The War against plastic waste

PipneyJane

greenbee wrote: »

Quite a lot of hotels have already done this and just have large dispensers, so you don't need to lug your own around. The stuff I do need to take with me I decant into small plastic containers that have been reused 100s of times. No need to take shampoo or bodywash - you always get those, so conditioner, body lotion (in a metal tin), facial soap (wrapped in a flannel to dry it out), toothpaste are the essentials.

I do this all the time. I am happy to report that a 100ml bottle of shampoo lasts for 2 weeks between refills, 100ml of hair conditioner lasts for a week (I use more conditioner than shampoo) and 100ml of body wash lasts about a month if you also use one of those scrunchy/scrubby things to wash with.

The bottles themselves last at least a decade. (My first casualty was holed by the twin-blade razor I use to shave my legs.)

HTH

- Pip

greenbee

PipneyJane wrote: »

I do this all the time. I am happy to report that a 100ml bottle of shampoo lasts for 2 weeks between refills, 100ml of hair conditioner lasts for a week (I use more conditioner than shampoo) and 100ml of body wash lasts about a month if you also use one of those scrunchy/scrubby things to wash with.

The bottles themselves last at least a decade. (My first casualty was holed by the twin-blade razor I use to shave my legs.)

HTH

- Pip

I use more conditioner than shampoo too... and I don't bother taking shampoo anymore as most places have it.

Just don't put your soap next to your spare battery pack in your bag... apparently it looks like plastic explosive (Apologies to anyone delayed in the priority security queue a few weeks ago... :cool:)

augo123

I completely agree and think it would be a great idea to get everyone starting to use potato starch, particularly as the parts of the potato are used that aren't eaten. There has been an increase so hopefully more companies start doing it soon!

Though my own issue with this is, living in Leeds that we don't have a food waste bin or garden waste so where do we put this waste? I live in a flat which doesn't leave many options!

DigForVictory

A Leeds based colleague has a *partial* solution - he has a dog. As he observed wryly, you don't need to worry about the 5 second rule if you have a 2 second dog...

augo123

Thank you ! Next step is to convince my flat mate we should get a dog! :rotfl:

DigForVictory

I confess I am smitten with raw practicality of beauty kube conditioner (link to image, explanation etc) but since I bought a shampoo bar (one from this list) I now have to figure which to take where & use when, and to try to persuade sons that this is better for their hair let alone their planet.

When it comes to keeping on buying bags, it seems I am Not Alone. It's not wholly incompetence, it's also that I like the pretty patterns on the bags for life & so acquiz at least one for storage and for the unlikely I will ever get around to Masters in Brand Management by eco-manouevers. A few do get used to shunt Christmas presents (the blue waitrose bag for Aunt, the red Asda one for coz, the smashing green Booths one for godma etc) as it is easier to distract from appalling giftwrap skills by engulfing the lot in a nice bag, & I'm working on shifting to fabric & developing my furoshiki skills. Must start hunting & hoarding the Irish Linen tea towels - decorative & eco-friendly & Still functional despite washing machines!

augo123

I've tried convincing friends and family by explaining how much money it saves. Plus I now only wash my hair once a week!

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire

I live in Winchester also and I am really disappointed in the lack of recycling opportunities there are here compared to other local areas. It's pathetic.


However, over the last year I have really tried to reduce my rubbish generally. I have succeeded in the "black bin" waste as I barely take a small carrier bag of rubbish out every two weeks but my recycling has increased slightly as I am choosing goods in packaging that can be recycled where possible. I have been trying to do more baking and making my own things such as my own muesli and cereal bars but then when I go to buy the ingredients it is all in plastic packaging. I did that the other day and I thought to myself "why am I bothering". We do have a little independent shop that does sell some loose dry goods such as nuts and rice but whenever I go there to get something it has run out of what I want. I'm not sure what the answer is on that. I was doing well for some months - reduced plastic in bathroom, buy stuff in charity shop - but I seem to have hit a wall now. Feeling slightly down as a result.


I need to have a new success somewhere I think.

never_too_old

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire wrote: »

I live in Winchester also and I am really disappointed in the lack of recycling opportunities there are here compared to other local areas. It's pathetic.


However, over the last year I have really tried to reduce my rubbish generally. I have succeeded in the "black bin" waste as I barely take a small carrier bag of rubbish out every two weeks but my recycling has increased slightly as I am choosing goods in packaging that can be recycled where possible. I have been trying to do more baking and making my own things such as my own muesli and cereal bars but then when I go to buy the ingredients it is all in plastic packaging. I did that the other day and I thought to myself "why am I bothering". We do have a little independent shop that does sell some loose dry goods such as nuts and rice but whenever I go there to get something it has run out of what I want. I'm not sure what the answer is on that. I was doing well for some months - reduced plastic in bathroom, buy stuff in charity shop - but I seem to have hit a wall now. Feeling slightly down as a result.


I need to have a new success somewhere I think.

I know what you mean i was thinking the same thing this morning.I just want to see a change.... i went to Morrisons this morning and Tesco and there is still so much plastic:(
Im trying to do the fill your own but we dont have have hardly any where near by.Im going near to one on Saturday so im making a slight detour to check it out.
Im lucky with my council that they take lots of different plastic containers and food waste and even though we still have weekly rubbish collection i dont always need to put a bag out.
I keep looking to see if anything is said about the plastic that is being sent back to the Supermarkets but as of yet ive not seen anything.Only thing i do know is going well is what is sent to Terracycle,my collector keeps us updated on how much she has raised and how many kilos have been sent back.:)

greenbee

Crafty_Lisa_Hampshire wrote: »

I live in Winchester also and I am really disappointed in the lack of recycling opportunities there are here compared to other local areas. It's pathetic.


However, over the last year I have really tried to reduce my rubbish generally. I have succeeded in the "black bin" waste as I barely take a small carrier bag of rubbish out every two weeks but my recycling has increased slightly as I am choosing goods in packaging that can be recycled where possible. I have been trying to do more baking and making my own things such as my own muesli and cereal bars but then when I go to buy the ingredients it is all in plastic packaging. I did that the other day and I thought to myself "why am I bothering". We do have a little independent shop that does sell some loose dry goods such as nuts and rice but whenever I go there to get something it has run out of what I want. I'm not sure what the answer is on that. I was doing well for some months - reduced plastic in bathroom, buy stuff in charity shop - but I seem to have hit a wall now. Feeling slightly down as a result.


I need to have a new success somewhere I think.

If you can get to Romsey, there's a zero waste/refill place there, and the girls who run it are lovely.