New plan...time to see some movement!

Igamogam

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I agree that balloon releases are not good for the environment, not to mention using up our supply of helium!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47960237

Yep people just dont get it....helium is a finite resource and used in medicine...............not just flippin balloons!

jwil

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

You sound very knowledgeable about environmental matters Jwil . I have read that less food packaging can lead to more food waste. I must try and remember to recycle material rather than throw it away.

I hope you don't owe tax credits any money. I need to ring them this week and I hate doing it .

Thank you I spend a lot of time researching this stuff. I'm interested personally and it's what I do.

I'm hoping not either, it's difficult though as our childcare reduced earlier this year. Hopefully it's not too much though! Hope your call goes ok. I do it all online so I don't have to speak to anyone :rotfl:

abba1772

Igamogam wrote: »

Yep people just dont get it....helium is a finite resource and used in medicine...............not just flippin balloons!

I didn't know this :eek:

jwil

Igamogam wrote: »

The whole plastic debate...........IMO it is great people are talking about it, are actively doing something about it however small, are putting it on the political agenda. Plastic USE is part of environmental destruction not the recycling.We pump a finite resource (oil) out of the ground and use it to make something we use once and then bury in the ground again to last longer in an inaccessible form........:huh: If we reduced our consumption of plastic and particularly single use, then recycling what we do use may improve. We as a family have moved away from single use as much as possible and that does mean over packaged stuff. We decided we do not need to put fruit and veg in a plastic container wrapped in plastic film...is where we started, then toiletries, then clothing other food stuffs and finally just STUFF!.

Our waste is determined by how much we bring into the household ultimately so we took the decision as a family to slash this - I had to ask the council to stop leaving me a food waste bin as they thought I didnt have one as we NEVER put food waste out - bins have proved handy for storing bird seed though The odd chicken carcass/meat bones I put in our neighbours bin with their knowledge as they too have very little waste Our 'recyclable' waste is collected every week - we put ours out fortnightly and our 'non recyclable' waste is every 3 weeks - we put ours out every 9 weeks. I am personally very sceptical about council recycling practises but somewhere there has to be some trust!

I am not going to hijack your thread jwil but I am glad people are talking and long may it last. It is a bit like a container ship pulling up and turning........changing a mind set and habits..... but it has to happen.

I guess we are fortunate in that we live in a community which is all over this and is active in making that change so access to information, research,activities,resources is plenty. However if everybody took one single use plastic item out of their life forever then this is a positive step.

Now dont get me started on balloons and balloon releases :eek:

Sorry......I did hijack:o

ETA: I do agree with the sentiment of the article BTW...but everybody has to start somewhere!

No I do agree, that it's great that it's on the agenda and that people are more aware of it. It is a start and if it improves awareness then it's great. However, we do have to be aware of unintended consequences and be careful that we are not making things worse environmentally. The media are the worst for this, they are pushing the 'all plastic is bad' agenda which people are seeing, and the media not doing the research and publishing any balance. I did think this article was more balanced and more of what we need to be seeing https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47161379 We do need to move away from single use plastics, and there are many many items that are overpackaged or could be packaged better.

I don't have an issue with the public making steps to be greener, but big business and government are guilty of knee jerk reactions which do not help at all. Many companies switched to compostable plastic - there are few reprocessing facilities in the UK for this. They tell people they can put it in their food bins or compost bin. It cannot go in the food bin as it is contamination - and generally the packaging will not break down in the compost bin. That leaves the rubbish bin. If it goes to landfill it breaks down to create methane a potent greenhouse gas. Plastic would just sit there (not great, I know).

There needs to be systematic move away from excess packaging, and development of alternatives that do not take up food producing land or other resources and are truly sustainable. Single use packaging of any form should be a last resort not standard.

Sounds like you have made great steps with your waste. We are moving to 3-weekly rubbish in the future. It won't impact us at all as we don't put a lot out either. My council are very transparent with what they do with their recycling so we are lucky there


Do feel free to get started on balloon releases - I fully agree :mad: Chinese lanterns too.

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

I agree that balloon releases are not good for the environment, not to mention using up our supply of helium!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-47960237

Igamogam wrote: »

Yep people just dont get it....helium is a finite resource and used in medicine...............not just flippin balloons!

Yes I agree! I hate balloons generally, the kids love them

jwil

By the way I am fully aware of the irony of me complaining about my cluttered house and then going on about sustainability In my defence, I haven't been consuming much for many years and most of it was purchased years ago. I could still do better though! DH clearly does his own thing, and I am trying to teach the kids not to be avid consumers, however it is difficult.

Kitten868

I don't think you're being hypocritical. You don't throw anything away unless its beyond use. You could have thrown the whole lot away years ago. Hired a skip and lived clutter free but you put so much time and effort into repurposing all of it.

What do you believe are the changes we can make to improve things? Stop buying products containing palm oil? Become more involved in planting initiatives? Put pressure on government to protect the rainforest and animals? I feel so utterly helpless with the whole thing. I've always felt we do so much damage with the hormones and antibiotics we pump into the ocean. I'm not being sarcastic, I just worry that I don't understand and that I'm ignorant.

Xxxx

jwil

Kitten868 wrote: »

I don't think you're being hypocritical. You don't throw anything away unless its beyond use. You could have thrown the whole lot away years ago. Hired a skip and lived clutter free but you put so much time and effort into repurposing all of it.

What do you believe are the changes we can make to improve things? Stop buying products containing palm oil? Become more involved in planting initiatives? Put pressure on government to protect the rainforest and animals? I feel so utterly helpless with the whole thing. I've always felt we do so much damage with the hormones and antibiotics we pump into the ocean. I'm not being sarcastic, I just worry that I don't understand and that I'm ignorant.

Xxxx

Thank you kitten I never thought of it like that

You didn't sound sarcastic. It's really difficult, I'm the first to admit that! There are no easy solutions.

Palm oil is another difficult one - the palm nut is the most efficient form of vegetable oil, so just avoiding products with palm oil isn't the answer as other forms of veg oil require much more land to produce the same amount. Should we care less about another creature's habitat being destroyed just because it's not as 'cute' as an orangutang? There are companies out there using certified sustainable palm oil, so in my opinion it's better to use those - as long as it's a genuine certification and not just a company buying certificates but not knowing where the palm oil comes from.

Little actions do help. The biggest things we can all do are:

• Reduce consumption generally (I'm ok, but could do better)
• Eat less meat (I'm bad at this one)
• Save energy where possible and improve the energy efficiency of our homes (including using the car less - I need to try and do this but have to take the car to work so it's difficult)
• Stop buying so many clothes and never throw them in the bin - clothing should be reused or recycled (I'm good at this)
• Reduce food waste and buy locally where possible (I need to work more on this) and don't throw food waste in the bin if there is an alternative option (not all councils collect food so appreciate that's difficult)
• Reduce waste generally (including plastic) and never throw anything away that could be reused or recycled (I'm good at this)
• Never litter or flush things down the toilet that aren't toilet paper (including wipes)
• Don't waste water

All of those are ways we can help. It doesn't need to be everything at once, even small changes will help. Putting pressure on the govt and helping with local activities such as planting and litter picking all make a difference too

Other people may have other opinions and I'm happy to hear them too

jwil

2lb off for me today :j :j

Hoping I can maintain next week. I have plans for hot cross buns and Easter eggs must try not to go crazy.

I did 26 listings today. Most for DH and a few for me. A couple of items I’ve put on for a few days to see if they look like they will sell, otherwise I’ll take them to the recycling centre.

We’ve had a quiet day at home today as little jwil had twisted his ankle. It seemed to improve as the day went on. Hopefully it will be ok tomorrow as we have a picnic in the park planned with relatives.

Not sure of our plans for the weekend. We should be selling but I’m not sure I want to after last weeks palaver!

Hope everyone has a good weekend :EasterBun

jwil

Just watched the climate change programme on bbc1. Very thought provoking. It’s made me want to do more. My next project is carbon and climate related so hopefully I can educate myself a bit more.

brizzlegirl

Sorry to hear about little jwil. Hope he’s feeling better.

Yes re climate change. We all need to do more. All of us - thanks for the reminder, post any more top tips you have. I agree re reducing consumption and eating less meat...they are two that I should really focus on. Reduce rather than recycle, that should be my mantra

Xxx