Menstrual Pants

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 Personal, 3.1.7 wear Tagged 6 Comments

Menstrual pants are knickers you wear during your period. They come with inbuilt protection. Some can be worn instead of a pad or tampon. All provide additional security against leaks.

Already popular in Asian countries they can now be bought in the US. You can read some reviews here.
But as far as I know there is no UK based provider. Until now.

Hi, my name is ruby, co-founder of WUKA Wear.
In the last 50 years there has been little innovation in menstrual products and we have been stuck with the same which contain huge about if plastic and silica gels that gets end up in landfill of down to our rivers and seas.
Every-year, in the UK 200,000 tonnes of pads and tampons ends up in landfill and 2 Billion sanitary items are flushed down the toilet leading to polluted rivers and seas. This is also major reason of death of millions of birds and sea creature.

A person can use up to 16,000 tampons or pads in a lifetime. We are reusable, one set of 3 underwear replaces two years worth of disposables. We are the only reusable period underwear which completely replaces disposable tampons and pads, helping us to be kinder to the planet for us and future generations. We are made up of eco-fabric called Tencel made from sustainable Eucalyptus tree.

We are reusable and allow free-flowing, the benefits of which are huge and eliminates any potential health risks.
We are designed and manufactured in Nepal so our product is made to the highest standards and supports small communities through sustainable employment.

WUKA wear is being created so anyone menstruating can have an ultra-luxurious, hygienic, comfortable and an eco-friendly period - because we care about our bodies and the planet.

we are currently not at the market but coming soon via Kickstarter.
If you like what we do and looking for alternative menstrual product that is good for you and your planet, then please get in touch with us @ www.wuka.co.uk
Follow us Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @wukawear

More

Find out about plasticfree and reusable menstrual products here

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U.K. water bottle refill schemes

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.5 Plastic Free People, Projects & Campaigns, 3.7 Other Solutions Tagged , , , 2 Comments

Bristol Water Refill

"Refill Bristol is a practical campaign to make Bristol a city in which refilling your water bottle becomes a cultural ...
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Selfridges Water Refill

Selfridges are setting out to tackle plastic pollution in the ocean by "removing all single-use plastic water bottles from our ...
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Give Me Tap - water bottle, water refill & water aid

We are a social enterprise committed to improving water accessibility in the UK, Africa and the World through our reusable ...
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Bath, Love Tap Water Refill Scheme

A new water refill scheme based in Bath. The following has been taken from their website... Two local women want to ...
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Water Abroad

We sterilize our own water using a Steripen …. but when a bottle refill service is offered we will use that instead. Find refill places here…

Of course water in many countries the water is actually safe to drink - you can find out where here.

And here are a list of places you can refill your bottle abroad

Water Bottles

Check out which water bottle here

Water Bottle Bans

Links to interesting projects that are tackling the problems of bottled water

Inhalers Homemade / Recycling

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 Personal Tagged , , , , 2 Comments

Now I would never suggest you don’t take your plastic packed medication. If you need it you take it. But this recycling scheme might be of interest to those who have use inhalers.

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.

There is some scope for home remedies to deal with blocked up noses and the like. strong smelling essentials oils are useful. And it seems you can buy refillable inhalers which makes the whole process a little easier.

You soak the cotton wick in essential oils of your choice, put in the inhaler and sniff away.

If you live in the States you can buy these rather nice ones in glass and aluminium from Amazon.com 3.5 inches x .75 inches, outer shell is aluminum.

If you live in the U.K. try these from Ebay.

Oils

To clear stuffed noses try Eucalyptus oil

Eucaplyptus Oil

More

Find more #plasticfree personal care products here.

And more refill services 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

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

post

Take your own …. tray???

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.2 Outside the U.K. Tagged 2 Comments

A tin cup and folding chop sticks for sure … but taking your own tray? Backpacking?

In China they have some really great food stalls that set up on the streets late at night. They serve beer and a whole range of kebabs. Ahh the joy of sitting down, relaxing after a hard day of jostling, knocking back a cold one and munching on a grilled body part…..but wait! There’s a problem. They serve you your food on a metal tray…. good, covered with a plastic bag…WYF! Which they then discard! No washing up, lots of litter. Yes I thought China had banned plastic bags too but it would seem not.So we got our own metal tray. We eat our food off that and at the end of the night we take it home and wash it. You don’t get rid of us so easy….

This post is my contribution to Zero Waste Week (‪#ZerowasteWeek) the brainchild of Rae Straus (also featured in our P-f U.K. directory). Each day, for 7 days, we will feature a tip to help you eat, drink and – ermmm - excrete in the most sustainable and rubbish free- way, backpacking kind of way. Each post will appear up on our advent calender of trash free tips. See them there.

Refill/Bulk/Zerowaste Stores

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 Food & Drink, 3.2 Shops & Businesses Tagged , , 79 Comments

Bulk buy or refill stores are places you can buy all kinds of food like rice, suet, even soup mix - loose and unpackaged.
You take as much as you want/need from a larger container, weigh and pay.
You can usually use your own packaging.
The advantages for the #plasticfree shopper hardly need stating!
These are common in America and Australia, far less so in the U.K. But we do have some.
I have put together a list of stores that sell loose products, listed alphabetically by the location / place name.
If you know of others please add them, with as many details as possible, in the comments box below and I will incorperperate them.

Packaging

While these shops provide bags and they are almost always plastic ones. You will need to take your own plastic-free /reusable bags, tubs and bottles.

Tare

The weight of the container may make a difference at checkout. Some shops subtract the tare weight but other don’t. The tare weight is the weight of the empty container.

Latest finds

In the meantime we got a growing number of plastic free shops in the U.K. Here are our latest finds.

Heard of one in Chapel Allerton. will be checking that out later.

The rest are organised in alphabetical order, click on the links below.
A
Aberdeen
Aberdeen has a foodstory shop(/vegan café) which offers a wide variety of unpackaged food and other household items
Aberystwith
B
Barmouth
Barnsley
Bath
“Bath store – NewLeaf HealthFoods, 29 Shaftesbury Road, Bath, BA2 3LJ
Happy to preweigh your container with what you are going to fill it with. Bulk bins of nuts, flour, sugar, grains, dried fruit and more. Loose herbs and spices. Ecover refills.”

Berkhamsted Herts
Clean Earth Pantry in Berkhamsted Herts. Monthly market stall with whole foods, household liquid refills and reusable items x

Bath - more stores here.
Brighton
Bridlington
Brixam
Bristol

Burley in Wharfedale “Waste Not The Grange, Station Road, Burley in Wharfedale, LS29 7ND, UK
do shampoo refills as well as lots of other stuff. more details here”

Buxton 18.1 Day Zero in Buxton. A great little family run refill shop. Very friendly and helpful in giving advice on how to make changes. Also responds to the customer to try and source plastic free products should there be a request for it.

C

Camarthen
“There’s the ‘green scoop’ in Camarthen

Home


9 Hall Street, Carmarthen, SA31 1PH”

Cardiff
Cardiff- Ripple in Roath. Zero waste shop

Chichester
Chichester has Refilled Chichester at Drapers Yard, The Hornets. Drapers Yard also has other plastic free friendly shops including Zest for Taste which does oil and vinegar refills and Bear Boy Fresh with local organic veg and a milk refill station .

Cleethorpes
Spill the Beans St Peter’s Avenue #cleethorpes now have paper bags out as an alternative to plastic. If you’ve not been here PLEASE check if out! Loads of fab whole foods plus cereals Baking stuff and more #cleethorpes #discovernel #totallylocallyne

D

Dundee
Little Green Larder opened in Dundee today

E

East Wittering
Nearby in East Wittering health shop Mind Body Medicalhas a refill section

Edinburgh
Emsworth

G
Glasgow Locavore
Glossop

H
Horsham
Huddersfield
Hull
Hythe

I, J K
Kingsmouth
Kingsmouth Devon Free local delivery – spend £7.50 and we will deliver free – within a 7-mile radius of Kingsbridge. Great for bulk buys. Good review here.
Kingston

L
Liverpool
Lincoln

Leeds read a review here.

Leicester
https://zerowasteleicester.co.uk/ for Leicester

Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
“Leigh-on-Sea, Essex has The Refill Room which has been running for 6 months. All the bottles, jars etc are glass in case you forget to bring your own ( or don’t bring enough !). All the usual dry goods plus housecleaning and toiletries are available. They also have a website – link below:
The Refill Room
15 Elm Road
Leigh-on-Sea
Essex
SS9 1SW
https://www.refillroom.com/
”

London read a reveiw here

Please add Naked Larder in Herne Hill, South London SE24 9QP to your list. http://www.nakedlarder.co.uk
Many thanks, Phil

I have just discovered this shop has recently opened….
Get Loose @ Hackney City Farm – 100% Organic Pastas, Grains, Pulses, Cereals, Milk and alternative Mylks (in refillable/returnable glass bottles), Nuts, Cheeses (in compostable wrapping), Chocolates, Dried Fruits and lots more.
The shop is a social enterprise and growing its produce selection week on week.
Hackney City farm (just inside the gates on the right), 1a Goldsmiths Row, E2 8QA
Open; Wed 17:30 – 20:00, Thurs 16:30 – 19:30, Fri 10:00 – 18:00, Sat & Sun 10:00 – 16:30
On Twitter @GetLooseFoods

Leeds read a review here.

M
Manchester

N
Northampton Market
Newcastle Emlyn


O
Oxford

P
Penzance
Plymouth
Peterborough

Q

R

Ramsbottom

S
Sheffield
Southhampton (possibly)
Swansea (possibly)

T
Thatcham
Can you please add Thatcham Refillable to the list. We are in Thatcham near Newbury in Berkshire.
http://www.thatchamrefillable.co.uk
We sell refill household cleaning & personal care products daily and we hold a monthly market where we have stall holders selling dried food and other eco products from our shop.

Tiverton
Todmorden
Totnes

W
Plastic Free Places that start with the letter W can be found here
Including
Watford
Wimborne
Winscombe
Worcester

XYZ
York

A to Z

Frozen Food Loose
Pain Au Chocolat - home bake Pain Au Raisen - Home Bake Yorkshire Puds Fruits of the forest and other soft fruits Roast veg - peppers to potatoes Uncooked Vegetables ...
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Lidles
Lidles is a chain of budget supermarkets. It offers some plastic free surprises. (Click the links to see a review and other options). Take your own bags Lidl Stiftung & ...
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Oil Vegetable Cooking Refill
Vegetable oil is difficult to source plastic free. Buy in glass and the metal caps will have a little plasticized disc or plastic liner on inside and maybe a plastic seal ...
Read More
Q&R
Ramsbottom Fulfilled: Plastic free shop @FulfilledShop Ramsbottom plastic free/zero waste food & household shop. now open! North West, England The rest... Heres a new online article listing plastic free shops Heres ...
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The Range - a chain of home & garden shops
Loose pet food, home wares and some loose sweets. Being committed to local shopping, I prefer to buy that way whenever possible. I would encourage you to do the same ...
Read More
U.K. All over Weigh and Save Shops
Long time ago when I was young we used to visit the Weigh & Save shop in the precinct down the road. In it were a number of big bins ...
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U.K. Wide

Scoop & Save, Weigh & Save ….and lots more related names
The nearest the U.K. has to bulk food buying. As far as I can tell, these shops run as individual unit. They go under a variety of names - Weigh & Save, Scoop & Save, etc. They are extremely idiosyncratic and vary greatly in presentation and range. Some go the whole hog with corporate green and yellow displays with a range of stuff to choose from, others a are little more than a few dusty bins at the back of the shop. You can read more here including a list of shops that have closed.

Whole Food Market – if we have to have supermarkets let them be like this. They have loose food aisle and you can take your own containers which they will tare for you. They don’t have many branches in the U.K. yet but if there is one near you your problems are solved. Reviews here.

Other Supermarkets & Chainstores
Sometimes supermarkets can surprise you - check out the plastic-free and reduced packaging products here.

Remember
While these shops provide bags and they are almost always plastic ones. You will need to take your own.

Find A Milk Delivery Service With Glass Bottles

Here

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
HERE

Tea & Coffee Merchants

We are putting together a list of loose tea merchants. You will need to take your own bags

Leeds The Teapot has coffee beans and leaf tea from all round the world. Really lovely stall in the food hall. Also makes coffee to drink. See what else the market has to offer, here.

Nottingham Coffe roasters. Will also post out plastic free and you can order on line

Aberystwyth great tea and coffee shop

Huddersfield
Coffee Evolution fantastic

Lancaster
Lancaster tea merchants http://www.thecoffeehopper.com/
Leaminster Nitty Gritty Wholefoods do loose spices and tea.

TodmordenLoose tea can also be found on Todmorden Market.

WHole Food Market have branches in London, Cheltenham and Glasgow Tea & Coffee beans and are happy for you to use your own bag. http://plasticisrubbish.com/2014/07/21/whole-foods-market-revisited/

Ask A Local

A great source of info is the Plastic Is Rubbish FB support group. We have people everywhere who,are ready to help. Join up join in.

Help Me

Please add any shops you know of in the comments below and I will incorporate them into the post.
Links to reviews particularly welcome.
Dont have a blog? Love guest posts…

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

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

How to Refill

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.2 How To...plastic-free Tagged 7 Comments

Imagine a world where you returned your empty milk bottles to be refilled and took your washing up liquid bottle back for more of the soapy stuff. Seems such an obvious way to save resources and cut waste doesn’t it? Well thankfully a few far seeing people still offer such great services. You can find them here.

Any we forgot? Please let us know in the comments section below. Together we can make changes!

U.K. water bottle refill schemes

Water Abroad We sterilize our own water using a Steripen …. but when a bottle refill service is offered we will use ...
Read More

Inhalers Homemade / Recycling

Now I would never suggest you don't take your plastic packed medication. If you need it you take it. But ...
Read More

Refill/Bulk/Zerowaste Stores

Bulk buy or refill stores are places you can buy all kinds of food like rice, suet, even soup mix ...
Read More

Cleaning products - refill system

Planet Earth offers a range of household cleaning products with a unique refill and reuse system. It works and has ...
Read More

Cleaning Liquid Refills

ECOVER do all of these products and you can get your plastic bottle refilled. To find where Ecover have a refill ...
Read More

Wine

I do have a social life. I occasionally get to go out to dinner and wine is the present of ...
Read More

Milk Refill Vending Machine

Recently our van trip has been milk free. Seems they don't do milk in bottles in France. But if you ...
Read More

Oil Vegetable Cooking Refill

Vegetable oil is difficult to source plastic free. Buy in glass and the metal caps will have a little plasticized disc ...
Read More

Beer

Of course you can get beer in bottles but those metal caps have a plastic liner or small disc to ...
Read More

Milk & Milkmen

British consumers got through nine billion pints of milk last year. 90% of that milk was bought in a plastic container ...
Read More

Water Refills World Wide

Find out first Of course water in many countries the water is actually safe to drink - you can find ...
Read More

Washing Up Liquid Soap

Soap Flakes I did try to use soap flakes to wash up. I did not find it pleasant. Yes it ...
Read More

Pen Ink refillable

Here is a one of the worlds finest inventions as radical in its time as the computer has been in ...
Read More

Reusables

I don’t think theres enough said about reusing stuff. By which I don’t mean recycling - recycling is great but it usually means the waste product is taken away then processed into something else.
We really don’t need a new bag every time we buy some beans. A cotton reusable bag is more than good enough. Yet we have become such a throwaway society we have almost forgotten about reusables.
Here are some products that dont need to be thrown away after a few uses.

Disposables

Sometime you need a disposable and when you do it has to be compostable. Here are biodegradable bags for the butcher, paper cups for the office party and plastic free tampons. To name but a few. Find them here

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Cleaning products - refill system

by Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 House, Office & Garden, 3.6 Businesses & social enterprises Tagged , , , 2 Comments

Planet Earth offers a range of household cleaning products with a unique refill and reuse system.

It works and has been scientifically tested to be as good as the leading brand.

It’s an eco winner: To make a bottle of eco2life cleaner, fill a spray bottle about half full of ordinary tap water, simply add one ‘small wonder’ refill to the spray bottle and top up with cold tap water. Replace the trigger, give it a quick shake - you’re all set to go.

There is no lugging of ‘water’ back and forth, requiring less production, less energy, less packaging

Our spray trigger is designed for a long life and our spray bottles are reusable.

Vegetarian Society Approved.

It’s made in the UK and of course it’s made from naturally derived readily biodegradable aquatic safe ingredients with fully recyclable packaging.

Planet Earth eco2life ‘The brilliantly simple refill system’!

Please note

This post was written by the contributor. It is not a Plastic Is Rubbish review, does not represent my personal opinions and I may not have used this product or service. Instead it is a PfU.K. Directory submission.

The Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

In 2014 I hope to feature 12 UK-based initiatives featuring refuseniks, trash slashers, businesses and the rest.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their work not mine. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

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Christmas Crackers Reusable

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 General & Homemade Tagged , , 1 Comment

As they sound - a cracker that can be used over and over again. Probably not completely plastic free, (those ribbons look synthetic), but a great way of reducing your trash.

These are made by a UK company Keep This Cracker. The following was taken from their website.
What makes our Gift Box Crackers so unique?
Slide open the box and it goes Bang! just like a cracker. Fill with your own gifts and personalise them for any occasion. Easy to reuse just feed a new snap into the slots at each end.
Sadly it looks as though the crackers come in plastic packaging. Check with the supplier…

I haven’t actually used these but you read about Westywrites experiences with reusable christmas crackers here.

Fill
You could fill them with plastic free sweets if you can’t find suitable gifts.
There are loads of printable joke sheets up on Pinterest. They are truly corny. But they come with snowmen. Here’s and example.

Make
And if you are crafty you can make your own crackers. I have never done this but there are instructions up on Pinterest. Looks fiddly to me! You can buy cracker snaps from craft shops and on line.

Buy

You can buy crackersnaps and more reusable crackers from Amazon. You can read about our Amazon links here.

 

Refillable Crackers - Bundle of 6 snapsRefillable Crackers 4 Packs (Folk Green)Refillable Crackers 4 Packs (Ornate Jade)
Refillable Crackers - Bundle of 6 snaps
£2.50		Refillable Crackers 4 Packs (Folk Green)
£12.75		Refillable Crackers 4 Packs (Ornate Jade)
£12.75

More

You can find lots more plastic free Christmas tips here…
And you can read up more about special days and general partying here.

Cleaning Liquid Refills

by Posted in 3.1 Cleaning Up, 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 House, Office & Garden Tagged , , , , 7 Comments

ECOVER do all of these products and you can get your plastic bottle refilled. To find where Ecover have a refill station check the postcode search on their site

TOILET CLEANER
LAUNDRY LIQUID,
FABRIC SOFTENER,
MULTISURFACE CLEANER,
Washing up liquid (other options here)

You can find more about liquid cleaners here including how to make your own

If you cant get to a refill station try getting a refill by post….

Splosh

This is an online refill service. A new way to buy your home cleaning, laundry and health & beauty essentials.
You buy the starter pack which includes a range of bottles and concentrate product. You water down the product and fill the bottles. Thereafter you buy more concentrate on line and refill your bottles as needed.

Some products come in soluble pods which you drop into water; others in plastic pouches which can be sent back to be refilled or recycled. While the refillable plastic pouches obviously are plastic (duh) the soluble pods sound useful.

They supply a wide range of products. But “currently the surface cleaners and hand washes come in water soluble sachets and the rest come in pouches.”

Splosh also claim that the postal packaging for the starter kit and refills is also plastic free. Though according to some reviews they come with some plastic.

Here’s their mission statement. “Plastic waste is an environmental disaster and we’re committed to reducing it to zero. For each product we’ve designed a refilling system that takes plastic out of the waste stream. For example our pouches can be sent back for refilling and, at the end of their life, we manage their reprocessing into other products”

You can read more about how it works and order products here HERE
If anyone out there has used this product please let me know.

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.

Oil Vegetable Cooking Refill

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.1 Food & Drink Tagged , , , , 10 Comments

Vegetable oil is difficult to source plastic free. Buy in glass and the metal caps will have a little plasticized disc or plastic liner on inside and maybe a plastic seal. Plus the bottle will almost always have a plastic pouring widget in the bottle top.Like I can’t pour oil out of a bottle??? Buy in cans and they have a plastic lid, perhaps a handle and the can is of course lined with plastic. You can read more here

On Tap
But if you are very lucky you might find a place that sell oils on tap that lets you use your own refillable bottle. Do you need me to explain that? They sell oil from the can and you take your own bottle, which they refill with oil.

Whahey plastic free oil!

That said in 2015 Defra banned ‘On tap’ olive oil. The following is taken form their website….”These oils mustn’t be sold ‘on tap’ in their pure form: extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, olive oil composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils, olive pomace oil. Today (2016) seems oil is back on tap. So, for now you can buy olive oil on tap from a variety of store.

Using your own bottle?
It would seem that some stores allow you to refill your own bottle. Whole Food Market do and I refilled my glass bottle there. But I cannot vouch for the others listed below! Any information on the subject is much appreciated.

Oil refills in the U.K.

The butchers St Agnes, Devon
Wholefood Supermarket Cheltenham & London

Demijohn – Victoria St, Edinburgh refill oil & vinegar (and spirits at Demijohn).

Olive oil Stoneygate, Leicester http://www.deliflavour.net/may also do refills but not checked
Sheena Hatton Claremont Farm in Wirral (oils and vinegars) and Spar in Llanfyllin.Åsa PamphilonHoland andBarrer in Chelmsford.” I havent yet refilled but it is clearly two different prices for their bottle and oil/vinegar or just a refill so I assume I will have no problems.

More

Or you could try lard. Other greasy options and ways to buy plastic reduced oils and spreads can be found here the edible oil index here.
And everything you need to know about fatty acids 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

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Do Your Bit Produce bags

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.6 Businesses & social enterprises Tagged , 14 Comments

DoYourBit is an organic cotton reusable bag company locally run in the UK that aims to put an end to the excessive amount of plastic packaging we find in shops and supermarkets like Tesco or Asda. The goal is to focus on package-free items which produce zero waste. From fruits and veg to bread or nuts, to be used for non-food items or also as gift wrap instead of using the disposable one time use stuff most people use nowadays - you can use these bags any way you wish!

Originally from Canada but now living in the UK, when I first moved here it came as a shock to me how much plastic there was and how few zero waste options there were. I began searching and it wasn’t even possible to buy produce bags locally. I had to order them online and have them shipped from elsewhere in Europe. Since then, I decided to start up DoYourBit with the hope of spreading the word of using less plastic disposables and creating change in a world where plastic is everywhere. My goal is to help everyone do THEIR bit to reduce the environmental impact they have on the planet.

Not only is DoYourBit a local company but the material is also locally sourced from a fair traded fabric company which helps us do our bit by buying locally as well! You can use these bags for everything; at the bakery, farmer’s markets, supermarkets etc. They are 100% handmade and machine washable.

Details:

  • Drawstring bag 34x28cm (with olive green cord)
  • Sets of 3 or 5 bags available

*Different bags sizes can be requested and custom-made for customers

For more information, you can visit DoYourBit at

FB @doyourbituk

Instagram @doyourbit.uk

Etsy doyourbit.etsy.com

Ebay ‘DoYourBit produce bags’

More

You can find more reusable produce bags here

And check out our guide to buying food plastic free 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.

Please note…

This post was written by the contributor and is a PfU.K. Directory submission.

And the Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their fantastic work. Read more here…

Got a project?
It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

 

Natracare Menstrual and Personal Care Products

by Posted in 3.1 Disposables & Reusables, 3.6 Businesses & social enterprises Tagged , Leave a comment

Are you aware that most sanitary pads are made from approximately 90% plastic? An average pack of sanitary pads contains the same amount of plastics as 4 carrier bags! Natracare offers a range of feminine hygiene products that are made from organic cotton and natural, sustainably sourced materials without compromising on the performance.

Conventional sanitary pads are made from over 90% plastic, they are bleached with chlorine, contain petroleum-derived superabsorbent gels and often contain dyes, perfumes and latex. With the average woman using 17,000 pads in a life-time the effects of this polluting industry are enormous, and yet most of us barely consider what we are using every month.
The founder of Natracare, Susie Hewson, set up the brand 25 years ago as a direct response to this polluting industry. She researched and created a viable alternative made from certified organic cotton, FSC wood pulp and biodegradable plant starches. The brand offers a full range of tampons, pads, panty liners and even wipes which are all totally chlorine free, plastic free and biodegradable making them lighter on the environment and also kinder on your skin.

Further to this Natracare actively campaigns against plastic. With the help of local girl guides groups the Natracare team organised a Coastal Clean Up on Rottingdean beach near Brighton and the company has supported various awareness raising projects about plastic in the ocean such as the ‘Making Waves’ art exhibition in Bristol and the Midway Film Project.

Find out more on www.natracare.com

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Please note

This post was written by the contributor. It is not a Plastic Is Rubbish review, does not represent my personal opinions and I have not used this product or service. Instead it is a PfU.K. Directory submission.

The Pf U.K. Directory is…?

…a directory of UK-based groups, organisations businesses and individuals who are responding to the problems presented by the misuse of plastic. That does not mean anti-plastic necessarily but certainly plastic-problem aware.

The DIRECTORY is to promote their work not mine. Read more here…

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It is very easy to get a project featured. Each contributor submits a short synopsis of their project, focussing on the plastic aware element and I post it. You can read the submission guidelines here.

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