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Using less plastic
Arsenetatters
Posts: 5,976
I've been looking into alternatives for plastic based items.
I get through a lot of those plastic washing-up pads with foam backing. However, I have found a superb alternative from LoofCo, who make a plant based one. I've had it for a few months now and it's still as good as new. You can machine wash it too.
Have any of you found other alternatives to plastic items?
I get through a lot of those plastic washing-up pads with foam backing. However, I have found a superb alternative from LoofCo, who make a plant based one. I've had it for a few months now and it's still as good as new. You can machine wash it too.
Have any of you found other alternatives to plastic items?
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Comments
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Milk from the milkman in glass bottles!8
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Stainless steel3
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Not seen a milk float in years. Used to like the sound they made.Rob7Lee said:Milk from the milkman in glass bottles!
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My local Indian takeaway (Sameera, College Rd, Bromley) - delivers all food in biodegradable, no leak cardboard packaging.
Decent ruby n’all.6 -
In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.3
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Use your local butchers, grocers, fishmongers etc.5
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And get water from your tap.Big_Bad_World said:Use your local butchers, grocers, fishmongers etc.
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Yep. Doing something yourself feels so futile to me. Go into a supermarket and survey the area. Look at all that stuff. It's an acre of plastic, that will sell out in a week and be replaced. Now consider this is one supermarket in a thousand in the UK alone.redman said:In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.
Until big business/ government make sweeping changes, plastic is going to fuck this planet.
We think we're doing good by using something multiple times. Sure, that reduces a little bit of plastic, but the planet won't, in 10,000 years, respond with "at least this collection of plastic pellets were once a re-useable 'bag for life'!
Not that I wish to put a downer on this thread, it must be a good thing for people to make the effort - I just agree with redman that to make a meaningful difference, things have to change further up the chain.9 -
It's literally the only way that change will occur.JiMMy 85 said:
Yep. Doing something yourself feels so futile to me. Go into a supermarket and survey the area. Look at all that stuff. It's an acre of plastic, that will sell out in a week and be replaced. Now consider this is one supermarket in a thousand in the UK alone.redman said:In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.
Until big business/ government make sweeping changes, plastic is going to fuck this planet.
We think we're doing good by using something multiple times. Sure, that reduces a little bit of plastic, but the planet won't, in 10,000 years, respond with "at least this collection of plastic pellets were once a re-useable 'bag for life'!
Not that I wish to put a downer on this thread, it must be a good thing for people to make the effort - I just agree with redman that to make a meaningful difference, things have to change further up the chain.
If you rely on the average man, who relies on affordability of items, he will always choose the option that is affordable and balances in his mind the moral dilemma.
The answer will NEVER be to trust the consumer to eradicate plastic... It must fall on producers.2 -
We have replaced plastic drinking straws with stainless steel ones and always recycle any plastic bags we may have at home in waste baskets and always take our own bags shopping.
There‘s a lot more we can do, but we‘re getting there!1 - Sponsored links:
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Not sure I agree that it's the only way.Dazzler21 said:
It's literally the only way that change will occur.JiMMy 85 said:
Yep. Doing something yourself feels so futile to me. Go into a supermarket and survey the area. Look at all that stuff. It's an acre of plastic, that will sell out in a week and be replaced. Now consider this is one supermarket in a thousand in the UK alone.redman said:In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.
Until big business/ government make sweeping changes, plastic is going to fuck this planet.
We think we're doing good by using something multiple times. Sure, that reduces a little bit of plastic, but the planet won't, in 10,000 years, respond with "at least this collection of plastic pellets were once a re-useable 'bag for life'!
Not that I wish to put a downer on this thread, it must be a good thing for people to make the effort - I just agree with redman that to make a meaningful difference, things have to change further up the chain.
If you rely on the average man, who relies on affordability of items, he will always choose the option that is affordable and balances in his mind the moral dilemma.
The answer will NEVER be to trust the consumer to eradicate plastic... It must fall on producers.
Despite some naysayers incorrectly presenting it as just another tax and doomed to failure, the impact of the plastic bag charge has been a widespread success.
"...data indicates that the 7 main retailers issued around 83% fewer bags (over 6 billion bags fewer) in 2016 to 2017 compared to the calendar year 2014..."
https://gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-charge-data-in-england-for-2016-to-2017
It might only be a start but this was an initiative aimed at changing behaviour from the bottom up rather than the top of the supply chain.3 -
It's all a massive scam. If 'they' wanted to sort this it'd be banned at source. The UK only recycles 10% of the rubbish we sort in our homes and even that goes into low grade plastic like carpet backing.
Charge me 5p for a plastic bag yet wrap up fruit individually on the shelf.... fuck off
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I was watching em put in the timber telegraph poles they still use in France a while back, interesting I know. But I was thinking to meself why they don't make a plastic composite pole. It can't be that much more money to produce....0
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Co op now using biodegradable bags. Shame really as I shop in Waitrose
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Logically, all us old farts who wear their clothes until they fall apart are doing a very good thing for the environment. And shouldn't there be a campaign to encourage people to wear natural fibres as much as possible? A lot of the tiny bits of plastic that enter the food chain through river and marine life come from clothing lint.3
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Not all that dissimilar to a Tesla if you listen closely enough.Arsenetatters said:
Not seen a milk float in years. Used to like the sound they made.Rob7Lee said:Milk from the milkman in glass bottles!
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It really winds me up that the big clothes shops and other high street stores haven't moved to cardboard or paper bags. Go into M&S ,Debenhams etc and they charge you 5p for a bag to stick some pants and socks in. They could easily make paper bags but chose not to.
Going to the supermarket I virtually always remember to take bags with me, but not always if you go into town to shop.
Some have moved to cardboard, but far too many haven't, and they're making money because of it.
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Right up to at least the 80s, Sainsburys used to have big brown paper carriers that were very strong and lasted well, if used with care. They were free, but I'd rather pay 5p or 10p for one of those than for a plastic bag for life.
Edit: these 3 "vintage retro rare" bags are up for sale on eBay as collectables for £5.95!
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We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.
I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?
Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.0 -
First vehicle I ever drove on the road was a milk float. Aged 11.Arsenetatters said:
Not seen a milk float in years. Used to like the sound they made.Rob7Lee said:Milk from the milkman in glass bottles!
#differenttimes2 - Sponsored links:
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This year The Co-op had a shop in a tent at a number of festivals and they had a bottle return machine whereby there was an additional cost of buying a bottle of drink which you then got back when it was returned via the machine.RedPanda said:We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.
I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?
Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.
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All clothes shops should be using paper bags, ironically the more expensive shops have used paper for ages
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@Arsenetatters, are the LoofCo thingies reliably non-scratch?Arsenetatters said:I've been looking into alternatives for plastic based items.
I get through a lot of those plastic washing-up pads with foam backing. However, I have found a superb alternative from LoofCo, who make a plant based one. I've had it for a few months now and it's still as good as new. You can machine wash it too.
Have any of you found other alternatives to plastic items?0 -
Yes, I think they're good.MountsfieldPark said:
@Arsenetatters, are the LoofCo thingies reliably non-scratch?Arsenetatters said:I've been looking into alternatives for plastic based items.
I get through a lot of those plastic washing-up pads with foam backing. However, I have found a superb alternative from LoofCo, who make a plant based one. I've had it for a few months now and it's still as good as new. You can machine wash it too.
Have any of you found other alternatives to plastic items?1 -
Paper bags can be less environmentally-friendly than plastic ones.Carter said:All clothes shops should be using paper bags, ironically the more expensive shops have used paper for ages
They are more resource-intensive to produce; they tear easier so are less likely to be reused; they are heavier than the equivalent sized plastic bag, therefore costlier to transport.
The environmental impact of each option just occurs at different stages of a bag's life.
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Another issue with using bags-for-life many times for supermarket shopping is keeping some bags for raw meat separate from the others so you don't put chicken in it one week followed by bread etc the next.
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When I started shopping at Lidl they didn't provide hand baskets so I'd get a cardboard box from the produce section and use that instead, then I wouldn't have to pay for carrier bags at the till as I took the box home. If only I could remember to bring the box back the following week I'd still be using the same one.0 -
There's a refundable deposits on all drinks containers (plastic, glass and metal) here in Canada. And Depots where you return them to get your deposit back. I think it's 5c < 1 litre, 25c >1L. Doesn't necessarily discourage plastic use, per say, but does encourage recycling. I save mine up for 2 or 3 months and usually get at least enough for another crate of beer when I return them. Charities, particularly kid's sports team, go around knocking on doors to collect them for fund raising. You will see a lot of homeless people collecting them from bins etc too to get a little bit of money to live on.addix said:
This year The Co-op had a shop in a tent at a number of festivals and they had a bottle return machine whereby there was an additional cost of buying a bottle of drink which you then got back when it was returned via the machine.RedPanda said:We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.
I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?
Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.
The biggest problem is not using plastic, more just how much stuff we own and use. We need to get back to more of a mend and make do attitude. So much of the carbon footprint of everything we own and use, including fossil fuel running cars, is locked up in the manufacturing process. But even things like reusable bag, the picture is not clear. I think the stat is something like a plastic 'bag for life' needs to be used 10 times before it comes out ahead of a single use bag (which in themselves, are not so flimsy they cannot be reused a few times) and a cotton one needs to be used something like a hundred times.
I just dion't see a situation where your are going to get enough people changing their lifestyle dramatically enough. What we need is zero carbon, or drastically reduced, energy sources as soon as possible that will allow people to carry on living something close to the lifestyle we've all come to expect, without the carbon footprint.0 -
If I buy more than I can carry and dont have a bag, I take an empty cardboard box from the wine section - theyre a good size to fit under your arm. Not sure how many supermarkets put cardboard boxes out for customers though.
But the amount of plastic packaging you just cant avoid is frightening - biodegradable packaging made of plant starch etc must be the way forward, but how you replace plastic shampoo/bleach/shower gel bottles etc is a tricky one. The technology will get there eventually, and surely a return to glass for drinks
I used to supplement my pocket money by collecting corona lemonade bottles and returning them for the deposit. Especially at the petrol station where you could help yourself to them from the crates out the back...0 -
And it costs us more to have plastic bags so we stopped buying plastic bags...Bournemouth Addick said:
Not sure I agree that it's the only way.Dazzler21 said:
It's literally the only way that change will occur.JiMMy 85 said:
Yep. Doing something yourself feels so futile to me. Go into a supermarket and survey the area. Look at all that stuff. It's an acre of plastic, that will sell out in a week and be replaced. Now consider this is one supermarket in a thousand in the UK alone.redman said:In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.
Until big business/ government make sweeping changes, plastic is going to fuck this planet.
We think we're doing good by using something multiple times. Sure, that reduces a little bit of plastic, but the planet won't, in 10,000 years, respond with "at least this collection of plastic pellets were once a re-useable 'bag for life'!
Not that I wish to put a downer on this thread, it must be a good thing for people to make the effort - I just agree with redman that to make a meaningful difference, things have to change further up the chain.
If you rely on the average man, who relies on affordability of items, he will always choose the option that is affordable and balances in his mind the moral dilemma.
The answer will NEVER be to trust the consumer to eradicate plastic... It must fall on producers.
Despite some naysayers incorrectly presenting it as just another tax and doomed to failure, the impact of the plastic bag charge has been a widespread success.
"...data indicates that the 7 main retailers issued around 83% fewer bags (over 6 billion bags fewer) in 2016 to 2017 compared to the calendar year 2014..."
https://gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-charge-data-in-england-for-2016-to-2017
It might only be a start but this was an initiative aimed at changing behaviour from the bottom up rather than the top of the supply chain.
Literally the same thing. Supermarkets bought the bags, then they got told they HAD to charge for them... People now use them less but they're certainly still used.0 -
Went to see Kent at Beckenham last year and you had to pay a deposit on plastic beer glasses there.RedPanda said:We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.
I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?
Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.
Also went to Warwick races a month or so ago and a similar thing there. Jockey Club racecourses saying they are trying to use less glasses. Seemed ok on a midweek meeting but going to a big meeting at Sandown on Friday, I'll see what they do there.0
