The War against plastic waste

MoneySeeker1 wrote: »

i've also had a metal water bottle for a while now and recently decided I would take it with me regularly if out for walks and ask any cafe/food shop/etc I needed to to refill it (even if it hasn't got a "refill" sticker on the window).

So I'd be interested to know what that reply is please? That being in case I ever get refused.

Another thing is that many entertainment venues give out drinks bought there in plastic glasses. I've been able to get round it so far by saying I'm drinking my drink right there and it gets handed to me in a proper glass and then taking the glass back to the bar when I've finished with it.

I can think of entertainment venues that give out their drinks in plastic glasses and also refuse to let people take their own drinks in with them to the venue (saying they are "a security risk"). I would imagine those venues are lying and the real reason they are saying that is because they want people to buy their drinks instead. I'm okay about buying their drinks, but don't intend to have them in a plastic glass and am wondering what the best way to deal with that is? I am inclined to take my own mug with me (they couldn't make up a "rule" on the spot of saying "Oooh...glass...it might get broken") and, if they still tried that with pottery, then do what Ye Olde Ale Drinkers do and take my own metal mug with me for them to fill with a measure of whatever drink I was buying. WWYD in that situation?

We went to a festival a few weeks ago and it seems to be the done thing to carry an old fashioned probably got at a charity shop metal tankard on a carabiner at your waist. Also the reusable glasses we got for our drinks that we brought home are great to carry in your bag as they’re light and pint sized for drinks out. I know they’re plastic but pretty hardy and as everyone says as long as these things are reused over and over and not thrown away and prevent more single use glasses being used then they’re maybe the next step. Maybe venues and pubs with outdoor bars need to start using those- reusable plastic glasses instead of single use.

I’ve started to get more interested in all this lately since I’m not working atm and have more time to read and make more effort to change certain things in my lifestyle. We got a campervan and spend much more time in the so called countryside and are continually picking up litter and waste from beautiful wild places ( not just beaches). This always shocks me as the people who a re out there are generally lovers of the outdoors and yet some still leave litter and waste. We need to heed the code in the USA national parks “ trash in trash out”. One thing they do have right in the USA is that the users of the NP’s seem to care about those spaces.

Things I’m working on:

I now use environmentally friendly detergents and cleaners, am going to look at shampoo bars etc once my existing have been used up. I also dry my washing as much as possible on a line outside. These are habits I’ve got since using a camper as I think you’re closer to nature and closer to the waste you produce. It doesn’t just whizz away out your house. You’ve got to deal with it all in a small space.

I don’t buy any wrappings for food but use my Tupperware that I’ve had for a while to store it. I’m looking at buying some of the wax wrapping too for sandwiches etc

I try and buy as much unwrapped fruit and veg as I can ( I live near Morissons) and just put it in my basket loose till It’s weighed and I put it in my cotton shopping bag. All has to be washed anyway and has been handled all the way through its life so I see no problem in that. It is much more expensive this way and limited to what is available but there’s only 2 of us so don’t need great quantities.

Next step is to buy my fish and meat in my own containers. Luckily the Morrison’s has a butchers and fish counter and also loose bread. My main problem is my hubby is gf and there’s no way I can buy gf bread unwrapped. I’d love to buy milk in glass bottles but at the moment this isn’t feasible. I’m looking into making my own nut milks too.

Clothes wise ( and soft furnishings wise) I’m trying to only buy what I need when something wears out. Also hoping to buy more secondhand everything. I’m a bit of a clothesaholic since I lost weight a few years ago so this has been a challenge but the best thing is I’ve learnt exactly what suits me so no mistakes usually made and any old things that end up unwearable, I’m mending, altering or making something else in as much as possible. I’m lucky as I’m pretty handy with a needle and thread. I’m meeting my sisters for a holiday in a few weeks and we’re doing a clothes swap of things that We have that we don’t wear much so hopefully we’ll all end up with some new to us clothes.

My turning point tbh wasn’t all the public outcry lately, but moving from a house we’d lived in for 28 years and realising how much unwanted and unneeded stuff we actually owned and possessed. We got rid of so much ‘stuff’ and both agreed we wouldn’t do what we’d done in the past and fill our new house full that way again. Now it’s one in one out, and only if needed. We buy nicer things if we need them just less. Also having emptied 2 parents houses lately realising that most stuff you own will be Unwanted by your family when the time comes and they’ll have the awful guilty task of having to dispose of a lifetimes of someone else’s stuff. We don’t buy tat from holidays as momentoes but often get something useful and from a local small business for example food item or charity/vintage shops (once I picked up the perfect bialetti coffee pot for the camper for £2 from a charity shop)


The best thing to do is spend your money on moments and experiences and seeing places slowly whilst it’s still there to see. It makes me sad that maybe the places I love won’t be there pas my lifetime.

It’s about all of us doing little things gradually that build up to a whole change of heart by everyone hopefully in the end.

Ps sorry for the ridiculously long post

Georgiepie wrote: »

Me and DH use oat milk but they come in cartons that cannot be recycled!

Oat milk is actually ridiculously easy to make and costs pennies. My first attempt was horrible (stale porridge oats pre-soaked) and then someone pointed me to this recipe and it works.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zXQufqSZC0

I bought fresh, 'quality' oats (bonus that they're wrapped in paper. When I don't have any cashew nuts, I use a splosh of rapeseed oil as she mentions in the video that Oatly list rapeseed oil in their ingredients - most 'vegetable' oils are 100% rapeseed.

Another bonus is that it really is low waste as I use the strained out pulp and add them to oatmeal and raisin cookies or banana bread. Only about 50% of the dry oats or flour otherwise it's too wet and takes aaaagggggeeeeessss to cook.

Vanlady wrote: »

And yesterday I was in Lush who told me that they collect all no 5 plastic bottle tops, even if they are not Lush''s.

Google is not helping. What please is a “no 5 plastic bottle top”? (Sisters adore Lush stuff!)

I routinely lug both a recognisable reusable coffee cup & a sistema lidded soup mug (plastic but Much Used!) with a ziplock of teabags - I work in different offices & chuck the mugs into my scout bag so wherever there is hot water, I can have a brew! I can’t see a pub turning down my trade if I ask for it “in my mug please”. Although clearly something handsome in (charity shop sourced!) pewter, well scrubbed, would improve the aesthetic. The price of carabiners is eye watering but safer against misappropriation than a leather thong, I suppose. Also limiting on the amount of falling-over-water as the bruises would be fearsome.
ETA the carabiners I was thinking of I caved with & were PPE.

Where has the iron cable got iffy? Coming out of the iron or along the length? As along the length it can be cut, tidied & then heat sealed with shrink sleeve - so long as the sleeve cannot come off, it’s considered an acceptably safe repair & you can buy the sleeving online but way better to find a sparky who has it anyway & will sort it for you.

. DFV - "What please is a “no 5 plastic bottle top”? (Sisters adore Lush stuff!)"
(Apologies, but my phone won't seem to let me quote) . Lush informed me that the bottle top, or cap, had to have a number 5 on it. It's very hard to see the numbers so I'm just going to collect various plastic tops that I have and take them in and see how it goes. Although, since I have reduced my plastic consumption, I don't have many.
Also, loving the pewter mug concept!

Moneyseeker1- !"I'd be interested to know what that reply is please? That being in case I ever get refused."
My reply would be to politely enlighten them to the plastic catastrophe that is happening. Although because of the media coverage that plastic waste now has, I'm sure most people are aware of it. It just seems some choose not to do anything about it, judging by the amount of litter, mostly plastic, strewn around everywhere. Whenever I am out and about now, I can't stop myself from picking up bits of rubbish. It's encouraging to see lots of others doing this too.

Medsdemon - "it's all about all of us doing little things gradually that build up to a whole change of heart by everyone hopefully in the end."
I loved reading your post, and I totally agree with this.

I have recently invested in buying myself and my loved ones some steel sporks to carry around in our bags. I have been looking in the shops for ages now but couldn't find any, so had to revert to buying them from the rainforest shop.

I was told by a lady in the body shop that if you take the bottles of shower gel back to them to get the £5 voucher they now offer, they send the lids to lush and they melt them down to make the worktops in their stores. Not sure if that is true or not.