Wax – cheese

1 January 2020 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 4 About The Alternatives Tagged 5 Content Veiw

Buying plastic free cheese is not so easy. But waxed cheeses are becoming more available, and cheaper. So is this a viable alternative to plastic wrapped? And what actually is in that wax? Waxed cheeses are covered with a mix of paraffin and microcrystalline wax Both are petroleum based. The wax is coloured with food grade colours. For example Babybel have this to say about their wax: ”What is Mini Babybel®’s wax made of? The wax we use to coat our products is made of a blend of paraffin and microcrystalline waxes and colouring, which specifically contains no Bisphenol A. It’s “food safe” and meets very strict regulatory standards.It poses no health risk if accidentally ingested.” But still ….. Paraffin? Yikes. However paraffin is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in food, cosmetics, and medical applications. Food-grade paraffin is commonly used for manufacturing candles. For this and other interesting candle facts, visit this websiteHERE Microcrystalline wax? What? “is a refined mixture of solid, saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons, and produced by de-oiling certain fractions from the petroleum refining process. ….. Microcrystalline waxes are tougher, more flexible and generally higher in melting point than paraffin wax. The fine crystal structure also enables microcrystalline wax to bind solvents or oil, and thus prevent the sweating-out of compositions.” Microcrystalline wax is often used in industries such as tire and rubber, candles, adhesives, corrugated board, cosmetics, castings, and others Other uses for parafin and microcrystalline wax include Baby Oil – a liquid paraffin, Vaseline® – a microcrystalline wax But back to cheese. So we go with the wax covered cheese. And of course the wax can be easily peeled off. But then what to do with it?

Composting

This wax is not labelled home compostable but.. According to the dominator wax website The Biodegradable Products Institute has concluded that the natural and synthetic paraffins of the types included in snow sports waxes are biodegradable. Microcrystalline waxes, including those used in snow sports waxes, are biodegradable/compostable. And paraffin is biodegradable “The wax components, n-and iso-alkanes with up to 50 carbon units were found to be rapidly and completely degraded within 28 days” reade more here

Candle Making

I heard of people who have used it to make candles. That cheesy aroma can only add to any romantic evening.

Firelighters

I use it as firelighters. For which it is extremely good.

More wax facts here Plastic free cheesemakers can use beeswax to seal their cheeses according to curd nerd Read more here

See our other cheese posts here….

What is composting? And how do you do it? Find the answers here

2019 Yearly Round Up

1 January 2019 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 4 Year Tagged 5 Content Veiw

Welcome to our yearly round-up of news and products. Each month we blog about our latest finds and collate them all here. Subscribe to get our monthly updates delivered to your virtual door. There’s a subscription form at the bottom of the page.

You can see our past round ups here HERE.

Plastic Free Christmas

CHRISTMAS WREATHS Completely Plastic Free in Sheffield

We do use wires (& know its tempting to have a sparkly wreath!) But our wreaths have zero plastic or glitter.
We can also do gold, red and blue – more examples to come over the weekend in different designs!
But why not consider a natural, festive wreath!?

We make all our wreaths from scratch – from mossing to sprucing to decorating

This one has citrus fruits – oranges, lemons, grapefruit – apples, lotus pods and pinecones and it actually Smells Amazing!
Measures app 24″ £30.00

Will be Available to purchase from the Winter Gardens Next week or can be delivered this weekend!

Limited Orders being taken now for Christmas Wreaths start from £20.00 – message us know with your requirements!

#florist #sheffield #plasticfree #christmas #wreath #ecofriendly

https://m.facebook.com/auroraecofloral/

Elastic

But honestly, I’m more excited by this… organic, biodegradable plasticfree elastic!!

Find More

I have been updating my list of towns with refill shops and adding new shops. Have a look and see if there is one near you.. Plus how to get your shop added to the list.

Online

This is an interesting option that allows you to buy basic foods on line plastic free.
You can even use your own produce bags. Read more
HEREdd your own grisly finds and ghastly zero waste ideas.

And you can read up more about special days and general partying here.

Instant Coffee

Finally managed to score some plastic free instant coffee! Its back to the wonderful Leeds Market. Read more here.

Make

Conker soap

Like Soapnuts, conkers contain saponins, a soap-like chemical compound. Unlike soap it’s they don’t have to be shipped halfway round the world but rather picked up off the streets. They can be used to make

laundry soap and
shampoo.
Conkers are not as strong as soap nuts but are free.
WARNING: Conker juice, like saponin, is mildly poisonous and should be treated as such.

September

Cheese update how to buy and what to do with the wax.

BYOB

Bring your own bags?

If you want to shop plastic-free you often need to take your own packaging. While seems bothersome, it means no hormone inhibitors and toxic chemicals leaching from plastic packaging into your food, and less plastic pollution. Here are the win win alternatives.

The Curse Of The Single Cup Brew

coffee pods made up a nearly 5 billion dollar industry.
at least 16 million U.S. households currently have a single-serve brewer on their countertop.

Good job I found these. Coffee single-cup brewing system – compostable pods

Compostable Plastics

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.

Composting Plastic At Home

While most agree that some plastics are indeed compostable, many say that it 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.

But more to the point, I have been composting my compostable plastic at home for years now, including Biobags, deli pots and disposable cutlery. Read more about that HERE.
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.

Read more about compostable plastics here

Greenwashing
And never forget that bio-degradable plastic bags do not biodegrade where as compostable plastic bags do compost. Not all bio-plastics (plant derived plastics) are compostable. Read more here.

Compost Bins

How Do I Compost?
I have a Green Joanna compost bin and I compost up in the North of England.

More Drink

Tea, coffee, cocoa and drinking chocolate all bought #plasticfree and made with milk from a returnable glass bottle. Details here

Water

To make coffee you need water. Go to the water index to see all posts on water

August

On holiday

July

This month we are talking about

Merino and sunburnt sheep! Do we believe this? Check out U.V resistant clothes here http://plasticisrubbish.com/2014/05/25/love-your-layby/
Holidays
Why my blog has gone private!?!
Plastic Free July
Water in returnable glass bottles

Planning Your Jollies

Going on holiday or maybe a longer trip perhaps backpacking? Check out our #plasticfree travel experiences with links to how we #passonplastics when backpacking, where we have been and how to avoid #pointlessplastics abroad. Wish you were here

It’s that time of year when sitting on the balcony becomes a feat of endurance rather than a pleasure and it’s down to those vile biting mosquitos. Time to take action…

Notification of wonky links

It has come to my attention that some of the internal links on this blog lead you not to some plastic free loveliness but an abrupt notice saying the blog is private and that you need to contact me for access. The blog is not private so please DON’T email me for access as I don’t appear to be able to grant that either. another problem!
This is some kind of internal mixup and I am correcting the links as I come across them. Please let me know if you come across a bad link via the Plastic Is Rubbish Facebook or Twitter accounts.

Many Thanks

Titanium Dioxide

also known as titanium(IV) oxide or titania, is the naturally occurring oxide of titanium, chemical formula TiO ₂.
It can be used in Sun Screens, Moisturisers, Powdered Make-up, Lip and Baby products and virtually any Skin Treatment product.

Read more here http://plasticisrubbish.com/2012/10/26/but-can-i-drink-the-water/

Of course every month is plastic free for me but plastic free July is a time to make a bit of extra effort, promote projects, look at my bin and join with other people all over the world who are taking this time to rethink their relationship with plastic.

Water

Well its finally getting warm and everyone has to stay hydrated so lets revisit the subject of plastic free water

Plastic Free Bottled Water

Returnable Bottles

“Crag water are the only bottled spring water company in the North of England that reuses its glass bottles. By that we mean that we will deliver and collect then send back to be washed, sanitised and refill the bottles.

read all our water posts here http://plasticisrubbish.com/2012/10/26/but-can-i-drink-the-water/

AugustJune

More Medical Stuff

Did you know you can recycle your inhaler?
Find your nearest participating pharmacy via this website.
Enter your post code
and its as easy as that to breathe new life into your old inhalers.

If you fancy making your own decongestant and with a reusable inhaler – check this out.

Try a reusable inhalers and eucalyptus oil. Breath easily and cut the trash.

Find more #plasticfree personal care products here.

And more refill services HERE

Talking of refills….

Supermarkets

Some time you have to use them.

Morrisons is to become the first supermarket chain to remove packaging from its fruit and vegetables.
The company said customers would be able to choose from up to 127 varieties of fruit and veg in many of its stores, buying them loose or putting them in recyclable paper bags.
However, there will continue to be a neighbouring section where customers can still buy packaged veg, if they choose
The move follows a ten-month trial in three English stores where the amount of loose fruit and veg bought by customers increased by an average of 40 per cent.
From the Scotsman.

Read more abut supermarkets, local shops and how we choose where to shop, HERE.

Plastic Free June

Want to really cut your plastics? Then this is a great campaign organised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCSUK).The MSCUK is a UK charity “that cares for our seas, shores and wildlife”.
The Plastic Challenge takes place every year in the U.K. in June.It is organized by them.

You can read more about it here

If a month seems too long why not do this instead. On 5 June 2019,UK-based activist group A Plastic Planet will be organising the the second annual One Plastic Free Day . here’s PICK, SNAP! POST.

Visit the website here

May

Back Home

Keen readers of this blog will no doubt have been devastated that there have been no monthly updates recently.
Why you ask desperately?
You may remember that back in 2018 May I wrote “back in the U.K. in Leeds after year backpacking. Re-entry has been rather bumpy. I have a horrible stomach complaint which has meant I’ve had to stay close to home or at least close to a toilet.”

A year later my complaint has finally been diagnosed and hopefully cured. I’m off my bed of pain but very much weakened. I have the energy to move about (a welcome improvement), but nothing extra. Writing the blog and maintaining my social media groups has definitely counted as extra. So I’ve had to take time off.

Given that I have written posts in deepest darkest Borneo back in the early days when internet access online was via some grimy café, you can appreciate how frustrating all this has been! In short its been a very long year involving a lot of plastic medicines.

Now I would never suggest you don’t take your plastic packed medication.

But surely we can do something about the onward packaging? Thankfully someone is.

Boots supplying prescriptions in plastic bags!

Hi Everyone!
I know you’re all as concerned about the use of plastic as me, so thought you would want the chance to sign another petition – this time to Boots who have decided its a good idea to start supplying their prescriptions in plastic bags!
Let’s them back to plastic free prescriptions – please sign and share this petition: http://chng.it/gswWWfqh
Thanks,
Rosie

However this fantastic news has had me back at the keyboard.

So glad to announce that fellow campaigner Michelle Cassar has written a kids book. As well working long and hard at raising awareness of the environmental damage caused by plastic pollution, she has always shown and encouraged practical solutions. Plastic pollution, that is the non-biodegradable throwaway plastic that is increasingly littering and damaging the land and sea. She has lived plastic reduced for decades and coined the descriptive term Being PALL, that is Being Plastic A Lot Less, to describe her lifestyle choice. She went on to become one of the original members of City to Sea, an organisation preventing plastic pollution at source.

Add to that Michelle has now written a book to teach children about the dangers of plastic misuse. Especially single use plastic plastic. That is the plastic products used once and then discarded. Yes it a big subject for small children and an incredibly complex one. But she has managed to write a heartwarming, kind and informative tale that introduces children to the problems without scaring the pants off them. She highlights the issues while gently suggesting ways children can change their habits to help change their future. It features snarky big sisters, goggle-wearing supersheros, leatherback turtles and Narwhals. Add a curious determined little girl who realises that one person can make a difference and what’s not to love? Written for kids but great for adults (and snarky big sisters), too. Read it and be inspired.”

You can help get this book published by supporting her crowdfunded. It goes live on the 5th June #WorldEnviromentDay up and running for the 8th June #WorldOceansDay. It will be a kind of ‘pre-order’ with some additional rewards for name in book, and kids party planner etc.

Keep track via her blog.

Buying British Made

Read up on how and why we buy, here

March

Hair Bands / Ties – Kooshoo- pleased to have found these made from 100% biodegradable materials. Read up here

It’s way too sunny so I am looking for some sunblock and some shady clothes. By which I mean clothes that protect me from the sun and not a dubious looking look.

Anything But Plastic online sell this

Shade Sunscreen for £9.75 for 100ml. I have bought some and will be writing a review.

But at that price I will also have to continue making my own. So far I have made a zinc based lotion and a zinc based suntan oil. You can read more about that and find my recipes HERE

February

Plastic free February is happening in leeds, right now and being run by Plastic Free Me. Find out more here

Events with Plastic-Free Me
FEB 5 Plastic-Free Youth Leadership Course
FEB 21 Plastic-Free Film Workshop
FEB 22 Plastic-Free Me Workshop

Check out their Facebook page

Crisps

Wahey…after years of no crisps….Its now possible to buy crisps in home compostable packaging! Find them here!

Refill Service

This is a very interesting article “A coalition of giant brands is about to change how we shop forever, with a new zero-waste platform. Loop will send you name-brand products, like Tide detergent, Crest mouthwash, or Häagen Dazs ice cream. When you’re done, you ship the empty container back, where it gets cleaned and reused for the next customer.” Read more here.

Of course we are already big fans of refill services. Here are a few we have found. #plasticfree refill index

Head on over here to get loved up!

January

PG tips threatening to bring out plastic free tea bags

http://plasticisrubbish.com/2010/09/13/bean-me-up/

coffee in compostable packaging

Some notes on insulation

3 April 2018 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 6 archive Tagged 4 plastivan, 5 Content Veiw

The green van. You can see all our related posts here

Thermal conductivity, often denoted by the greek symbol λ ,measures of how easily heat flows through a material, independent of the thickness of the material in question.

The lower the thermal conductivity = the slower heat will move across a material= good

It is measured in Watts per Metre Kelvin (W/mK).

0.008 W/mK for vacuum insulated panels = very good = retains heat

0.061 W/mK for certain types of wood fibre = not so good looses heat

R-Values

The R-value is a measure of resistance to heat flow through a given thickness of material.

The higher the R-value the better its insulating properties.

The R-value is calculated by using the formula

Where:

l is the thickness of the material in metres and

λ is the thermal conductivity in W/mK.

The R-value is measured in metres squared Kelvin per Watt (m²K/W)

“The R-value is therefore a relatively simple way to compare two insulating materials if you have the thermal conductivity for each material. It also allows you to see the impact of adding thicker layers of the same insulating material.”

But ” R-values only take into account conduction. It does not include either convection or radiation.”

so on to

U-Values

takes into account all factors and is the most reliable method of measuring but it is more difficult to calculate.

“The U value of a building element is the inverse of the total thermal resistance of that element. The U-value is a measure of how much heat is lost through a given thickness of a particular material, but includes the three major ways in which heat loss occurs – conduction, convection and radiation.”

To Conclude

Thermal Resistance = how fast heat passes through a material independent of thicknessshown as λ / W/mK .The higher the number the better
R-Values takes the thickness of the material into account – so thermal resistance in more detail. (m²K/W) Again higher is better.
U-Values.
The U-Value is the most accurate measurement of a material’s insulating ability, In this case THE LOWER the number the better.

Very good read HERE

Why should I insulate and where?

A useful ARTICLE HERE.

For our van, we used Elephant Bark 1/4″ rubber (also called Stall Mats) as an MLV-type layer on the floor. We isolated it from the stock wooden van floor using a layer of LowE foil-faced closed cell foam. The full stack of materials gives us a good combination of heat and sound damping.

On the walls, we used DB2-4walls. It’s a .75lb/sf. product, 1/8″ thick. We didn’t use it throughout the van, but we did put sheets of it behind the door panels before we re-applied them.

(thats 6.35mm thick!)

From a useful ARTICLE.

used rubber on the floor

Rubber rolls can be installed in minutes with 2-sided carpet tape, no messy adhesive needed
Rubberized flooring made from abrasion and wear resistant 100-Percent USA produce recycled rubber
Extremely durable which makes this product ideal for deck flooring or dog mats for kennels
This rubber flooring roll is an excellent way to turn your concrete floors into comfortable, warm, and protective rubber surfaces
Ideal for use as: sports flooring, garage floor covering, basement flooring, gym equipment mats, and horse trailer floor covering

First, let’s see where, on average, the most heat leaves the house, what the target insulation value should be and what measures are appropriate. This is found in Table 1.

Building feature	Heat loss (%)	Target U-value (EPC Band B)	Possible solutions
Table 1: heat loss through building elements, target insulation levels and insulation solutions
Walls	35 %	0.15	Cavity, internal or external wall insulation
Windows and doors	15 %	1.6	Double/triple/secondary glazing / shutters and curtains
Roof	25 %	0.10	Pitched, warm deck or cold deck roof insulation
Floor	15 %	0.15	Floor insulation
Gaps, cracks, draughts	10 %

Image (click to zoom) Material K-value (W/mK) Notes

Material	Depth
Table 2: depth of insulation required to reach a U-value of 0.15W/m²K

Expanded polyurethane	130 mm
Unfaced polyurethane	160 mm
Rockwool (60 – 100kg/m³)	195 mm
Glassfibre slab	205 mm
Expanded polystyrene	215 mm
Mineral wool	225 mm
Flax	230 mm
Expanded Corkboard (110kg/m3)	240 mm
Glass fibre quilt	240 mm
Cork slab (160kg/m³)	250 mm
Woodwool board	250 mm
Cellular sheet glass	280 mm
Foam glass (140kg/m³)	305 mm
Cork slab (140kg/m³)	325 mm
Foam glass (130kg/m³)	330 mm

Material	Depth
Table 2: depth of insulation required to reach a U-value of 0.15W/m²K

Table 5: Summary comparison of different insulation materials
Organic sources
These have absorbed carbon from the atmosphere and so are more climate-friendly
Sheep’s wool batts and rolls 0.038 – 0.043 Can absorb some moisture whilst remaining efficient
Wood fibre batts 0.038 – 0.043 Good for most walls, ceilings, roofs, timber joisted floors.
Cotton-based batts and rolls 0.038 – 0.043 Best for horizontal surfaces.
Cellulose (loose, batt or board) (e.g. Warmcel, Homatherm) 0.038 – 0.040 Recyclable, renewable, made from finely shredded newspaper, easy to install, best for horizontal services.
Flax batts, slabs and rolls approximately 0.042 Hard to obtain and expensive.
Hemp batts 0.043 Relatively expensive.
expanded-corkboard Expanded Corkboard (e.g. Amorim, Korktherm, Westco) 0.040 – 0.050 Commonly used as underlay under hardwood and ceramic floors.
Wood fibre board (eg. Pavatex) 0.039-0.46 Good for wall and pitched roof construction
Hempcrete (e.g. Hemcrete, Canobiote, Canosmose, and Isochanvre) 0.12 – 0.13 Made of hemp shiv with a lime matrix. High elasticity and vapour permeability. Used for external wall insulation. Typical compressive strength 20 times lower than low grade concrete. Density: 15 per cent of traditional concrete.
Naturally occurring minerals
Usually environmentally ok but some have high embodied energy – see Table 3
Aerogel (e.g. Spacetherm) 0.013 Flexible sheets and laminates, a type of glass and composite materials including plasterboard and sandwiched within PVC panels. Expensive but useful where width is limited as performance is so good. Not breathable.
Fibreglass mineral wool batts and rolls (BSI kitemarked available) (e.g. British-Gypsum Isover, Knauf, Superglass) or Fibreglass board (e.g. Isowool, Dritherm) 0.033 – 0.040 Made from molten glass, sometimes with 20 to
30 per cent recycled content. The most common residential insulant. Usually applied as batts, pressed between studs. Most include a formaldehyde-based binder – exceptions are beginning to appear.
Mineral (rock & slag) wool batts and rolls (BSI kitemarked available) (e.g. Rockwool) 0.033 – 0.040 Used for loft and cavity wall insulation.
Foamed glass slab (e.g. Foamglas) 0.042 High, durable compressive strength, non-permeable. Needs bitumen or synthetic adhesives to install.
Perlite 0.045 – 0.05 Naturally occurring volcanic glass that greatly expands and becomes porous when heated sufficiently. Must be installed in sealed spaces.
Exfoliated vermiculite 0.063 Clay-based, otherwise like perlite
Multi-foil insulation (or ‘Radiant barriers’) disputed Thinness makes it ideal for places where little width is available. Made from non-renewable petrochemicals and aluminium. Can have poor airtightness. Expensive, vulnerable to being punctured, which will render it useless.
Fossil fuels
These have emitted carbon to the atmosphere during manufacture. Avoid unless you don’t have the space or budget for natural products. All manufactured at high temperatures, derived from fossil fuels. Extremely high embodied energy. Non-breathable, so may cause damp problems.
Phenolic foam board (e.g. Kingspan Kooltherm) 0.020 – 0.25 For roofing, cavity board, external wall board, plaster board dry linings systems, floor insulation and as sarking board.
Expanded polystyrene board and beads (EPS) 0.032 – 0.040 Beads are used primarily in masonry cavities.
Extruded Polystyrene board (XPS) (e.g. Kingspan Styrozone) 0.028 – 0.036 Very high compressive strength.
Polyurethane/polyisocyanurate board and foam
(e.g. Kingspan Therma) 0.02 – 0.033 Foam or rigid board. Foam is sprayed in at high temperatures; within seconds it will expand by over 30 times giving a seamless rigid covering. Good for plugging gaps or leaks. High compressive strength.
Eco-wool (e.g. non-itch) – batts 0.039 – 0.042 Alternative to glass wool, made from 85 per cent recycled plastic. Comes in rolls or slabs. Suitable for loft and stud walls.
Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) variable approximately 0.040 A building method using pre-cut expanded polystyrene (EPS) or extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) to erect an airtight structure quickly that eliminates thermal bridging.

TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Thermal Conductivity: 0.036-0.38 W/mk for a declared value of EU label 0.04 W/mk

Thermal Resistance: R-3.6 to R-4.2/inch, declared value for EU label of R-4/inch

Density: 7.0-7.5 lbs/ft3 or 100-120 Kg/m3

Perpendicular Face Resistance:60 Kpa or 8.7 PSI

Compression Resistance: 10% at 100u Kpa (14.5 PSI)

Permeability:

1 1/2″ thickness:2.15 US perms
2″ thickness: 2.04 US perms
4″ thickness:1.26 US perms

Maximum Moisture Content: 8%, with water absorption declared at 0.5 kg/m3

Longitude Tolerance: +/-0.1 to 0.2″ or +/-3 to 5 mm

Thickness Tolerance: 0.04 to 0.1″ or +/-1 to 2 mm

Fire Resistance: Euro Class “E”

Why can insulation cause damp?

As you’ll know, insulation is designed to slow down heat transfer, keeping warm air in and cold air out. However, the more airtight your house is, the less natural ventilation it gets – and airflow is key for maintaining a healthy level of humidity indoors.

What people are often not told by insulation installers is that warm air holds more moisture, and this has got to go somewhere. If insulation means this water vapour cannot escape through walls or ceilings, it sinks into the fabric of the building, or its contents. It is important therefore to counter increased humidity with increased ventilation. Make sure to use extractor fans and/or open windows – especially when you’re doing something that creates a lot of steam, such as showering or cooking.

Damp after loft insulation

So you only “decided to insulate the floor of the space, rather than the roof. This is because there is very little point paying to heat your attic – and the nature of heat rising means that a lot of heating escapes up there! Insulating this space effectively will keep warm air in the main body of the house below, and your loft will get pretty cold as a result. As long as it is dry up there, this shouldn’t be an issue if you’re only going up now and then to grab boxes. Potential problems can arise when damp air gets into the space and reaches its dew point in the low temperature, condensing on surfaces, (and in some cases, the insulation material itself). Damp can set in and lead to mould, which can be tricky to get rid of. This is why it’s important to have adequate ventilation in the roof, and make sure any insulation doesn’t cover the vents. Something else you should consider carefully is the material you choose, as their abilities to resist damp vary hugely. If you use an insulation material that is not breathable, it soaks up water and keeps it there. Fibreglass, for instance, is easily soiled – and once it’s wet, it stays that way. Pure sheep wool, in comparison, helps regulate humidity in the air wherever it is. It can be more easily dried out, and its thermal performance is not affected when it holds water vapour.

Swaledale 50 Pure Wool Carpet Underlay
Never before has carpet underlay been this good.Swaledale our heavy weight pure new wool carpet underlay manufactured from 100% pure Swaledale wool. It is suitable for heavy domestic & heavy commercial use, ideal for all areas in your home especially stairs.Please Note: This product is now made with 100% Swaledale wool and has a new improved Jute scrim which is ideal for anyone wanting a totally natural product.

Buy per square metre £5.99 +VAT

KEY FEATURES OF OUR OPTIMAL SHEEP WOOL INSULATION:

Our Optimal insulation is 100% natural
Irritant free, it is easy to install and offers excellent heat and acoustic insulating properties.
Our Optimal insulation absorbs moisture, helping it regulate humidity in the roof space.
Optimal insulation has a density of 18 kg/m³
Available in widths of 380mm or 570mm to suit the distance between the joists in your loft
Available in thicknesses of 50mm or 75mm.

HOW TO CALCULATE HOW MUCH YOU NEED:

Using the thermal conductivity of this product (0.0385), you can work out either the thickness you require or the U-Value you will achieve. Simply divide the thermal conductivity by the thickness to work out the U-Value, or divide it by the U-value you want to reach to work out the thickness required.

0.0385 / Thickness = U-Value

0.0385 / U-Value = Thickness

SaveSave

Sun Block Creams & Lotions

30 July 2017 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 3.1 Backpack, 3.2.4 make, 3.2.4 make makeup, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

The following information is for guidance only. None of the following recipes or tips have not been tested on anyone other than me. I strongly advise you do your own research and proceed very carefully. Sunburn is painful, ages the skin and potentially very dangerous.

Disclaimer

Be aware of the risks of listening to someone who
a) doesn’t have any training in this field,
b) most of what they know comes from Google,
That’s me I mean.

A Tannning History

I realised that I needed sun tan / block lotion and lots of it. And it needs to be applied regularly. Even in cloudy weather. I came to this conclusion just as I was giving up plastic. So not only did I have to learn to use sunblock and had to learn how to make it. I have been using zinc based, home-made sun block lotion for about 5 years now. I know it stops me from burning because I burn when I don’t use it. Obviously it has not been tested in a lab and I cannot guarantee results.
I cannot guarantee the SPF factor or that it is not doing unseen damage.
I still try to limit my exposure to the sun but I feel this cream definitely helps me. I offer this personal account for discussion only. If you do decide to make your own lotion please do more research.

There is lots more information about sun protection here. Do read up before you decide to make your own.

Why Sunscreen
Sunscreens help prevent the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the skin.
There are two types of ultraviolet radiation, UVA and UVB
UVB is the chief cause of sunburn and linked to sun cancer. UVA rays, penetrate the skin more deeply, and contribute to photoaging.
You need a cream that protects from both.
Creams protect in following ways
Physical sunscreens reflect the sunlight
chemical sunscreens absorb UV light

Physical blockers
Physically block the rays of the sun by covering the skin in a thin coating of white powder that deflects the light. They include Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide.
They can leave white sheen on the skin.
Chemical Blockers
Most other sunscreen ingredients beyond titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are chemical sunscreens
Physical blockers tend to be more stable, while chemical sunscreens may degrade and are often paired with other sunscreen ingredients to increase stability. (See more information at AMF.org.)
Some people are allergic or sensitive to chemical sunscreens.

Sun Block Active Ingredients
Against UVB (290-320nm):
Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA), Cinoxate, Dioxybenzone, Ensulizole, Homosalate, Octocrylene, Octinoxate, Octisalate (Octyl Salicylate), Oxybenzone, Padimate O, Sulisobenzone, Trolamine Salicylate, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide
UVA (320-340nm):
Dioxybenzone, Ecamsule (Mexoryl), Helioplex, Meradimate, Oxybenzone, Sulisobenzone, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide
UVA (340-400nm): Avobenzone, Zinc Oxide

SPF
Sun protective factor provided by cream is measured in SPF
SPF factors only measure protection against UVB. You will need a cream that also protect from other kinds of rays.
SPF4 filters out 75% of UVB
SPF10 filters out 90% –
SPF15 filters out 93%
SPF25 filters out 96%
SPF30 filters out 97%
SPF50 filters out 98%
SPF100 99%
Source

Applying Cream
Sunscreens are unlikely to be fully effective after 2 hours
According to the skin cancer organisation “you need to apply 1 oz – about a shot glass full. Studies show that most people apply only half to a quarter of that amount, which means the actual SPF they have on their body is lower than advertised. During a long day at the beach, one person should use around one half to one quarter of an 8 oz. bottle. Sunscreens should be applied 30 minutes before sun exposure to allow the ingredients to fully bind to the skin. Reapplication of sunscreen is just as important as putting it on in the first place, so reapply the same amount every two hours. Sunscreens should also be reapplied immediately after swimming, toweling off, or sweating a great deal.

Buy

Anything But Plastic online sell this – Shade Sunscreen for £9.75 for 100ml
But at that price I will also have to continue making my own.

Making Sun Block At Home

Disclaimer
Be aware of the risks of listening to someone who
a) doesn’t have any training in this field,
b) most of what they know comes from Google,
That’s me I mean.

If you want a better informed opinion I suggest you head on over to the Aromantics website. They will sell you everything you need to make sun tan lotion including recipes you can download as a PDF. They have been in this game for years and are far more qualified then I am.
The following is an account of my own experiences which may help you in your own research.
I use
Zinc Oxide
This is a fine white powder that coats the skins and so reflects the damaging and burning rays of the sun.
It protects the skin from UVA, UVB and UVC.
I am currently researching Microfine Titanium Dioxide.

Using Zinc Oxide

This is a fine white powder easily available on line.
It coats the skins and so reflects the damaging and burning rays of the sun.
It protects the skin from UVA, UVB and UVC. According to www.aromantic.co.uk website (where you can buy zinc and get advice on how to use it),
It is one the oldest and most effective sunblock and
It can be easily added to base lotions and oils.

No to Nano Zinc

So zinc is great BUT it is a white powder and stronger mixes can sit on the skin like a pasty mask. Make your lotion too strong and you look like Marcel Marceau. You don’t burn but you look freaky. To counter this some suggest using nano zinc.
Nano or micronized zinc oxide is zinc oxide that has been ground to a very fine powder to reduce the size of its particles. Anything with a particle size smaller than 100nm is considered a nano particle. This means it spreads more easily and does not leave a white sheen on the skin.The worry is that particles this size may be able to enter the body.
Because of that I use normal zinc. In stronger concentrations it does leave a slight white sheen. It can also leave white marks on dark clothes. Wear white linen is the obvious answer to this. Or work on your locked in a glass box mime.

Using Zinc In Homemade Sun Block

None of the below have been tested in lab and you have no accurate way of knowing what SPF your lotion has. Proceed sensibly! If in doubt Make your lotion stronger then dilute as you tan.

Too much zinc and you end up with white clown makeup. In this case you may have been overcautious.

You can add zinc to
home made creams and lotions (if you want to make a lotion there are some recipes here)
ready bought lotions
a base oil such as coconut oil.

20% zinc oxide will give an approximate SPF of 30. That is by weight. So you weigh your base say 100g of cream then you add 20% or 1/5th of zinc. Which is 20g of zinc.

You can see from the ratios below that SPF 15 is not half of SPF 30 so you cannot use that scale to work out your SPF factors.
For SPF 2-5: Use 5% zinc oxide
For SPF 6-11: Use 10% zinc oxide
For SPF 12-19: Use 15% zinc oxide
For SPF >20: Use 20% zinc oxide

These ratios were taken from DIY Natural. They have not been tested in a lab proceed with caution

Recipes

Lotion
Oil
Masking Cream
Oily Lotion

Sun Block Oils
Zinc
Oil – I have used both coconut and rice bran oil

I used to add zinc to creams and lotions. More recently I have cut out the middle man or rather the cream and started adding zinc directly to oil.

Which Oil?
I guess you could do this with any oil but I prefer a lighter oil less gloopy than say olive oil.
I have usually used coconut oil as a base because it is light and easily obtained in glass jars. Some claim that coconut oils has an ability to deflect burning rays but the claims made for coconut oil are prodigious. Do not rely on coconut oil alone.
The problem with coconut oil in the UK at least, it solidifies below a certain temperature. This sun tan lotion needs to be liquid and well shaken before use because the ingredients separate. So if you use coconut oil, warm and shake it before applying.
More recently I used rice bran oil which is much cheaper and easily available. At least that is the case in Thailand. It is a light oil and does not solidify.

Advantages Of Oil
Oily creams and oils are great for the beach because I feel they don’t wash off so easily in the sea as home made lotions do. And the oil itself seems to act as an added protection against the general drying effect of salt water and heat. My skin doesn’t feel as itchy. But then I am only using two ingredients no fragrances, no preservatives.
They give your skin a rather nice sheen.
And it is As Cheap As Chips
Adding zinc to rice bran oil is super cheap which means you can liberally apply this lotion. Very good if you are on a budget. Plus I get to use the oil for other things.
The disadvantages? – well it is rather… oily…

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE
The ingredients separate so the lotion must be well shaken before use. If you are using an oil that solidifies like coconut you need to be sure it is liquid and well mixed before use.

SOME OILS MAY MARK YOUR CLOTHING. EXPERIMENT FIRST

Sun Block Lotion
Zinc
Thin Lotion
Add zinc to a lotion.
Find out how to make Lotion here

Masking Creams
Very strong and thick. To be used on vulnerable areas that burn easily.

First I make my own rather thick cream and then add the zinc at 20% ratio. This makes a super thick cream which is difficult to rub on large areas but great for masking specified areas. I use it to protect my great big nose and around my eyes.
For general application it is too tough and sticky.
Find out how to make cream here

Oily Cream
Zinc
Cream
OIl
You can thin the above thick cream down by adding oil. N.B. You cant use water for this. Add water and your cream starts to separate when you try to rub it on.
Oily cream goes on way more easily but obviously the more you dilute is lower the SPF factor.
The advantage of this cream is that it is thicker than oil alone so easier to apply – less dribbling.
It does not separate.

Store Bought Base Creams & Lotions
Apparently you can add zinc to a store bought cream to make a suntan lotion. I have never tried this as I gave up shop bought years ago. But considering the success off adding it to oil I can see no reason why this wouldn’t work. Do remember that zinc makes your lotion thicker and much whiter. It might be a good idea to use a thin lotion as a base.
Apparently it helps if you warm them first.
Let me know how you get on!

Fragrance
Many recipes on line suggest adding essentials oils. In my opinion there is no real benefit to be derived from this as
they may make your skin more sensitive to light;
essential oils are resource hungry, have a large environmental footprint and should only be used on special occasions.
You can read more here

PLASTIC SPOILER

You can buy zinc on line.
It will come in a plastic bag- booo.
The best you can do is ensure the bags are polythene and so can be more easily recycled.
As I get huge amounts cream out of one small bag of ingredients, I consider it a worthwhile compromise.

Travelling Plastic Free For Months
This discovery massively reduces your plastic when travelling. I carry all my own home made plastic free toiletries with me to avoid creating plastic waste which can present something of a problem. A years supply of sunblock is a lot to carry. So now I compromise. I take my own zinc and buy coconut oil (or rice bran oil) while travelling. I mix the zinc into the coconut oil to make a sun tan lotion great for the beach.

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

Calendar & Petitions

7 April 2017 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 4 Year Tagged 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

As well as boycotting plastic in your daily life there are an increasing number of campaigns you can support. In this post you will find:
Featured campaign the latest project:
Annual events – dates for your diary:
Petitions you can sign right now.

Dates For Your Diary

These annual events are recurring.
April
Big Spring Beach Clean this April (3rd – 9th April) organised by Surfers Against Sewage

July
Plastic Free July is a world wide event.
Every year, in July, people everywhere try to cut their consumption of one use plastic, for this one month.
Read more here

September
Zero Week Week runs the first full week in September.The aim is to cut the trash going to landfill.
Read more here

The Marine Conservation Society (MSCUK) organises The Great British Beach Clean Up

Petitions

Go straight to the petition…

Bottle Deposit Return Petition
Placing a small deposit on plastic bottles and cans would dramatically increase recycling and reduce marine plastic pollution. Surfers Against Sewage’s Message In A Bottle campaign site.

Straws
Introduce a 5p charge on plastic straws to reduce the UK’s plastic waste, for both the environment and the economy. Sign Here.

Boycott plastic straws completely or use a reusable/ compostable alternative.

Tampax
As the leading tampon brand around the globe we are reaching out to you to stop a very serious environmental hazard: plastic tampon applicators. Sign here
Find out more about menstruating plastic free, here.

Cut Food Packaging
Please sign the petition to ask the major retailers (and our lovely local farm shop) to end plastic packaging on foods!
Find a whole loads of plastic free foods here – and how to cook them!

More on the above

Tampax

As the leading tampon brand around the globe we are reaching out to you to stop a very serious environmental hazard: plastic tampon applicators.
An alarming number of tampon applicators are washing up on shores all over the world, some beaches even have to be closed after large numbers of them flood the beach after a storm. In the past two months of cleaning up beaches JUST along Lake Ontario in Canada, my team and I have picked up 415 plastic applicators. We are aware that these applicators are not meant to be flushed, but it’s evident that many users are not following this advice and we would like to stop this problem at the source. Sign here

Plastic Free Food

Opting for food without plastic packaging could be a huge relief for our limited resources, however until the supermarkets change their packaging this is going to be difficult for consumers who frequently go for convenience in our ‘one stop shop’ age.
We need to act now before this problem gets worse – it’s not one to hand onto the next generation.
Please sign the petition to ask the major retailers (and our lovely local farm shop) to end plastic packaging on foods!

SaveSav

Remembrance Poppy

1 November 2016 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 5 Content Veiw, hidays

One of the most poignant events of the year happens in November. Every year on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month all of Britain observes a full silence for two minutes. Because 11 November is Armistice Day and the anniversary of the end of the first world war. Remembrance Sunday is always held on the weekend so that everyone can participate. On this day we take time to remember all those who have fallen on the many wars.

Through November the most visible sign of remembrance is the wearing of a red poppy badge.

November is also When the Royal British Legion, a U.K. Charity organise a massive fundraising campaign. Whatever your opinions on the politics of war, whatever you feel about the senseless loss, many soldiers have died leaving families behind. Many soldiers have survived but so badly hurt that they now need help. The Royal British Legion supports the Armed Forces community both past and present. It provides support for the serving men and women, veterans and for their families.

Every year (2017 starting on 26 October), they ask for contributions in return for which you receive a poppy to pin on your lapel.Sadly the poppies made from paper and plastic are disposable. Many people buy a new poppy each year. Some careless ones like me get through two or three a year. Hundreds and hundreds of little green plastic stalks and black centres are left over once the paper petals have have rotted away.

So this year why not do it differently. The Royal British Legion have many new and interesting ways to contribute. And of course if you want to show your support by wearing a poppy you can buy a reusable poppy. You still make a donation each year but wear your own reusable poppy.

You can buy reusable poppy pins from the Royal British Legion,(visit the Website), Or these from Marks & Spencer’s. If you don’t like any on display, or find the offerings to be too plastic packaged, try making your own. Loads of ideas HERE.

SaveSave

Gift wrap reusable

7 August 2016 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1.2 reusables, 5 Content Veiw

Which wrap should you choose? Well we prefer reusables over all else so here are some wraps you can use over and over again…

Reusable Wraps

Wrap your presents in cloth and tie with string
Or just use cloth and the ancient Japanese method of knotting. Called furoshiki. YOu can find more info here .
Make or buy reusable crackle paper made from recycled tents.
Make or buy a fabric gift bag
Try this stretch wrap from Wragwrap
fabric bottle bag from Wragwrap

Crackle Paper

I have to admit to using synthetic tents. I feel this is one instance where plastic really is the best product for the job, (remembers sleeping under canvas and shudders #plasticweuse). But what to do when your trusty old tent is no longer up to the job. Well you could re- use it to make crinkly sounding wrapping paper. Or if you don’t camp, or sew, you could buy some recycled Glastonbury tent wraps form these guys….
FESTIWRAP

FestiWraps are made from tents, discarded at UK music festivals such as Lattitude and Glastonbury, and then collected by us. Tents that cannot be recovered by charities and would normally be sent to landfill, are collected, cleaned and used to create fabulous reusable gift wrap. The wrap itself is made from two outer layers of tent fabric sandwiched around a piece of ground sheet. This creates a crinkly sound like paper folding and un-folding, bringing the emotional sounds and experience of a wrapped gift to life. The fastening cord, which makes the FestiWrap so quick and easy to use, is made from the recovered tent guy ropes. You can buy here.

You can find other gift wrap options here, plus biodegradable sticky tape, string and pretty ties

And you can read up more about special days and general partying here.

Fatty Acids – Oils, Butters & Waxes

21 June 2016 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.6 Good to know, More Information Tagged 4 raw materials, 5 Content Veiw

Welcome to the slippery pole

Fatty Acids Or Fossil Fuel?

Fossil fuel oil is slippery is very versatile. As well being the base for most plastics and driving our cars it can be found in less obvious places. It is sold as a moisturizer (think Vaseline and even E45), petroleum-derived, synthetic fragrances are added to many commercial cosmetic products and hexane (another petroleum derivative), is used to extract some vegetable oils.

While I don’t mind oil on my pistons I draw the line at rubbing it on my skin or using it to fry my eggs.

So what to use instead? Renewable Fatty Acids of course

What Are Fatty Acids?

So let’s talk fatty acids. For the purposes of this post, fatty acids are the oily greasy stuff you use to cook with, cut off your bacon, burn in your beeswax candles or rub on as your Shea Butter Body Moisturiser.

They are the oil that is formed in a plant or the fat stored by an animal. There is of course a lot more to them then that and Meanwhile here is a beginners guide.

Fatty acids are fatty, oily, greasy or buttery. They can be harvested from plants and animals.
Vegetable Derived These are obtained from the seeds, nuts and even flesh of plants.There are many kinds of vegetable oils, butters and waxes. Mains uses are cooking & cosmetics.
Animal Derived This is the fat stored by an animal. These are mostly solid ranging from hard and waxy like lard to the softer butterExamples would be butter & lard

Essential Oils Are not an oil at all as they don’t contain any fatty acids.

Uses
Main uses of fatty acids are cooking, cosmetics, lubricating and soap making.
Some like Jojoba should only be used for cosmetic purposes. Coconut oil on the other hand can be used for just about everything.

Find out about using oils to make creams and cosmetics here.

Types Of Oil, Wax Or Butter
They come in a variety of forms under the following headings – but it is a rough guide only.
Liquid Oil – never solidifies
Solid Oil – firm when cool but has very low melting point so sometimes it may be counted as an oil i.e. Coconut oil
Butters – a solid oil. Has a high melting point. Rather confusing. Milk butter for example acts more like a solid oil, while Cocoa butter is more like a wax.
Waxes – very hard-of a candle (wax), like consistency. Bees wax for example.

Harvesting
Next you might want to know how your fats and oils they have been obtained and processed – especially if you plan to eat your oil.
Animal fats are collected after slaughter. Concerns here are rather about how the animal was treated before it was slaughtered.
Extracting vegetable oils and processing them is a more complex process. Most commercially produced oils are solvent extracted. This involves a chemical solvent like the petroleum-derived hexane. This technique is used for most of the “newer” oils such as soybean and canola oils.
Mechanical methods where the oil is squeezed or pressed out of the vegetable matter in a variety of ways involves less in the way of petroleum derivatives but depending on the method used can affect the oil. Cold pressed oil is considered the least invasive method of extraction though it also less efficient.
Read more abouts oil extraction here.

Hydrogenated Oil
Both animal and vegetable fats can be hydrogenated.
Hydrogenated oil is made by forcing reactive hydrogen gas gas into oil at high pressure in the presence of a palladium catalyst.
Hydrogenated oil is more stable, does not go rancid as quickly
It has a higher melting point, so can be used for frying.
It is used to make liquid oils more solid. Margarine is an example of a hydrogenated oil.
Oils have been hydrogenated since the 1930s.
Concerns
Hydrogenating oil modifies the chemistry significantly.
The fatty acids in oils are unsaturated fats. They are unstable.
Hydrogenating oil turns these unstable fatty acids into new more stable fats known as trans fats acids.
There are concerns that trans fatty acids may increase LDL, or bad cholesterol, and decrease HDL cholesterol, the good cholesterol.
Because they are not natural the digestive system does not know what to do with them. They may actually bioaccumulate in the body.
Read more here

Here

Storage

Most oils and waxes last for ages. Some like butter will go off.

Oils Butters & Fatty Acids I Use
For Cosmetics
You can use a lot of waxes and oils neat to moisturise and cleanse or as as ingredients in creams. Here are the oils we use to make creams and cosmetics

Cosmetics & Eating
I love a multi tasking product and you cant do better than a moisturiser you cook chips in.
Rapeseed oil – a lighter oil with quite a strong scent but U.K. sourced. Read More
Olive oil – a richer oil can sometimes be bought on tap in the U.K. Used for cooking and cosmetics.read more
Rice Bran Oil less “oily” than olive oil and rapeseed oil and not as malodorous as the latter. I used it to make suntan lotion and mosquito repellent.

Only Eating
While I love to get my monies worth I draw the line at lard as a beauty regime.
Butter – eating only. Read more
Lard – a plastic free substitute for cooking oil.

Read about the fatty acids we eat here

More
Find out more basic information about ingredients and alternative products here
Using oils to make creams and cosmetics
Read about the fatty acids we eat here

Essential Oils Are not an oil at all as they don’t contain any fatty acids.

Oils I try To avoid
Palm Oil because it is often badly farmed read more here
Margarine because it is a hydrogenated oil.
And oils derived from petrol. Don’t want to eat them donut want to moisturise with them

Chewing Gum

4 June 2016 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged 3.0 sneaky plastic, 3.1.3 Sweets snacks & nibbles, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

I don’t do chewing gum because not only does it come packed in plastic, it is actually made from plastic. Yes, while there are a few natural gums on the market most chewing gums are actually synthetic…. plastic in fact.

As I am sure you know, chewing gum is a non-nutritive, non-digestible, water-insoluble substance that can be chewed, (duh!), without disintegrating, for a long period of time.

And that it consists of an elastomer, a chewy base, with added sweeteners and flavours to make the experience more pleasant.

Up until WWII, the chewing gum base was usually made from chicle a latex sap that comes from the sapodilla tree – a natural rubber. This has since been replaced with synthetic rubber, a plastic.

Which Elastomer

Elastomers in gum are what give it the chew.

These used to be and occasionally still are natural latexes such as couma macrocarpa (also called leche caspi or serve), loquat (also called nispero),tunu, elution and the most popular, chicle.

These days most elastomers are synthetic rubbers such as butyl rubber

The raw materials for making butyl rubber are isobutylene and isoprene. Isoprene is a byproduct of naphtha or oil, and as a side product in the production of ethylene.

Other Stuff

Other ingredients according to Wikipedia may include the following:

Resins: provide a cohesive body or strength, and are most often glycerol esters of gum, terpene resins, and/or polyvinyl acetate ( more about the latter below).
Waxes: act as softening agents and are most usually paraffin or microcrystalline wax.
Fats: behave as plasticizers and mainly come from hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Emulsifiers: help to hydrate, the most common being lecithin or glycerol monostearate.
Fillers: impart texture and the most commonly used are calcium carbonate or talc.
Antioxidants: protect from oxidation and extend shelf-life; the most common type is BHT.

The Gum Association says

Gum base ” is made of a combination of food-grade polymers, waxes and softeners that give gum the texture desired by consumers and enable it to effectively deliver sweetness, flavor and various other benefits, including dental benefits.

What are polymers?

A polymer is a string of molecules (monomers) that usually contain carbon and hydrogen. Polymers are found naturally in the human body, animals, plants, and minerals. For example, DNA is a polymer, as are the proteins and starches in the foods we eat.

Man-made polymers can be identical in structure to those found in the natural environment, but in many cases, these polymers provide guaranteed consistency, quality and purity that are not always found in some natural materials. This quality is particularly important for food-grade polymers used as ingredients.

What are food-grade polymers?

Food-grade polymers have been rigorously tested and have been determined to be safe for use in food. In chewing gum, polymers are what provide gum with its basic elastic properties. All polymers used in gum are food-grade and are legally permitted for use by international/national regulatory agencies, including those in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

You can read more about synthetic polymers here.

Safe To Chew?

So are these food grade plastics gums with their paraffin and yummy vinyl acetate additive are safe? Well plastic and paraffin certainly don’t sound appetising and vinyl acetate was once classified by the Canadian Government as a “potentially high hazard substance.” This was later overturned (2010) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). The decision was based on information received during the public comment period, and from the risk assessment conducted by the European Union.

Environmental Hazard?

YES!!! Because it is plastic, gum doesn’t biodegrade – which means it has to be carefully disposed of – either landfilled or incinerated. If it ends up on the street as much of it does, it sticks like mad to the pavement and looks really ugly. It needs to be specially removed – which costs a lot. “The LGA (Local Government Authority points out that the average piece of gum costs about 3p to buy – but 50 times that to clean up (£1.50). Most chewing gum never biodegrades and once it is trodden into the pavement this requires specialised equipment to remove. “

Natural Gums

If you cant give up gum there are some natural gums out there. I have not tried these so please let me know how they taste. And I guess they come plastic packed. Again do let me know.

Peppersmith U.K. do a natural based gum.

It contains Xylitol (wood sugar), Natural chicle gum base, Peppermint oil, Calcium carbonate, Gum arabic (thickner), Rapeseed lecithin (emulsifier), Vegetable glycerol (humectant), Carnauba wax (glazing agent).Suitable for vegetarians.

You can buy it at Holland & Barrett, other stores and of course on line.

Here is a review of 8 of the healthier chews available in the U.S.

Sneaky Plastics

Here are some more products that surprisingly contain plastic.

Waxes, Oils & Varnish recipes

1 June 2016 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 6 archive Tagged 4 plastivan, 5 Content Veiw

Building a new van and I want it to be as environmental and as plastic free as possible. Decorating is very dirty work and needs a lot of research.

You can see all our related posts here

Varnish
Components of classic varnish
Drying oil
There are many different types of drying oils, including linseed oil, tung oil, and walnut oil. These contain high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Resin
Resins that are used in varnishes include amber, kauri gum, dammar, copal, rosin (pine resin), sandarac, balsam, elemi, mastic, and others. Shellac is also a resin. In the 1900s in Canada, resins from local trees were used to finish pianos[citation needed]. As a result, these now antique pianos are considered difficult to refinish. However, shellac can be used over the existing resins provided sufficient time is allowed for thin coats to cure. Thus the original finish can be returned to its original lustre while preserving the color and age-related crackle.

Solvent (traditionally turpentine)
Traditionally, natural (organic) turpentine was used as the thinner or solvent, but has been replaced by several mineral-based turpentine substitutes such as white spirit or “paint thinner”, also known as “mineral spirit”.

Varnish is made of drying oils + resin , without it it’s an oil impregnate…

Any oil will do, proportion is not so important. Tung is antifungal (protects from rot some) linseed is not. Boiled tung oil gives harder surface then boiled linseed. Both are often sold with dryers added (modified).
Resins are many, most practical is synthetic alkyd (phenolic, phthalic). Resins are mostly mixed with oils hot.
Dryers are metal salts (zinc is clear, for varnishes) in turpentine. Or metal oxides, serve also as pigments (cetol has iron oxide). They are not exactly necessary, just for faster hardening of oils. Japan dryers nowadays is just a name, originally it contained gum resins.
Turpentine is added as thinner but also makes a part of varnishes. Other thinners can be kerosene, gasoline (mineral spirits), alcohol – depending also on other ingredients included. Wax may be added (not much) for better protection, and gives flat finish.

But for home formulas this may be of interest: http://books.google.pl/books?id=WuuY…page&q&f=false
Spar varnish (elastic) originally was made of tung or linseed oil, rosin (natural pine resin), turpentine + sulphur and some gums. Modern is best from tung and alkyd.DIY varnish recipe
with thanks to

Oil varnish blend

DIY varnish recipe

THIN:

Linseed + Tung base 50%

Turpentine essence 20%

Orange essence 20% eBay

Camellia oil 10%

THICK:

Linseed + Tung base 50%

Turpentine essence 18%

Orange essence 18%

Camellia oil 9%

Carnauba wax 5%

recipe here

recipe taken from the website here with a discussion of where to get the Ingredients here.

But as we are not in America I have sourced some Uk suppliers.See all our related posts here

Some notes

Make Your Own Oil/Varnish Blend

The standard mixture is 1/3 Boiled Linseed Oil or Tung Oil, 1/3 thinner (mineral spirits, paint thinner, turpentine, naptha), and 1/3 varnish (poly, spar, etc..).

Oil varnish blend

Ingredients for a natural varnish

Turpentine

Waxes (Prepared recipes)
Simple beeswax polish
Hot melt 1 part beeswax in a double boiler and add 3 parts turpentine (genuine turpentine, not petroleum spirit based substitutes). Make at least a pint, because otherwise it’s easier just to buy it (your beekeeper often sells it).

Creamed beeswax
A softer and easily buffed version that’s good for leather. Can leave a residue in the pores of open-grained bone or wood.

5oz beeswax, melted in the double boiler.
Remove from heat and stir in 1 pint of turpentine in a large vessel.
Mix 1 tablespoon of ammonia with 1 pint of water.
Add the ammoniated water to the wax and stir hard.
Pot it while still warm.

Glossy wax polish
Good for polishing wood or bone to a high sheen.
Melt 3 parts beeswax with 1 part carnauba wax.
Remove from heat, stir in 3 parts of turpentine.

Commercial wax

All-natural ingredients — made from orange oil, vegetable binder (linseed oil, wood oil, dehydrated castor oil and sunflower oil-stand oils, colophony glycerine ester), and dryers (lead-free)
Versatile — may be used on hardwood or softwood flooring, furniture, molding, doors, window casing, stone, and unglazed tiles
Nontoxic and safe — free of petroleum distillates, mineral spirits and hazardous chemicals

AURO NATURAL PAINTS
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Essential Oils

8 April 2016 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 4 About The Alternatives Tagged 3.1 general, 4 raw materials, 5 Content Veiw 2 Comments

Essential oils have gone from being an obscure aspect of botany to an all round marketing ‘good thing’. Almost every product you buy from washing powder to shampoo trumpets that they contain essential oils. So much better, so much greener. As such they have been embraced by the environmental movement as the fragrance for your home made products, a staple in your medicine chest and the relaxant in your bath.

I have been using them for years thinkin that they are a so eco friendly. But are they really? And are they even oils?

What Are Essential Oils?

They are not actually oils because they do not contain fatty acids.
They are in fact terpenes
Terpenes organic compounds produced by plants (and occasionally insects).
Terpenes are made up of isoprene units, each consisting of five carbon atoms attached to eight hydrogen atoms (C5H8)
They are often strong-smelling.
So essential oils are the strong smelling terepenes found in plants and insects.

Terpenes

Terepenes (along with phenolics nitrogen-containing compounds ) are called secondary metabolites.
Secondary metabolites are chemicals produced by plants for which no role has yet been found in growth, photosynthesis, reproduction, or other “primary” functions. These chemicals are extremely diverse; many thousands have been identified in several major classes. Each plant family, genus, and species produces a characteristic mix of these chemicals, and they can sometimes be used as taxonomic characters in classifying plants. Humans use some of these compounds as medicines, flavorings, or recreational drugs.

Just so you know – search for terepenes and you get a lot of information about marijuana

They are often characteristic of particular species, are sometimes only produced under particular environmental conditions and for different reasons. The lemon tree for examples produces a pungent oil to repel insects while the rose creates pungent oil to attract them.

N.B. Fragrance oil and essential oil are NOT the same thing. Fragrance” or “fragrance oil” or “perfume” often refers to synthetic scents.

Medical Qualities

Some essential oils appear to have antibacterial and antifungal properties. Others may help speed up healing. However while many claims are made about the potency of essentail oils there is not enough scientific evidence to back them up. Generally it seems to be accepted that they do some limited good though should not be relied on to cure any serious complaints or used to swab down an operating theatre.

While they might not be hugely effective they dont do much harm either. Secondary metabolites are broken down relatively easily so are unlikely to accumulate in large quantities in the environment.

Growing the Oil

Though figures vary you can safely say it takes a lot of plants to produce a small amount of oil..

For one pound of essential oil you will need
50-60 pounds of eucalyptus
200 -250 lbs of lavender Sources include Bulgaria, England, France, USSR, Yugoslavia, Australia, USA, Canada, South Africa, Tanzania, Italy and Spain2 2,000 lbs of cypress
5,000 to 10,000 pounds of rose blossoms to produce one pound of essential oil. Primary cultivation sites for one company include: France, Tasmania, Spain, Italy, England, and China.

Extracting the Oil

Terpenes are usually extracted from plants by steam distillation or chemical extraction.

Environmental Concerns

No matter how they are grown essential oils take up a lot of agricultural land
Growing single species for harvest results in a monoculture style of farming.
Plus all the other demands of farming, – water, fuel, fertilisers organic or not.
It is a lot of input for a very small harvest of what is basically a luxury product.
Add to that the fuel needed to extract the oils “If steam distillation is used temperatures above two hundred degrees applied anywhere from 2-24 hours to extract various oils. ”
If chemical solvents are used which are more effective and so require less plant material, but in turn pose issues of toxicity for people and the environment.
Some oils are harvested from the wild from threatened species.
Cropwatch, a non-profit that keeps tabs on the natural aromatics industry, maintains a list of wild species threatened including rosewood, sandalwood, amyris, thyme, cedarwood, jatamansi, gentian, wormwood and cinnamon,

Should You Use Them…

Personally all of which makes me wary of using essentail oils. I do love the smell but I don’t like the idea that so many resources go into making one tiny bottle of luxury scent.
If you are going to use essentail oils please use them sparingly and buy from a company that is clear about how they grow and harvest their oils.

Take a look at Pravera or Yorkshire Lavender

How To Use Them…

Read more about the oils we use and what for, HERE.

See a full range of homemade #plasticfree personal care products here
And find out how to make lots more stuff HERE
Find all plastic free personal care products here…

Ingredients

An introduction to some of the stuff you need to make the above

Waitrose

1 April 2016 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.2.3 Supermarkets & Chains Tagged 5 Content Veiw

Waitrose are cutting the use of plastic lined disposable cups in their cafes!
“We’re removing all disposable takeaway cups from our shops by the autumn.You can still enjoy a free cup of tea or coffee when you shop with us; remember to bring your own reusable cup and your myWaitrose card with you.#KeepYourCup
This will save more than 52 million cups, 221 tonnes of plastic and more than 665 tonnes of paper a year.
Find out more: HERE

They also have the a range of plastic free products. Find them in our facebook gallery here

Other Products

From Louises database

Bakery, rolls, cakes, fancy cakes and childrens decorated biscuits – Bulk

Borax Substitute, Dri-pac – Cardboard – Larger stores only
Bread Mix, good selection – Paper
Cat Litter, Waitrose wood pellets – Recycled wood and paper packaging
Coconut Oil, Groovy Food, Organic – Glass Metal
Coffee – Free with my Waitrose card – Take own cup
Dishwasher Powder – Cardboard
Fish Fingers, Birds Eye 30 MSC – Big pack to save on packaging – Cardboard
Juice Bar – Could ask for a refill ? – Not available in all stores
Neal’s Yard Products – Glass can be returned to Neal’s Yard shops for refund
Naty Nature Care Nappies – Biodegradable
Oats – Flahavan’s, Mornflake, Quaker – Paper and cardboard
Soap Bars – Including organic – Paper and Cardboard
Toilet Rolls, 9 pack, 100% recycled – Plastic wrap (recycle at Sainsbury’s)
Vinegar, Sarson’s distilled White 568ml – Glass Bottle
YOU cleaner refills – A concentrated eco cleaner refill in plastic

Louises Data Base?
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.

Sneaky Plastics

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.
Find other sneaky plastics here….

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

see all our supermarket info HERE.
Find out more about the individual products here via the food index
Other places to buy unpackaged food are listed 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.

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Disclaimer
Be aware of the risks of listening to someone who
a) doesn’t have any training in this field,
b) most of what they know comes from Google,
That’s me I mean.