Bun/muffins

31 May 2011 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1 general, 3.1.2 reusables, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 3.2.4 cook book, 5 Content Veiw 4 Comments

Baking buns is fun but try getting plastic free bun cases and you will be in difficulties as they all come packed in plastic tubes.

Paper & Card

Lucky then I found these paper cases in a cardboard box by If You Care. They are in some shops and can be bought on line. They do three different sizes.
“If You Care Baking Cups are made from unbleached totally chlorine-free (TCF) greaseproof paper. They are perfect for sweet and savory baked goods. Your muffins, cupcakes, mini quiches and other recipes won’t stick to our baking cups because of their natural easy release properties.”
Not sure what “natural easy release properties” are but If You Care were lining their greaseproof paper with silicone last time I looked. And silicone is of course plastic.

Read about greaseproof paper here. spoiler – these days much of it is plastic lined or chemically treated
Read up on Chlorine free paper here.

Silicone Reusable

Otherwise you can go for silicone reusable cases. Yes they are made of plastic, (if you count silicone as a kind of plastic and we do), but they are reusable as oppose to disposable paper

I got these silicone moulds in cardboard packaging from Strawberry Fair which has since, sadly, closed down. This is just to let you know they are out there

Heres what the manufacturers say they “are incredibly versatile and durable. They are the perfect size for small individual jellies, can be used to bake cup cakes in the oven or microwave and then frozen if necessary. No muffin pan required, they are stain and odour resistant and even have a line to fill up to for a consistent look.”

If you can’t find them there are hundreds of other that come plastic packed. Its a one off purchase that will reduce your throwaway plastic packaging so you might consider it worth while.

See more reusable products here.

Baking Tray

You will need to use a stainless steel muffin case without a non-stick coating. No nasty chemicals for you. You can read up about Teflon here
Nisbetts do a good range of stainless steel cookware and they have stores around the U.K

If you can’t find anything in the shops you can of course buy on line. And then you come up against the prickly problem of packaging. There is nothing that enrages plastic activist in me more than researching a a plastic free and environmentally friendly, purchase onlin only to find the onward packaging is plastic.

If it comes via an online, postal service, I want to know how the product will be packed and the more information the better. Down to what kind of tape is used (whether it is plastic or not) and whether the invoice will be in a plastic bag on the front of the box.

Which is why I like he following companies. They offer plastic free products but also consider the onward packaging.

N.B. But no matter what I say, check and double check for yourself. One mans plastic free is another’s little bit of sticky tape.

Find lots of plastic free recipes with the plastic free cook book

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

Matches

19 December 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1 general

On our beach cleanups one of the things we consistently find is lighters. Many of them still work so we take them home and use them.

When we run out of lighters we use matches! You can get matches in boxes from shops and supermarkets including Morrisons

Washing Soda

24 August 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1 general, 4 raw materials, 5 Content Veiw

Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash and soda crystals)

is the water-soluble sodium salt of carbonic acid.

It is alkaline.

Pure sodium carbonate is a white, doorless powder with a strongly alkaline taste.

Washing Soda or Sodium carbonate (also known as soda ash and soda crystals) has a chemical formula of Na2CO3.

Pure sodium carbonate is a white, doorless powder with a strongly alkaline taste.

It has been used for centuries.

History

Soda ash was called so because it was originally extracted from the ashes of plants growing in sodium-rich soils, such as vegetation from the Middle East, kelp from Scotland and seaweed from Spain.

It also occurs naturally as a residue. “When seasonal lakes evaporate, they leave a huge chunk of mineral deposits behind. These deposits are good sources of sodium carbonate. Other dry lakes and wells are also good sources of the same. It is also believed to have been erupted from volcanoes. Large deposits of sodium carbonate are found in Africa and North America.”

From

While it can be made from the ashes of plants or occur naturally as a residue most is now via one of these heavily industrialised processes:

The Solvay Process Uses limestone, salt and ammonia to transform salt (sodium chloride).

Mining – Trona ore is mined, then heated until it turns into soda ash also known as washing soda. Bicarbonate of soda is obtained along the way. Read more.

Baking Soda V Washing Soda

Baking Soda’s PH is not as alkaline as washing soda, so it doesn’t cause skin irritation and you don’t need gloves to handle them. It is not as harsh as washing soda but neither is it as effective a cleaner. It is also half as effective at softening water.

You can turn bicarb back into washing soda by baking it so that breaks back down into water steam, carbon dioxide and washing soda. I have never done this but by all acounts need to cook your bicarb in the oven for half an hour at 400 F (or 200 C).

Uses

Water Softener
Methods for softening hard water involve the removal of calcium ions and magnesium ions from the water.

This can be done by adding sodium carbonate to the water.
“The water is softened because it no longer contains dissolved calcium ions and magnesium ions. It will form lather more easily with soap.However, the calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate precipitates to form limescale. As well as being unsightly on your taps, it can also clog up pipes in heating systems (causing them to break down). This makes treatment with sodium carbonate suitable for softening water only in certain circumstances – such as softening water for hand washing clothes.”
washing Soda is alkaline which means it will work well with organic soils ( dirt). Alkaline emulsify grease. Fatty acids are normally insoluble which is why they cannot be cleaned using water alone. The alkaline breaks down fat making them dispersable in water. Read more here

For the same reason it can help remove wax from floors
helps in better absorption of dye
reduces the acidic effects of chlorine in swimming pools.
an excellent descaling agent
A powdered form of dishwasher detergent can be made with washing soda and Borax
For more uses and a rather cheery info graphic visit Dripak.

Dripak sell washing soda – in plastic bags. Here’s some of their blurb

All-natural Dri-Pak Soda Crystals are bio-degradable and contain no phosphates, enzymes or bleach. Soda Crystals are an alkaline “washing soda”. The main uses of Soda Crystals are to dissolve grease, soften water, loosen dirt and reduce acidity. You can safely combine Soda Crystals with other natural ingredients like baking soda and soap flakes for even more cleaning power. Soda Crystals, along with Soap Flakes, have a long history. They were the primary cleaning products in use at the turn of the twentieth century.

Buy

Dripak sell washing soda – in plastic bags.

Borax, washing soda, bicarbonate or all three. What should you use for your cleaning needs? A comparison HERE
See all out #plasticfree cleaning aids HERE

Technical Data

Technical grade

Sodium carbonate, also known as soda ash, is a white, anhydrous and hygroscopic powder with a purity. There are two forms of sodium carbonate available, light soda and dense soda (granular). Sodium carbonate has a melting point of 851C, it decomposes when heated and therefore a boiling point can not be determined. Sodium carbonate is an inorganic salt and therefore the vapour pressure can be considered negligible. It is soluble in water and solubility increases with temperature. The average particle size diameter (d50) of light sodium carbonate is in the range of 90 to 150 µm and of dense sodium carbonate is in the range of 250 to 500 µm. Sodium carbonate is a strong alkaline compound. The pKa of CO3 2- is 10.33, which means that at a pH of 10.33 both carbonate and bicarbonate are present in equal amounts.

Click here to view MSDS

Straws Compostable

26 February 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 00 compostable plastic, 1.3 PLA Plastic Products, 1.3.2 bioplastic, 3.1 general, 3.1.2 disposables, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 3.2.5 composting & compostables

The picture shows a turtle with a plastic straw stuck in its nose (You can watch the video in full here). Every years hundreds of thousand plastic straws end up polluting the environment. Ecocycle estimate that 500 million straws are used in the US every day alone.

If you must have disposable straws, (and none of these great reusable options suit), then why not try these compostable ones made from cornstarch. They look and act just like plastic straws… but they are made from PLA cornstarch and are certified compostable.

Find out more about compostable plastic here.

You can buy them from Vegware. They do everything from black cocktail (1000 for 10.00) to jumbo smoothie.

I have seen paper straws on ebay but (as far as I know), they are not certified compostable and may be plastic lined. They certainly are plastic packed.

Any one know any more?

Composting

One type of certified compostable plastic is Poly Lactic Acid (PLA) plastic.

Some say that PLA plastics do not break down in home compost bins. THEY ARE WRONG. We have used and composted a number of PLA plastic products.

You can see the PLA products we have used here.

Or you can try these reusable stainless steel beauties or glass straws.

Straws – reusable

11 February 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables Tagged 3.1 general, 3.1.2 reusables, 3.1.3 drinks, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 5 Content Veiw 10 Comments

I don’t use straws but if I did I would go for one of these.

Do note I have not used these myself so I cannot say how well they perform or what the onward packaging is like. You will have to check with the suppliers. Any one who has tried them, can review them or can recommend some other great product please do leave a comment. Together we can make changes.

Bamboo

Super fun for a cocktail party – haven’t tried them myself yet but will do….. You can get them from boobalu an ecofriendly online store

or these from Amazon

12 pack of bamboo straws.
The ecological choice for your health and the planet.
Washable. Reusable.
Made from 100% Real Whole Bamboo Stalks
Each straw is 10 inches in length
You can find a range of reusable straws on Amazon

Steel Straws

Urban techno chic! I love the look of them, stainless steel straws for the classiest of drinkers.

USA -Can be bought with a whole load of other good stuff from Reusable Bags (USA based).

Or you can make your own

UK – You can find a range of reusable straws on Amazon

Glass Straws

The glass straw man?? Yes he makes reusable glass straws. Glass straws may sound like a bonkers idea, but read this and then decide

I haven’t used them myself but if you fancy giving them a go they are currently available in the UK from EBAY and from this UK based online shop A Fine Choice

Disposables

If you must have disposable straws buy these compostable ones.

Campaigns

Join the straw wars here.

Buy

Being committed to local shopping, I prefer to buy that way whenever possible. I would encourage you to do the same. One of the joys of living plastic free is mooching round the local shops seeing what you can source. Coffee Evolution were doing take away ceramic cups for instance.

If you can’t buy local, please do check the links above. They look direct to the suppliers. Do consider buying from them and support their online businesses.

If you can’t do that then I have put together and Amazon catalogue. Yes I know…


NRS Healthcare Clear Safesip Drinks Glass a… £5.99	4 Straight Metal Drinking Straw Stainless S… £5.49	4 Metal Drinking Straw Stainless Steel Reus… £5.49

6 Metal Drinking Straw Stainless Steel Reus… £7.49	Kitchen Craft Stainless Steel Two-in-One Dr… £4.75	Stainless Steel Zack Vitis Straw Spoon Set/4 £12.00

Sustainable Bamboo Drinking Straws – 12 Pack £6.00

Amazon is a very dirty word at the moment and I thought long and hard before suggesting them. Heres why I went ahead….. No we are not entirely happy with Amazons recent history. However, we have always found their service to be good and their packaging usually compostable.

If you buy a product via this link we do get an affiliation fee for this. That’s not why we do it.

Soap

25 July 2009 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Personal, 4 About The Alternatives Tagged 3.1 general, 3.1.7 Clean-tone-cream, 3.1.7 Health, 4 raw materials, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

Making Soap

Basic soap is made from lye, oils or fats (animal or vegetable) and water.

Saponification
When these three are mixed together a chemical process called saponification takes place. The end result is soap

In the olden days soap makers used lye obtained from wood ashes. Find out how, here.

Modern day soap makers use Sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also known as lye and caustic soda. This is made from salt and is very caustic See how that is made here.

History

In the olden days making soap was a labour intensive process. There were plenty of animal fats but making lye took forever. And it wasn’t very reliable. Then in 1791 French chemist Le Blanc discovered how to make Soda Ash from salt. Soap got much easier and cheaper to make and the great unwashed could finally afford a bar in every home.

How does it work

Alkaline & Organic Soils

Soap is alkaline which means it will work well with organic soils ( dirt). Alkaline emulsify grease. Fatty acids are normally insoluble which is why they cannot be cleaned using water alone. The alkaline breaks down fat making them dispersable in water. Read more here

Soap & Germs

But folk were not just cleaner but safer too. Soap does actually kills germs but it does a good job of physically removing them.

Whats in YOUR soap
Here are some of the things you might find in your soap.

Sodium tallowate is from animal fat usually from cows.

Sodium lauryl sulfate (commonly known as SLS) and Sodium laureth sulphate and sodium laurel sulphate also attract dirt so work in the same way as soap but they create more lather. This is the main reason they are added – to create lots of lovely lather. They are a known skin irritant. Internet claims that they cause cancer are unproven.

Synthetic fragrance – which may contain DEO a phthalate used as a solvent and fixative. Despite the general bad press about phthalates this one is considered safe.

Palm Oil and Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) are used in soap making because they make the soap more bubbly and result in a harder bar. Palm oil – comes from Malaysia and Indonesia. They have cut down hundreds of acres of rainforest to make way for huge plantations of palm oil. This has impacted adversely on the habitat of the orangutang a now endangered species. You can find out more about it and why we minimise our use of palm oil, here .

Other considerations when buying soap might include does the company still do animal testing.

Is it a British company.

Soap Formats

Soap comes in various forms which in my experience are often interchangeable.

Bar Soap – hard. Everything from luxury cosmetic soaps to the increasingly rare dish wash bar.
Soap Flakes – thin slivers of soap that dissolve more easily
Liquid soap such as body wash, shampoo or washing up liquid.
Soap powders mostly for dishwashers and washing machines.

Homemade

You can make your own. Read this from Jen of Make Do And Mend Life

Here are some recipes for making Castille Soap

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.

plasticisrubbish

Tag Archives: 3.1 general