Christmas

23 November 2014 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 5 Content Veiw, hidays 1 Comment

I always feel a sense of wonderment when I make something that turns out as good a shop bought but it looks like shop bought but it taste like shop bought sometimes actually it’s way better than shop bought anyway in that letter in that category falls my home-made sweet mincemeat which is so easy to make answer and looks just like the real thing.

2022 updates

Wrapping Paper

Both Sainsbury’s and Primark are doing plastic free wrapping paper and gift tags. Yay.

Back in the day I had to boycott Sellotape as they only used plastic to make their tapes. But times change and they have seen where the cool kids are at. Sellotape once again makes biodegradable cellophane tapes. Well done them.

The moral of this story – change is slow but it does happen. Keep on pushing.

Sticky and strong 0% plastic tape
Made from cellulose film and naturally based glue
Contains plant based, renewable ingredients
Packaging and core made from recycled cardboard
Cellulose film derived from wood pulp and sourced from PEFC certified sustainable forests
Anti-tangle and easy to tear
Fits all large core tape dispensers

I have seen them loose in Wilco or you can buy a pack of 3 online here

The moral of this story – change is slow but it does happen. Keep on pushing….

Want a paper tape? – try here

Advent Calendars

Let’s start planning Christmas….. The Works https://www.theworks.co.uk/ have a few interesting Christmas related plastic free products.

And they still have high street stores so you don’t have to worry about that pesky, onward packaging!

They have a wooden advent calendar reusable with little drawers for plastic free treats for each day. sadly the product itself comes in plastic but you will get years of use and … you can’t win them all!

They also have canals sacks and stockings for the end of the bed. These come in plastic free packing and being canvas areobviously made from natural fibers.

Reason why you want to use natural fibres can be found here. Because no one wants their Christmas socks to last for ever!

All The Rest

Here are some more fantastic waste free ideas for Christmas

Stuffing

You can't have a roast bird without stuffing. I have tried long and hard to find plastic free ready-made but it eludes me so now I ...
Read More

Greetings cards

Cards have been the bane of my life , (I mean greeting cards not gambling - that's all in the past), as many come wrapped in icky plastic ...
Read More

You can see the rest of our year 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

How to party…plastic free….

22 November 2014 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Special days & Parties, 3.2 How To...plastic-free Tagged 3.1.5 Christmas, 3.1.5 Halloween, 5 Content Veiw, hidays 2 Comments

Organising a big bash? Nipping off out to buy some paper plates? WAIT!!!
Given the choice between washing up and disposable partyware, the answer may seem obvious. Or maybe you are a minimalist and don’t own much crockery. However at the end of the night when the black bin bags come out that decision may seem a little bit, well, environmentally unfriendly. Of course the wine bottles are going to the bottle bank and the beer cans will be recycled, but what about the coleslaw covered plastic forks, potato salad smeared polystyrene plates and dreg filled plastic cups. And bear in mind that most paper plates and cups are in fact lined with plastic!

How to avoid this kind of litter?
Go to the pub.
Hire reusable glasses plates and cutlery but you have to wash it up and return it.
Or, if you must, use….

Use Compostable Disposables

You can get
Cutlery made from PLA cornstarch and are 100 percent biodegradable and compostable. We have used and composted these -you can read our review here.
PLA cornstarch clear “glasses” can be got from shot size upwards. PLA cannot be used to make stemmed glasses, so wine glasses are not available yet!
Biodegradable plates and bowls made out of a variety of materials.
Paper cups lined with compostable PLA plastic can be used for hot and cold drinks.
Drinking straws need not hang around after the parties over. There are a load reusable or compostable options here. Plastic free straws

Buy

You can buy compostable disposables in bulk from
www.wf-denny.co.uk or call them on 0161 927 49 49 – orders in by 1pm will be dispatched the next day.
Vegware are also very good.
You can find some Amazon suppliers here

Plastic free booze

Plastic free booze is hard to find….glup!!!!. But we have managed to source some for you here…
Other considerations If you are serving large amounts of wine, think wine boxes and not bottles. Though not in themselves particularly green (all tetra packs and foil), they are carbon cheaper to transport from far flung places than heavy glass bottles. To be greener still buy from close to home – French wine rather than Chilean.

Themed Parties

If your party is themed you will find some more ideas here
Halloween
Valentines
Christmas

Presents & Cards
Greetings cards
Wrapping Paper and Biodegradable Sticky Tape

Events

Make Your Glasses Reusable & A Souvinir

This is rather a good idea for festivals and other events where glasses are not an option but disposables result in a sea of waste. Reusable, plastic cups that can be branded to suit. Pay a deposit at the bar that can be refunded or the customer can choose to keep the cup as a souvenir. Read more here…

Halloween labels and flour paste!

22 October 2014 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 00 working, 3.1.5 Halloween

Print and stick these creepy labels onto a wine bottles to make a suitably themed halloween gift – but don’t use avery labels as some suggest! Print onto plain paper, cut out and attach to bottle of choice using homemade, boiled flour & water paste.

I have included a boiled flour and water paste from this paper mache making web page because it is easy and clear to follow but also because I think the rest of the site looks fascinating. And inspiring. You could use some of the techniques to make ghoulish sculptures, masks or even reusable pumpkin lanterns. That would save you some work!

Obviously adapt the choice of beverage if it’s for a child’s party!

Flour and water paste attached labels wash off easily if you are using a reusable bottle… of course you are using a reusable bottle!

More ideas for Halloween can be found here….

Halloween colouring pages for kids

22 October 2014 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 3.1.5 Halloween

The day of the dead skull and more nice stuff is over at cool moms.

These are more kid focused. You print them out, colour them in.

And then use them to decorate your home made plastic free Trick or Treat bags?

There are more printables over on my Pinterest page.

And lots more plastic free Halloween ideas here.

Halloween Witches Hat

13 October 2013 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 3.1.5 Halloween

Follow the instructions to make a cunning canvas reusable hat.

On this extremely crafty blog…

Find more fantastic Halloween party ideas here.

How To Boycott Plastic

Find plastic-free products with the

Plastic-free Resource Index

Read up about plastic & the boycott here

Party Bags Trick or Treat

25 September 2013 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 3.1.5 Halloween 2 Comments

I know you family types need to plan ahead so, lets get ready for,…ooooooooo…….halloween….

Well my nasty little ghouls and ghosties you will be getting no plastic wrapped sweeties if you call at my house….. but maybe, just maybe, if you come carrying one of these plastic free trick or treat bags I might not turn the power hose on you.

WHAT??

Thats not unreasonable.

These lovely reusable cotton bags are designed by a UK artist and sold on Etsy.

You can buy loose unwrapped sweets in Huddersfield Queensgate Market.

You can get other more plastic free party bags and eco toys to go in them over here at www.littlecherry.co.uk

Find more fantastic Halloween party ideas here.

Wrapping presents – cloth furoshiki

2 January 2013 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties 7 Comments

Fabric

To do this you will need a square of cloth. You can buy one or make your own

Make your own
Decide what size.
50cm x 50cm Cloth for smaller items
A wine bottle will need 100cm x 100cm version.
Pick your fabric. It needs to be thin enough to tie but not see through obvs!
Hem the edges for a neater look. Or pretend frayed is chic.
For more detailed instructions try the lovely Omiyage Blog

Ready Made
For teeny tiny gifts use a hankerchief.
For bigger gifts, buy a headscarf. You can find loads in charity shops.
Smaller stuff you can use a bandana.

If you really cannot get any of the above locally I have listed some here!

Wrapping

Then use it to wrap your presents using this ancient Japanese technique of furoshiki. The following image is from the Evermine Blog which is full of lots more great ideas.

If you do go down the paper route, be sure to use this plastic free sticking tape

Drinks- Alchohol, cocktails & mixers index

18 July 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 3.1.3 drinks, 3.1.5 Christmas, 5 Content Veiw 1 Comment

Plastic free booze is hard to find….glup!!!!. But as giving up IS NOT AN OPTION…here are our best choices….

The Plastic In Booze

Metal caps have a plastic liner or small disc to prevent leakage. It’s a tiny amount but it is plastic. This is true of everything from spirits to bottles of beer
Cans of beer and tonic are plastic lined!
Wine may have plastic corks. Even if you find a wine with a cork the foil round it may be plastic lined!

Plasticless….

Spirits & Liquors
To be truly plastic free, you may have to set up a still in the back garden! Unless you can get to one of these liquid delis. Failing that you can at least buy British made.

Buy On Line

These shops sell plastic free products and send them out in plasticless packages. Find them HERE

Or Amazon eek!

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


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

SaveSave

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…

Nuts

9 March 2012 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 3.1.5 Christmas, 5 Content Veiw

Tricky but not impossible. Did you know they did loose pistachios in Lidles? At least they did last time I looked. Surprisingly, Lidles have quite a few good plastic free options. You can read about them HERE
You can get loose chestnuts in Tescos at Christmas time.

The Nut Shop Leeds Market also offers a wide range of nuts and dried fruit, even loose sprinkles for cakes. By weight. Details HERE

If you cannot get to Leeds you can try
Wholefood Market a supermarket chain
Weigh & Save shops a UK franchise
And other loose food outlets as listed below

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 alist of towns with shops selling loose food.

Packaging

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

Biscuits homemade Christmas Tree Decorations

23 March 2011 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 Food & Drink, 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties Tagged 3.1.5 Christmas, 3.2.4 cook book 3 Comments

While in Spain I visited Lidles and I came across a set of festive biscuit cutters in a cardboard box. They might have them in the UK.

If not I have sourced some on Amazon for you but I can’t answer for the packaging!

Plastic-Free Biscuits

100g/3½oz unsalted plastic-free butter
100g/3½oz caster sugar in a paper bag
1 free-range egg bought in cardboard boxes
275g/10oz plain flour in a paper bag
To decorate
400g/14oz icing sugar
3-4 tbsp water
Edible glitter. You can get some plastic-free cake decorations from the Nut Shop Leeds. Or you could use these plastic-free Smarties.
Compostable ribbon or string

To see how to bake these biscuits go to the BBC Food website

And last time I looked you could still get icing sugar in a cardboard box. If not you can make it by grinding sugar in a spice grinder or food blender then adding cornflour. You can find full instructions here.

FOR INSPIRATION check out Pinterest where the iced biscuits image was found.

Add a compostable tie and there you go – plastic free and edible christmas decorations. What’s not to love?

Find more lovely plastic-free Christmas ideas here….

Flowers home made

16 February 2009 by Plastic Is Rubbish Posted in 3.1 General & Homemade, 3.1 Special days & Parties 8 Comments

These peony looking things are very sweet

Or you could make some using your origami skills

Yeah, right!

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Category Archives: 3.1 Special days & Parties