original Luffa Scouring Pads Micheal’s can be bought from Half Moon Oraganics in Huddersfield or on line at the ethical superstore. are used to wash the dishes

They ” are ethically and sustainably grown on Michael’s family farm in the Phillippines (luffas are plants grown on land).
Bought directly from the farm at a fair price, your purchase supports less privileged families and prevents environmental degradation.
Michael’s Luffas become flexible and supple in water and are durable and tough enough for all but the hardest baked on food (soak it first). They are gentle enough for cleaning non-stick surfaces, fruit and vegetables (and also your body).

Well not by me at that price – I just cut the end off my monster loofah and used that.

Grow Your Own

When I need a new one I am going to try and grow one.

You can find more pot scouring options here

Exfoliating here

Rubber Gloves

14 October 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.2.2 West Yorkshire, 5 Content Veiw 3 Comments

There comes a time in every girls life when waterproof hand protection is necessary (just don’t ask), and I found myself searching for plastic-free rubber gloves in a hurry.

At first I did not succeed. In fact I was so unsuccessful I had to buy two pairs of rubber gloves in non recyclable plastic packaging URK!! That is a particularly bad plastic crime. But then lo ….the sun came out and shone on Holmefirth Health Shop where they sell these little beauties.

Greentips Household Gloves
Product Information:
Pair of Latex Gloves made from Fairtrade natural rubber. Medium size green colour, flock lined with fairtrade and sustainability sourced logos.
Flock lining and extra weight ensures long life for these gloves. Boxed in recycled CARDBOARD packaging.

So when I have finished my unpleasantly moist tasks and have no further need of them it is claimed they can go onto the compost heap. Though, despite what others say, I have my doubts as to wether latex actually is compostable!

I cannot find an online supplier. The closest I can get is Fairtrade gloves from Big Green Smile – but the packaging appears to be plastic…. BOOOOO! A well thought out product spoilt?

You can buy something similar but much tougher for even nastier jobs from Ethical Superstore

Envelopes

16 August 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.1.6 Office, 3.2.5 composting & compostables, 5 Content Veiw

One years worth of junk mail for one person in the US equals about 2 feet. Most of these letters are credit card offers says Dan MacFarlane Which leads me on to my mail and the envelopes in particular. It’s those horrid little windows that are the bloody awful icing on the stale cake of junk mail.

In today’s market, four types of window coverings are used

1. Polystyrene: a plastic film designed specifically for the needs of high-speed envelope production;
2. Cellulose based films, such as: glassine and acetate films;
3. PLA: a new film derived from corn; and
4. Other plastic films used for specific, non-standard applications.

But who can tell the difference – not me. And even if they could you know they are not going to be recycled.

Envelopes with windows are no good for Plastic Free Freaks – especially when all they contain is rubbish.

While I might not be able to ban every envelope from my life I can stop a lot coming through my door.

I have converted to paperless billing for all my services.
On the rare times I have to send a letter I only use windowless envelopes.
The war on junk mail is being waged.

Ways To Stop Junk Mail

Thankfully I have this wonderful man with his infinitely detailed website, (listing all the ways you can stop junk mail), to help me. You can read about him below or go straight to his website here

Compostable envelopes

Envelope makers! You could try this for your window envelopes

“Low scratch, compostable film specifically formulated for use in envelope windows. Meets USPS readability standards for window envelope film. Tinted with a light green hue.”

Find other plastic free office supplies and electronics, here.

Diary of a Junk Mail Campaigner

My blog (‘Diary of a Junk Mail Campaigner’) deals with anything I feel people should know about junk mail. It explains – usually at length – how people can reduce unsolicited mail and why stamping out junk mail is not as easy as signing up to the Mailing Preference Service. It investigates whether of not self-regulation by the direct marketing industry can make junk mail more sustainable and exposes the endless stream of junk mail research (invariably showing that direct mail is valued and welcomed by 110% of the population) for what it is; junk research. Occasionally there’s something ‘fun’ on the blog – interesting junk mail art, a video, or just a nice story – but in general the blog is dead boring. As a source for information about junk mail it’s unrivalled though…”

The same description could apply to the website (www.stopjunkmail.org.uk). The aim is to provide detailed and independent information about reducing junk mail. Being a web designer I’m very aware that for instance the Guide to Stamping Out Junk Mail is far too long – few people have a long enough attention span to read through it all. But then the aim is not to entertain people and there are already plenty of websites with short (but incomplete) guides to reducing junk mail. In an attempt to provide the information in a more compact format I set up the website www.junkbuster.org.uk a while ago.

It’s build around the Junk Buster application which people can use to contact up to six opt-out services in one go. I like to describe it as a one-point-stop for reducing junk mail. As for achievements, since the launch of Junk Buster many people have become aware that it’s possible to opt-out of receiving paper directories (people can opt out of the Yellow Pages, Thomson Local Directory and BT Phone Book via the application). None of the directories tell the public that they have this option but after Junk Buster was featured in the Telegraph, Daily Mail and Independent in March things started to change; the Data Publishers Association has now for the first time acknowledged that people can opt out. 192.com is actively campaigning for a central opt-in scheme for directories and I reckon they may achieve their goal.

Another achievement is that Royal Mail is no longer secretive about how many (few!) people register with its Door-to-Door Opt-Out (which stops unaddressed mail delivered by the postman). In 2008 a Royal Mail Manager accidentally told me the figure was less than 0.5% of all UK households. The figure became public knowledge and just a couple of months ago the company publicly confirmed that the figure is currently 0.7%. At the same time the Direct Marketing Association confirmed that only 0.0006% (!!) of households is registered with its Your Choice Scheme. Having these figures out in the open is important because it undermines the industry’s argument that stopping junk mail is easy – if opt-out rates are so negligible something is clearly not working…

Finally, I spent much of my time giving people advice on how to solve their junk mail misery. In a way the campaign is about tackling the junk mail problem, one piece of junk mail at a time. I guess it will keep me occupied for some time to come .

Watering Cans for young and old (and rich)

29 June 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.1.6 Garden 2 Comments

Take a look at this beauty – my galvanised watering can with removable brass rose. Looks good and lasts forever. Comes with absolutely no plastic bits and no packaging at all. It holds 9 litres – 2 gallons which is big enough to matter but light enough to carry when filled with water.

Rose

The brass rose can be unscrewed and this is a very important feature. Put the rose on and water can be sprinkled over seedlings or delicate plants a necessary but slow process. Take the rose off and water can be poured in a stream which is great for soaking plants at the roots. A removable rose means it can be cleaned when bits of soil and residue block the holes. Without this feature your can will eventually clog up.

Finally the rose can be replaced when knackered. Interchangeable roses can also be bought resulting in ever finer sprays.

Haws Cans

Haws also do a metal watering. It is the Rolls Royce of metal watering cans with a price tag to match. These too have interchangeable roses

Kiddies Cans £5.25

Made by Garden Angels these cans are as classy as you would expect from these guys. They are metal watering can with enamelled finish and will last much longer than plastic counterparts. They don’t have removable roses but in all fairness they are more for fun then real work. They come in pink or blue – I don’t know why. Plastic and packaging free they

Sadly they have plastic handles and come wrapped in a plastic bag.

Buy

All the above can be bought on line or from local hard wear shops and some B&Q stores.

If you have trouble finding them, you can get them here (along with a lot of other plastic free garden supplies), from Amazon You can read our Amazon policy here.

Plant Labels

13 May 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.1.6 Garden

Busy digging over the garden and planting up next years crop in the allotment and I find myself:

Turning over a new seed bed to find ugly plastic markers polluting the soil:
Uncovering plastic plant markers relating to some kind of plant but all the text has disappeared:
Hoeing away and cut through another perennial;
Plant up some lettuces in lovely rustic pot which I don’t want to sully with nasty looking plastic plant markers
Planting up rows of seedlings and not wanting to use plastic markers because of – well -all of the above:

So I have bought some wooden monster-size, lolly-pop stick. NB The normal size lolly pop sticks are too small. I tried them but couldn’t read them. Actually I couldn’t even see them and so another peony died.
These big boys come in at 150mm length x 19mm width x 1.8mm giving me plenty of room to write on and if I use a permanent writer, the writing lasts as long as the marker.

I can also use pencil which doesnt last as long but is plastic free.

If they get dug into the soil no problem they will biodegrade and feed next years spuds.

They look much nicer in my pots and allotment.

Where to get them?

You can buy these from craft stores on-line but they often come in little plastic bags. To ensure I got these plastic free I had to buy in bulk so they came in a box rather than a bag. I searched for medical spatulas on ebay.

If you have trouble finding them, you can get them here (along with a lot of other plastic free garden supplies), from Amazon.

One of the real joys of buying #plasticfree is sourcing the stuff in local shops. However sometime you have to buy on line and if I don’t know of anywhere else I tend to end up recommending Amazon. I know and I don’t like what they do either but t I have always found Amazons service to be good, the recommendations are for second party sellers and the packaging usually compostable.

You can read our full policy here


Tongue Depressor, 6-inch, 11/16 No Splinter… £4.99	Paper Pot Maker & Accessories Gift Set … £11.99	Giant Paper Potter £11.00

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