Coffee single-cup brewing system

1 September 2019 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged 3.1.2 disposables, 3.1.3 drinks, 3.2.2 Kitchen

When I first started my boycott, the only way to get plasticfree coffee was to buy the beans loose and grind them. Now theres all kinds of options from instant in your own bag to compostable pods

For other coffee posts check out our index. You will also find tea, cocoa, milk in glass bottles and something stronger.

But back to the coffee….

“Peter Sylvan and John Dragone in the early 1990s started building prototypes of a coffee maker that would brew one cup at a time, using a throwaway package that would hold the grounds and the filter. The result was the Keurig single-cup brewing system, which uses disposable plastic K-Cups that look like supersize creamer containers.”

“When the company began selling its single-serve coffee systems to offices, the price was too high to envision a similar product living on kitchen countertops: $795. But by 2004, the company had created a consumer version that sold for $149. (Keurig’s least expensive machine, the B30 Mini, currently sells for $89.)” Read more

By 2017….

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.
coffee pods, or K-cups, that go in them… and make up a third of all coffee sold.
if you took the coffee pods that the coffee giant Nespresso produced over the years (nearly 30 billion of them), you could circle the globe over two dozen times!
That’s a lot of pods, a lot of plastic, and a lot of aluminium.
Sources for the above facts and a very good article can be found here.

So what to do if you have one of these machines?

Compostable Pods

You could try compostable pods. Such as these from Novelle Coffee

“Our dedication to provide premium coffee is matched only by our commitment to the environment, which is why our coffee is now available in compostable Nespresso compatible capsules.
Available in Intenso and Decaffeinato, it’s the same great ethically-sourced Novell coffee with added peace of mind.
Our capsules are made from 100% compostable materials that decompose over 12 weeks, meaning you can look after the planet as well as your conscience.” Read more

Reportedly the North American brands Purpods and G-Pak have also been certified 100% compostable.

Halo do something similar.

I dont have a coffee making machine so cannot compare taste… but Which have done a survey that you can access here.

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

Hot Drinks Plastic Free

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

N.B.

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

And before you go…

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

Kitchen

27 February 2018 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 6 archive Tagged 3.2 house, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 3.2.3 Buy On Line

Kitchen

We really try to reduce the amount of plastic in the kitchen. So we use
Metal ladles and serving spoons
Wooden spoons and spatulas
Metal pans not non-stick just normal. With metal handles
Sabatier knives metal and wood handle. Mine have been fantastic. Bought decades ago and still going!
Wooden chopping board
Kilner jars for home made jams and dried beans.
A metal kettle that sits on top of the stove

We have bought our stuff from a variety of places. If you really can’t find this in your local shops here’s a list of stuff on Amazon.

Amazon Catalogue


Tala Waxed Spoons, Set of 3 £3.00	5 Piece Wooden Kitchen Cooking Utensils Set… £2.98	Tala Utensils, Set of 3 £3.00

Kitchen Craft Deluxe Small Stainless Steel … £4.50	Richardson Sheffield V Sabatier 9 Piece Kni… £88.00	T&G TV Chef’s Choice Large Board in FSC… £42.99

Kilner Jar Round 1.5 Litre £6.75	Kilner Square Clip Top Bottle 250ml \| Kilne… £2.38	Kilner Jar £4.97


Safesip Drinks Glass and Cups Cover £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… £4.25	Stainless Steel Zack Vitis Straw Spoon Set/4 £12.00

Sustainable Bamboo Drinking Straws – 12 Pack £14.95	Lifeventure Knife, Fork, Spoon Folding Cutl… £13.89	Travel Stainless Steel Foldable Pocket Chop… £2.42


Kitchen Craft Stainless Steel Double Handle… £3.99	Tea Ball Infuser 2″ 18/8 Stainless Steel. £0.72	Tea Ball/Strainer Mesh Tea Infuser Tea filt… £1.52 – £2.19

Kitchen Craft Le’Xpress Tea Strainer, Stai… £3.00	Stainless Steel Spoon Tea Leaves Herb Mesh … £1.60	2 Cup Glass Tea Pot with Infuser £15.25

Glass Stainless Steel Loose Tea Leaf Teapot…	VonShef Modern Stainless Steel 600ml Glass … £4.99	Sabichi 750 ml Glass Teapot with Infuser £23.50


VonShef Satin Polish Stainless Steel Tea Po… £6.99	Designer White Ceramic Tumbler Brewing System £15.00


Large Natural Bristle Dish Washing Brush – … £7.79	Natural Bristle Flask Brush £7.49	Eddingtons Grill Brush with Brass Bristles £3.95

Eddingtons Light Short Bristle Radiator Brush £7.00	Eddingtons Conical Bottle Brush £3.29	Grunwerg Cafe Ole Stainless Steel Stove Top… £11.82

Wesco Classic Line Stainless Steel 2 Litre … £49.99	Garden Trading Enamel Stove Kettle – Flint £31.50	Yoshikawa 1 Litre Stainless Steel Fons Drip…


BergHOFF 26 cm Earthchef Frying Pan £36.67	Stainless Steel Ice Cube Tray – BPA Free £40.00	Tala Snowflake Cutters £6.33

If You Care Baking Sheets Cut Unbleached 24… £8.21	THREE PACKS of If You Care Mini Baking Cups… £7.94	If You Care Baking Cups Mini £5.83

Waxed Paper, All Natural, 100% Soybean Wax,… £5.99	Wood and Pure Bristle Pastry Brush £1.40	Large Natural Bristle Dish Washing Brush an…

PLEASE NOTE

While the products look very similar to the ones we use, we have not actually bought or used these particular items. Nor can we cannot guarentee they will come free of plastic packaging.

es we do get an affiliation fee for this, and 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.

Any money raised (!) will go to supporting the blog.

Kettle

21 September 2015 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.2 house, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 3.2.3 Buy On Line, 5 Content Veiw 3 Comments

People are always asking about plastic free kettles. There is one very easy answer – get a stove top kettle. That’s it. Spend a bit more and you can get one that doesn’t have a plastic handle. Spend a lot more and you get a kettle you will be handing on to your kids. I am saving up for this one.

Shropshire Made Traditional Kettle

Hand spun body and lid with durable hard anodised finish.
Precision cast spout for perfect pouring.
The base of kettle is very thick 1/4 inch (6mm) aluminium, we machine grind this flat to ensure rapid boiling on range hobs.
Hand turned British oak handle & knob.
Lovingly hand made in Britain.

A stove top kettle for use on range stoves, electric, gas, ceramic and halogen hobs. The perfect companion for country cottages, retro conversions, Victorian kitchens, Edwardian homes, glamping and garden cooking (it complements Netherton Foundry garden hob).

Comes in two sizes and the packaging is cardboard.

Cheaper Kettles

The downside is they are over a hundred quid. You might want to look at some of the cheaper options below. The cheaper kettles often have plastic handles. Very cheap kettles often warp with time. You need a good heavy bottom!

Amazon Catalogue

Here are some links to products sold on Amazon. Amazon is a very dirty word at the moment and I thought long and hard before I did it. Heres why I went ahead…..


		Grunwerg Cafe Ole Stainless Steel Stove Top… £11.82

Wesco Classic Line Stainless Steel 2 Litre … £49.99	Garden Trading Enamel Stove Kettle – Flint £31.50	Yoshikawa 1 Litre Stainless Steel Fons Drip… £74.99

Frying Pans

22 August 2015 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged 3.2 house, 3.2.2 Kitchen 2 Comments

I have been wanting to get rid of my non stick frying pan for ages. I bought it before I knew about polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), the plastic non- stick coating. Nor did I know that polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) can give off toxic fumes that can kill budgies. I don’t have a budgie but even so! That doesn’t sound good.

Non Stick

I wanted a light weight pan with a ceramic non stick coating (promised to be toxin free), BUT it had to have a metal handle. Finally found this one from BergHOFF. The earth chef Montana range which goes under the following specification….

Ceramic nonstick coating:
- Naturally 6x stronger than traditional nonstick coatings
- Non-toxic: no PTFE fumes
- No PFOA used and energy-saving manufacturing
Hollow cast stainless-steel and riveted handles
Polished stainless-steel lids
Fast and even heat transfer
For all types of cooktops, including induction
Durable construction
Oven-safe to 540 degrees C / 1000 degrees F
Metal-utensil safe and dishwasher-safe

Delighted to see it came in cardboard packaging, disappointed to find it was also wrapped in a plastic bag. So far it is doing well….

If you can’t find one locally you can of course get them from Amazon – read more about our relationship here


BergHOFF 26 cm Earthchef Frying Pan £39.99

Cast Iron Pans

I chose this pan for the van. I really wanted a cast iron frying pan but our light weight flimsy camping stove would almost certainly crumple under the weight. Those of you with sturdier stoves could consider a U.K. made, cast iron pan from Netherton Foundry. It will last a life time . Pricey but nicey.

They alo do reather nice looking plastic free kettles.

If you cant afford to buy new you could try Ebay. They have a whole load of second hand iron pans for sale.

Greaseproof paper/ waxed paper

18 May 2015 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 House, Office & Garden, 4.9 Useful to know Tagged 3.0 sneaky plastic, 3.2 house, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 4 About The Alternatives, 5 Content Veiw 13 Comments

There are two types of paper used for cooking and food preparations
greaseproof bakery paper;
waxed paper.

The terms are used interchangably but they are actually different products.

Greaseproof Paper also known as parchment paper is used in baking and cooking. It provides a heat-resistant, non-stick surface to bake on.
It is also used to pack greasy foods like butter.
It used to be made by beating the paper fibres. Now it may have a plastic or chemical coating.

Waxed Paper
Not to be confused with waxed paper. They may look the same but are different products. Waxed paper actually has wax on it. This too creates a non stick surface but for obvious reasons cannot be used at high temperatures so cannot be used for baking.
Waxed paper was often used for wrapping food.
In many cases it has now been replaced with plastic laminated paper. It looks like waxed paper but isn’t.

History
Greaseproof paper was first developed as a replacement for parchment by the engineer Otto Munthe Tobiesen in 1894
During the paper making process, the paper pulp is beaten hard so the fibres bond more firmly. This results in a paper of high density with a small number of pores. It is now less absorbant making it reisistant to grease, fat and oil.
Natural greaseproof paper does not have any chemical treatments or coatings. It can be recycled, composted or burnt.

Waxed Paper was made by coating paper with wax.

The New Papers
Since those innocent days various different types of greaseproof/waxed paper have emerged. These no longer rely on the way the paper has been made but rather are treated, coated or laminated papers. They do not get their grease resistance from denser fibers but from various additives. However they look just like the originals.
They fall into into two types; paper for packaging and paper for cooking.

The treatments for “greaseproof” paper include
Plastic lamination
Chemical
Silicone coating

Packaging

Greaseproof paper and waxed paper were often used for packaging and the names used interchangeably.

They were used in the food industry for many things including wrapping food such as butter and making nonstick containers for microwave food.

However the original papers and cards have been replaced with plastic coated alternatives.

Two common forms of treatment are
Lamination
Chemically treated

laminated
Where the function of the product is merely to stop grease leaking through the product like for instance a butter wrap the paper may be coated with a thin layer of plastic. This is often the case with food packaging where a product wants to maintain an old time look. Don’t be fooled by those charming greaseproof paper bags and butchers wraps on the deli counter. Check them very carefully.
Obviously this kind of greaseproof paper cannot be used for cooking as the plastic will melt and burn.
Read more about laminated paper here

Chemically Treated
Perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are a family of man-made chemicals? They are used
as a surface coating for paper and cardboard they make them water and grease resistant and so suitable for packaging processed foods.
They do not break down easily and can last in the enironment for years.
They have been found in both soil and water.
When they enter the food chain they are retained in animal tissue leading to a process called biomagnification, meaning that they are passed on up the foodchain from animal to animal and because they are stored in the body for years the amount increases exponentially as they travel up the food chain.

You can read more about them here

Greaseproof Paper For Cooking

This type can be used for both cooking and packaging. But is usually used for cooking. It is also called parchment paper.

Silicone Coated
To give parchment paper a really non stick quality some companies are coating it with silicone. Silicone is a kind of synthetic rubber. You can read more about that here .
Sierra say of its silicone coated paper “The baking paper’s silicone coating prevents food products from sticking to the paper or cooking pan. Silicone is an ideal release agent due to its pliability, natural lack of toxins, high insulationability, and heat resistant capability.”

Quilon Coating
This is (I think) a Teflon product also used to give parchment papers a non stick quality. I know very little about it other than that some are claiming it is toxic. I am currently researching it. All input welcomed.

Uncoated Papers

Are they even available? If You Care claimed to provide genuine greaseproof paper products. But while the paper may be green and unbleached, the non stick quality comes from a coating of silicone. They claim their paper is compostable but silicone certainly isn’t biodegradable.
“Experts from the University of Maryland Extension Home and Garden Information Center said, “We would not recommend composting the parchment paper,” but acknowledged that they could not cite specific studies on the topic”

https://livegreen.recyclebank.com/because-you-asked-can-i-recycle-parchment-paper

never used to talk about the silicone coating on their greaseproof paper which makes me wonder was it always there or is it new? And if it is new, is it to replace the toxic Quilon coating (that I never knew about either). If the former, are all parchment papers coated with something and we just never realised?

Buy….More to think about

Reasearch is ongoing and any input is greatly welcomed.
Beyond Gourmet and Regency wraps have been mentioned as being only parchment paper but have not as yet answered my emails. Neither have If You Care.

So far I have been unable to find a verified, uncoated paper for cooking so I won’t use any.

I buy butter that comes wrapped in paper which I just have to hope is genuine parchment paper. I have my doubts but it is the best I can do.

N.B.

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

How To make Tea, Tea pots, & strainers

4 March 2015 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink, 3.2 How To...plastic-free Tagged 3.1.3 drinks, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 3.2.3 Buy On Line, 5 Content Veiw 5 Comments

These days most of us automatically reach for the teabags but is that really the best choice? Certainly not from a plastic free zero waste point of veiw.

Nasty Bags

Whats in your tea bag? Paper and tea you wish but actually no. Most do in fact contain plastic and so are only between 70-80% biodegradable. And chlorine bleached. Read more HERE.
There are plastic / chlorine free bags out there but they are very expensive and often come packed in plastic read about them here.

How To Use Loose Tea

In short, loose tea is a better option. But it may seem daunting. It’s not. Here is a guide on how to make the perfect cuppa.

Buy

First you will need to source some loose tea. Not as hard ad you think thanks to PG Tips. Find out more HERE

Pots, Strainers & Balls to you Mrs!

Next you will need a teapot and, unless you fancy taking up fortune telling, something to stop the leaves getting in your cup. You can get great teapots from charity shops. I favor the stainless steel 70s version, good for traveling in the van with. You can get all metal tea strainers if you look. Try the market, Ebay or Amazon. I am not a big fan of tea strainers. They dribble and you need a saucer to put them on. And you have the icky job of removing the tea leaves from the pot afterwards, a soggy business at the best of times. No, I like these mesh balls. You put the tea in them then put them in the pot. At the end you empty them in the compost bin without worrying about nasty plastic mesh. Easy as! You can even get some teapots that have integrated diffusers built in.

Just One Cup?

If you are brewing up for the WI, a teapot is fine but what when you want a quick cuppa for one?
You can get cotton bags that you can fill to make your own reusable teabags but really who can be bothered with that kind of faff.

I have found that a steel mesh single cup infuser works perfectly. It sits on your mug, you fill it with loose tea, let the brew, brew then remove. Really no effort at all and very easy to empty into the compost bin after. Mine was given as a gift but I have found something similar on Amazon

Brewing Up

So now we are good to go. Put the leaves in the pot (or the mesh ball first) add boiling water and let it brew.

and again…

Don’t be so quick to empty the pot. You ca muse those leaves again to make a fresh pot. Even keep them in the fridge and reuse the next day.

When the tea gets a bit weak you can ad a pinch more.

Honestly. I learnt this from the Chinese tea shop where they sell 50 year old tea for a hundreds of dollars a gram. Yes apparently tea, like wine, does improve with age. Who knew?

Milk?

If you take milk, you will need to get yourself a milk man who delivers milk in glass bottles and possibly a milk jug!

Find other sneaky plastics here….

Buy Teapots & Strainers

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.

If you can’t buy local, please do check the links in the posts. They link 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…

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 these links are for 3rd party sellers, we have always found the Amazon service to be good and their packaging usually compostable. In the absence of anything else we feel we can recommend them.

Kitchen Craft Stainless Steel Double Handled Tea Strainer- boxed

Tea Ball Infuser 2" 18/8 Stainless Steel.

VonShef Satin Polish Stainless Steel Tea Pot with Infuser. Available in sizes Small, Medium & Large

Designer White Ceramic Tumbler Brewing System

.

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

SaveSaveSaveSave

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

Join our Facebook group here

PTFE Non stick plastic

28 June 2013 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 1.3 Plastic Types - Fact Sheets Tagged 1.2 Chemicals, 1.6 Definitions, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 5 Content Veiw 11 Comments

When I was young and innocent, I knew nothing of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Well, it’s not the kind of thing a nicely brought up girl should have to deal with.

Instead, I went out met a man, got married and got given some very nice, very expensive wedding pans. Lovely non-stick pans.

Which brings us right back to polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) .

This is what the non-stick coating on pans is made from.
Teflon is perhaps the best known manufacturer of polytetrafluoroethylene (non-stick) linings.
Polytetrafluoroethylene is a plastic and, like other plastics, has a down right nasty side.

Over to wise geek…..
The nonstick coating used in DuPont’s Teflon® pans has been found to release one or more of 15 different toxic gases when heated to certain temperatures, but is generally safe when used according to manufacturers’ specifications. Which chemicals are released depends on the temperature of the pan. This outgassing can be fatal to pet birds and can cause “polymer fume flu,” also known as “Teflon® flu,” in humans.

read the rest here

Teflon say if you use the pans properly(?), there shouldn’t be a problem. Try telling that to the budgie.

Whatever, the pans are too good to throw out, and I feel bad about giving them away, so I am still using them – but in future I will not be buying any more non-stick.

New Non Stick Pans

No PTFE non stick frying pan

More info

You can find out about the other sorts of plastic here

How to wash the pots plastic free…..

17 June 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 Special days & Parties, 3.2 How To...plastic-free Tagged 3.2.2 Kitchen, 5 Content Veiw 5 Comments

By Hand…Sigh

Washing up liquid and I use Ecover in a refillable plastic bottle. I know the bottle is plastic but kitchen? glass? This is a case for reusable plastic if ever there was one and I have been using mine for YEARS now.If you wanted to be a purist you could use a metal bottle I guess. Check out where you can find a refill service here .

Cotton dishcloth. You can usually find the old style cotton knitted dishcloth in local shops and hardware stores such as Wilkinsons. Or you can knit your own. If you cant knit you can buy hand knitted from Etsy and lie.

Bristle brushes are useful for scrubbing away burnt on gunk. They can bought on-line here or from the delightful kitchen ware shops at Saltaire Mill.

You can find a range of scouring pads here from the butch knitted metal to the soft and natural luffa.

Washing up gloves. – biodegradable Fairtrade rubber gloves – guaranteed to compost down.

Cotton tea towel.

Now all you need is someone to actually wash the dishes. Come on Grandma….

Dishwasher

Or you can get an dishwasher and use this plastic free dish wash powder from Sainsburys and other supermarkets.. Goodbye Grandma…

How to drink plastic free

27 January 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.2 How To...plastic-free Tagged 3.2.2 Kitchen 5 Comments

Paper Cup?

Nooooo plastic lined! Consider bringing your own. Here are some funky options.

Plastic Pints

Grim! Try a steel tumbler.

Straws Arghhh….

If you are out and about please, please refuse the plastic straw. Watch a turtle having a straw removed from his nose here if you want to know why.

If you must drink through a straw consider bringing your own reusable. Here are some options…

Reusables reusable stainless steel , glass or bamboo straws

Disposable Compostables If you need a disposable straw at least make it cornstarch compostable disposable straw.

Plastic free booze

Plastic free booze is hard to find….glup!!!!. But we have managed to source some for you here…

Cocktail Shaker

You don’t need one – just more rubbish in the kitchen cupboard. Mix them in a jug! Stirred James, stirred!

Ice and Cocktail Sticks

You can read about reusable and compostable straws here.

For the rest,this Amazon shopping list may inspire you.


Andrew James Double Walled Insulated Stainl…	Premier Housewares Sphere Ice Bucket – Stai…	Stainless Steel Ice Cube Tray – BPA Free £40.00

FIREFLY® Eco Straws – Stainless Steel D… £9.99	Stainless Steel Martini Picks – Pack of 6 \|… £9.99	Sustainable Bamboo Drinking Straws – 12 Pack £14.95

Cups BYO

12 November 2011 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables Tagged 3.1 Backpack, 3.1 general, 3.1.2 reusables, 3.2.2 Kitchen, 4 plastic2cut plastic, 5 Content Veiw 2 Comments

Any one lucky enough to see the photos of Vladimir Putin bare-chested in camo will have some idea just how butch the Russians can be. A fact reinforced by the number of camping shops in Moscow selling rugged man’s stuff. And they don’t get much more rugged than this tin cup, double wall construction and complete with sturdy clip to attach it to your rucksack. So I got one.

I take a reusable cup travelling with me because I am highly dependant on take out. I don’t want to use plastic cups and so-called paper cups are plastic lined so I take my own cup and use that instead.

I have to say, as reusable cups go, this one is as good as Vlad on horseback – and you can’t get better than that!

But reusable cups are not just for travellers.

A report conducted jointly by the Alliance for Environmental Innovation and Starbucks found that 1.9 billion cups were used by Starbucks in 2000.[5] In 2006, Starbucks reported that this figure had grown to 2.3 billion cups for use at their stores.[6]

And just recently the Guardian reported that “A conservative estimate puts the number of paper cups handed out by coffee shops in the UK at 3bn, more than 8m a day with only one in 400 is being recycled.

Good enough reasons to take your own reusable cup to the coffee shop.

Buy

I don’t know if you can buy such a good cup in the effeminate, decadent West but you will find something in outdoor shops that might do. Most do a good range of camping cups.

More Options

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.

Some of the products featured may come plastic packed or even be made of plastic. They are included because if a product reduces the consumption of plastic disposables or packaging waste then, we feel, there is a strong justification for using it. You read more about using plastic to cut plastic here.

Reusable silicon cups with lid

They wont break in your bag and will save the planet – result. You can buy them from Onya – the people who do the mesh produce bags.

Heres some blurb from them

Did you know you can take your own reusable coffee cup to most coffee shops? They will fill it instead of the usual disposable one and some of them even offer you a discount! red_lge

Features:

• Foodgrade silicone cup/lid

• Eco friendly and reusable

• Dishwasher safe

• Withstands up to 200ºC heat

• Cool to the touch

• byocup and lids are not available separately.

The byocup silicone story

We are conscious of the fact that manufacturing reusable cups also has an environmental impact, so we have put a process in place to recycle the cup responsibly.

At the end of its life as a byocup, please return it to us and we will forward it to a silicone recycler in India who will turn it into charity bracelets or key rings.

Ceramic Cup

If you don’t like the sound of that or prefer something ceramic try the I am not a paper cup – a pottery cup with reusable silicon lid.

I know it looks like a polystyrene version but thats the joke. It’s also double wall construction so it will keep your drink hot and your hands cool. Shame about the plastic packaging! You can buy them here.

Catalogue

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…


Yellowstone 300Ml Stainless Steel Mug £3.24	Creative Tops Katie Alice Cottage Flower Do… £9.05	Glass Mason Jars

Aladdin 31843 Double-Walled Drinking Cup wi… £16.88	Helikon Swedish Army Folding Cup Camping Hi… £3.95	Primeshop-30ml Stainless Steel Tumblers Gla…

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.

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.

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

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.

By 2017….

Compostable Plastics

Composting Plastic At Home

More Drink

N.B.

And before you go…

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Amazon Catalogue

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Cheaper Kettles

Amazon Catalogue

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Non Stick

Cast Iron Pans

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Packaging

Greaseproof Paper For Cooking

Uncoated Papers

Buy….More to think about

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Nasty Bags

How To Use Loose Tea

Buy

Pots, Strainers & Balls to you Mrs!

Just One Cup?

Brewing Up

Milk?

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Buy Teapots & Strainers

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New Non Stick Pans

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By Hand…Sigh

Dishwasher

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Buy

Ceramic Cup

Catalogue

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Baking Tray

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Composting

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