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On holiday in Hong Kong, Tony wrote to say that “without even asking and with no additional charge we were very surprised to get stainless steel straws in our soft drinks at the Cali-Mex Mexican restaurant in Sai Kung”.
Could this happen in Reading?
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A timely article from Chris Cheeseman, Professor of Materials Resources Engineering at Imperial College London and an Associate of the Grantham Institute. He stands up for the versatility of the plastics that have made them such a central part of modern life, but have also resulted in them ending up in places they shouldn’t.
Part of the challenge is to improve recycling rates. Not only in the UK but also amongst the 2 billion people in the world for whom there is no waste collection system. But it is also for designers, product developers and materials engineers to do more to design for recycling and for entrepreneurs to find ways to make more from waste in moves towards a circular economy.
Public concern about plastic pollution, partly catalysed by Blue Planet II, coupled with China’s decision to ban imports of low grade plastic waste for recycling, has created a ‘golden opportunity’ for change that needs to be grasped. Politicians have responded by promising regulations to reduce plastic waste and some companies have announced how they are reducing single use plastic in their products. But, Chris argues, the biggest impact will come from innovations in materials and design that helps create a more circular economy. He also argues that we desperately need to support the development of proper waste management in developing countries.
Read the full article ‘Don’t blame plastic, blame poor waste management‘ (19 February 2018), which contains lots more evidence and references, on the Grantham Institute web site.
WasteAidUK is a charity working to address waste management problems in developing countries and the challenges of the circular economy across the world.
Find out more about the Grantham Institute’s work on Plastic pollution in the ocean.
Last summer I read a number of articles in the newspapers about the plight of the oceans and the sea creatures wrestling with plastic detritus. These were usually followed by stories about people trying to live and shop without buying plastics, and just how difficult this can be. I am not one for extremes but I thought I would have a go at leaving out as many bits of plastic as possible. To date, the greatest success I have had has been changing to bars of soap instead of using plastic bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
I bought a bar of Hemp Hair and Body Soap from ‘simply soaps’. The sealed wrapper was compostable and the soap palm oil free and containing only natural organic ingredients.
I have temperamental skin so I was very wary of this ‘natural’ product. But this has turned out to be an unnecessary worry. My first use had me jumping with surprise as I had masses of soap bubbles from a few strokes of the soap across my head. I found I could spread the foam over my whole body. The bubbles disappeared quickly as I rinsed myself and I left the shower quicker than usual. After drying myself I was left with a head of soft, manageable hair – much better than usual.
I have used this same bar of soap for at least 4 months. No plastic, less hot water, less water altogether, less time, the wrappers went into the green bin and the soap has disappeared down the drain: it can sometimes be easy to be green!
My friend was going on a camping, adventure holiday in Mongolia and I told her about the soap. She took some with her as it was light to carry and no trouble in airport security. She came back very impressed. She had used it to wash not only her hair and body, but also her clothes, and had had a minimum allocation of water to do this.
A note of caution – keep the soap dry between washes, otherwise you lose it all. Also, we have softened water and it may not work so well in hard water. My daughter who lives in a hard water area in south east London tried it but did not have the same success.
https://www.simplysoaps.com/organic-natural-soaps
There are other companies that make shampoo in bar form – it would be interesting to hear from those who have tried them!
Christmas is coming and I’m already having to wear my woolly hat.
As my wife and I had been away at the weekend, we hadn’t been able to use up our bread and it had therefore dried out and gone stale. As we try to avoid wasting food, my wife decided to make a bread and butter pudding. That way we were able to use up the bread and we got to enjoy a tasty dessert. A win-win.
Unfortunately, food waste is a problem we all face. Sometimes we don’t know what to do with the stale bread in our cupboards, or leftover veg from the night before. That’s why we would like to collect recipes that Reading folk have for using up leftovers and surplus food. Indeed, this will be one of the projects TRSC will be working on in the coming year. So, if you have any leftover recipes that you or maybe your grandparents have used, we would love to hear from you.
P.S. If you ever find yourself with a loaf of stale bread, I’d definitely recommend making a bread and butter pudding.
Here is our recipe:
A growing number of outlets selling food and drink in the UK are taking action to ditch plastic amid deepening concern about its effect on the environment, with drinking straws and bottles among items being phased out.
A Guardian investigation this year discovered that a million plastic bottles are bought worldwide every minute, while recent research has revealed that of the 6.3bn tons of plastic waste produced between 1950 and 2015, almost 80% has ended up in landfill or in the environment – including the oceans. Plastic contamination is now found in everything from tap water to sea salt.
Read the full article in The Guardian, 16 October 2017
Which energy efficiency measures can save the UK billions? Which country plans to end oil and gas exploration and production by 2040? And, is it possible to make money by removing CO₂ from the atmosphere?
Find out about This week’s ten biggest climate innovation stories — 7 September
(Via. Climate KIC – Daily Planet)
Frustrated by the amount of plastic packaging that just ends up being thrown away after a typical food shop, Ingrid Caldironi decided to take matters into her own hands by opening the London’s first plastic free shop.
Bulk Market stocks more than 300 items in the pop-up shop and it’s not just food. Alongside dried goods there’s bamboo toothbrushes, paper-wrapped toilet roll and even dog food.
Although Bulk Market is currently just a pop-up in the future Ingrid hopes to find more a more permanent base where, alongside selling produce, there will be room for a bee hive as well as community space for meetings and workshops.
Read the full article Zero waste: Inside London’s first plastic-free shop (Via. The Independent)
Starting next year, Seattle restaurants will no longer provide plastic straws and plastic utensils to its patrons after a 2010 ordinance finally takes effect.
Explaining the delay in enacting the ordinance, Sego Jackson, the strategic advisor for Waste Prevention and Product Stewardship for Seattle Public Utilities said “Early on there weren’t many compostable options. And some of the options didn’t perform well or compost well. That’s all changed now.”
Read the full article, Seattle to Ban Plastic Straws, Utensils at Restaurants Next Year, on the EcoWatch web site.
In practice: Edinburgh Zoo’s behaviour change drive to increase recycling: “Attracting more than half a million visitors each year, Edinburgh Zoo has a significant opportunity to engage consumers on sustainability at a large scale. Here, edie charts an award-winning behaviour change drive which has helped the attraction divert 98% of its waste away from landfill.”
(Via Edie daily news alert)
*Updated on 01/11/17
A few months ago, when I was absentmindedly scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, I came across a surprisingly interesting ad. It was from a company who had designed a sustainable alternative to plastic food wrap. I was intrigued how melting beeswax and other substances onto a sheet of cotton would create an equivalent to Clingfilm.
I was tempted to buy some of the wrap and try it out for myself, but after seeing how much it cost per sheet, I reconsidered how to get hold of it without spending as much money.
As someone who watches Youtube tutorials for everything (including ‘how to write a blog’) I thought I’d take my search there. There were thousands of results, so I watched a tutorial video of how to make it on your own and decided to buy the ingredients.
It was surprisingly simple to make, and even quite enjoyable, this coming from someone who is terrible at all things arts and crafts. I even remembered to take photos of the step-by-step process, which I’ve included below.
If you’re interested in making your own, this is how I did it.
1 Shopping
The only items I needed to purchase were; Beeswax beads (£4, Amazon), Cotton fabric (£7 for 5 sheets, Hobbycraft) and Pinking shears (£6, Hobbycraft). The only 2 other things I needed were an iron and parchment paper, which I already owned.
2 Cutting
I cut the cotton sheets into a variety of sizes using the pinking shears (to prevent the fabric fraying).
3 Sprinkling
I covered the ironing board in parchment paper and placed a cotton sheet on top. I then sprinkled the beeswax beads onto the cotton sheet and layered another sheet of parchment paper on top of the beads.
N.B: if buying a block of beeswax then grate it first
N.B 2.0: the parchment paper is essential, otherwise the melted wax will ruin the iron and board.
4 Ironing
Doesn’t need much explanation. I used a medium heat and moved the iron around until the beeswax was fully melted.
5 Reapplying
I added extra beads to the sections of the fabric which hadn’t been coated in the melted wax. And ironed again.
6 Drying
Hung the fabric up to dry, which only took a matter of minutes.
7 Testing
It worked! Using the heat of my hands (I rubbed them together first to warm them up) I was able to mould the wrap around the food.
I made the food wrap a few weeks ago and it’s been working brilliantly. The tin foil and Clingfilm haven’t been used since. On certain items, I do use an elastic band to help hold the wrap closed, but I don’t consider this to be an issue, just something to bear in mind.
If you’ve got a half hour to spare, then I’d highly recommend giving it a go.
**EDIT** When cleaning the wraps use cold water and soap (as using hot water will start to melt the wax).
**UPDATE** You may also need to top up the wraps with more beeswax after a few months if the wax is starting to wear off. I’ve been using mine for 3 months now and I’m going to add some more wax to the wraps I use everyday.
Emily Marshall
Read more articles like this on Emily’s blog, Emily’s Earth.