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.

Cutlery – travel

7 July 2011 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1 Backpack, 3.1 general, 3.1.2 reusables, 5 Content Veiw

The buffet cars on Polish trains are so cute. They are relatively modern but have an old-fashioned feel. Perhaps it’s that they have tables, serve proper meals and the order is taken by uniformed staff. Even the food, while not being actually good, is acceptable. Proper cooked dinners of the meat and two veg variety. Yes it’s more canteen food than fine dining, but as most fast food in Britain doesn’t even meet that low standard we were satisfied.

We were not so pleased with the table ware -. Plastic cutlery arghh. Luckily we had planned for just such a contingency and brought our own knife fork and spoon. Of the folding variety. Not just for trains, if you want to backpack plastic free through Europe these are essential for the street fairs selling yummy food.These folding forks have enabled us to enjoy shovel up fried potatoes and spear a sausages guilt free..

You will also need your own tiffin tins to put the food in.

Ours Are all metal and come in a polyester carry case but with no extra packaging. we bought them from Blacks in Leeds.

Folding chopsticks are also very handy.

And here’s the rest of our plastic free travel kit


	Lifeventure Knife, Fork, Spoon Folding Cutl…	Travel Stainless Steel Foldable Pocket Chop…

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

Menstrual Pads – sanitary towels

6 January 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Personal Tagged 3.1.2 reusables, 3.2.4 make, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

There is no doubt that sanitory towels are plastic heavy. Yes you knew they came packed in plastic but did you know they were made of plastic? About 90% of the materials used to make sanitary pads and liners are plastic and include polyethylene, polypropylene and polyacrylate super absorbents. You can read more here

On the other hand reusable, washable sanitary towels might sound icky. Wait! For a great write up (actually a series of great write-ups) on a range of towels read Lucy Stableford-Grieve over at the the wonderful Pie Patch blog. The info is under Muff Fluff – love it.

Now as she helpfully pointed out (and I completely forgot to mention), “not all cloth pads are plastic free. You’d have to go for all natural fabrics.

A crucial part in the construction of cloth pads is a moisture resistant backing material to avoid bleeding straight through it. The vast majority of cloth pads use synthetic fleece or waterproof PUL for this. There are a few makers who offer wool interlock as a backing option (Mama Kloth or Honour Your Flow are two, I believe).

Then there are the top & core fabrics. Plush/minky is a popular top fabric because of its wicking properties but it is entirely synthetic. I have cotton, cotton jersey, bamboo velour, & cotton velour in my stash. You’d have to go for organic cotton to be sure of avoiding plastic entirely.

BUT overall I am happy to compromise on this because eliminating disposables in itself makes such a huge difference to my household waste. And cloth pads can last many, many years before they come to the end of their life. But if you want to be truly plastic-free it’s worth considering.”

Buy

I have never used these pads (being more than happy with my Mooncup), so cannot give a personal recommendations. Though I know people who rave about them. Sadly no one who can be bothered writing me a guest post. And yes I will try guilt tripping. In the mean time if anyone else out there feels fancy guest posting?

I can send you back to Piepatch and Lucy Stableford-Grieve who seems to have spent her life in the saddle and reiewed almost every pad available! You may want to read her reviews before committing to buy.

Here is and example of a ready made pad made in England with a review by Eco Fluffy Mama

Crimson Moon Reusable Menstrual Pads

Make

Or the ubergreen who are handy with the needle canmake their own. You can find a pattern for home made sanitary towels with lots of useful info here and there are lots more on Pinterest

You can find more plastic free sanitary products here including the internal menstrual cup and some plastic free tampons.

Menstrual internal protection reusable

3 January 2010 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 Personal Tagged 00 working, 3.1 Backpack, 3.1.2 reusables, 5 Content Veiw 3 Comments

Products to deal with menstruation are plastic heavy ( see some stats). They are made from plastic, come wrapped in plastic, block drains and dirty the sea shore. You really don’t want that kind of rubbish inside you, your bin or your environment. The way to cut your trash is to get a menstrual cup.

Menstrual Cup

This is little cup that you use internally. It collects the flow and is then emptied washed and reused. Before you squeal and scream read this series of posts by one of the best environemental writers around.

Really, try them, they are easy peasy and the slight inconvenience is more than compensated for by the increased comfort factor. They are far more pleasant then other internal protection.

Some of the many advantages include

Never run out of protection
No need to take your bag to the loo with you
Great for travelling in wild and rugged places
No need to put of dirty, plastic sanitary items in the bin next to the loo.
Much more comfortable
Saves you loads of money
Don’t see your pantyliner out on the beach

Choose

I like Moon cups – made from silicone check out the site for more info. You can buy Mooncups in shops including

Boot’s. If you want to get them on line try Ethical Superstore or Amazon

Rubber

Natural rubber cups are available from Australia.They are called, rather dungeons and dragon like, The Keeper. It’s the same principle as the Mooncup but made of natural rubber rather than silicone. They will ship, see their website

Other Options

For those of you who cant face the thought of fiddling around, there are lots of alternatives here

Carrier Bags reusable

20 May 2008 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged 3.1 Backpack, 3.1.2 reusables, 3.1.4 bags & packaging, 3.2.4 make, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

Cotton string bags are fantastic. These are my best bags and I use them most of the time. They have many virtues including:

When empty, they fold up really small, but they can carry a ludicrous amount of shopping.

Their soft handles do not cut into my fingers.

They are fully biodegradable.

They are organic & fair-trade

Long lasting

I bought mine from Organic Ally”

She sells bags with either long or short handles.
The short handles are great for supermarket runs, the long handled bags can be hung off your shoulder for more leisurely shopping – I don’t like them as much as the short.

Bought in bulk i.e. numbers of 5 they are cheap – from around £4.00 a bag inc vat and shipping. You can mix and match bulk orders so you have a combination of short and long handled bags.

Make Your Own?
Or you could be uber-green and knit your own string bag – lovely bare foot person has posted a pattern for cotton yarn and a knitting machine.

Fold Up Bags
The only downside to string bags is that they are full of holes which means that they are see through and they do not fold up up as small as the opaque nylon fold up bags

I like Onya bags …..BUT they are made from a synthetic fibre RPET
WHAT IS RPET?
Post consumer bottles are collected from recycling plants and spun into yarn. From this yarn comes the fabric that makes Onya Bags.
So, you might think, plastic bad…. but recycling good. Confusing
Well yes – but I have bought them anyway. In fact I have other nylon fold up bags that are not made from bottles. They are very convenient if not quite as ideologically pure as the string bag!

Why do I use them?
Well man-made fabric is not only slightly more waterproof and opaque, it folds up really small. When packed up, these bags are the size of a golf ball, much lighter and come with a clip so they can be attached to your handbag or husband.
I haven’t found a natural fibre bag that is as good at folding, weighs so little or dries as quickly.
They can be carried round at all the times making them an ideal just- in -case bag for impulse purchases.
Moreover because they dry so fast they don’t get mouldy. This makes them perfect for taking on holidays and backpacking trips where laundry facilities are not of the best and space is limited.
Onyabags (UK)

Onyabags also do, amongst other things, a messenger bag, a really handy fold up rucksack and mesh produce bags.

If you live in the USA, Chico bags do a similar thing.

Find more bags and packaging HERE

Produce Bags

5 January 2008 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables Tagged 3.1 Backpack, 3.1.2 reusables, 3.1.4 bags & packaging, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

Produce bags are reusable bags that (as the name suggests), you put your loose produce in. It means you don’t have to use those nasty flimsy plastic bags they dish out in shops.
I have been using mine for years now – in supermarkets and local shops, for everythingthing from green beans to bread. (you can check out a range of loose food here).
I cannot say how many flimsy plastic produce bags I have saved from landfill but it has to be thousands. From that point alone I am extremely pleased with them.

There are two kinds of bag available on the market – cotton and polyester mesh.
I prefer the cotton as they are biodegradable, last much longer and can be repaired. But the mesh bags have the advantage of being see through, are lighter.

Bag Weight
The weight of the bag will make a difference at checkout in the price per weight. Some shops subtract the tare weight but other don’t. The tare weight is the weight of the empty container.

Cotton Bags

U.K

At last a U.K made produce bag. Thanks to DoYourBit who make the bags right here in the U.k. using material sourced from a fair traded fabric company.
Read more about them here.
Buy from here.

America
My first produce bags were from eco bags. This American company supply unbleached cotton bags made in India using fair wage fair trade.
Available in Large (43cm D x 33cmW) or Medium (25cm D x 20cm W)
I have also bought cotton bags from Reusable Bags made from fair trade, organic, cotton using fair wage labour; the company is reliable and the bags are reasonably priced.
Import Duties
Be aware import duty, customs charges and handling fees are payable on all goods purchased from America – last month I was summoned to the post office to pay £16.00 charges on a parcel worth £45.00. Do bear it in mind.

Spain
Cofo A Spain based company do a lovely range of organic cotton bags. they come in the following sizes. they are much thicker than the American bags and some have metal closures
you can read more about the bags and the company here.

Polyester Mesh Bags ( available in the UK)

Onya
Onya Bags www.onyabags.co.uk a UK based company. They sell a nylon mesh produce drawstring under the name Onya Weigh. They are the lightest produce bag ever and scrunch up really small. They are sold in packs of 5 complete with their own nifty little carry bag. The whole package is the size of a peach and has a clip so you can attach it to your child, husband or bag strap. At nine pounds for 5 they are a bargain.

Flip & Tumble

More recently I came across these flip & tumble Reusable Produce Bags- 5-Pack. I have not tried them myself having more than enough produce bags but they have a good review on Amazon. Rather more expensive at 13.13 pounds for 5.

Find other plastic free packaging here.

Loose Food A to Z

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

plasticisrubbish

Tag Archives: 3.1.2 reusables