Teeth and the Radio

This is a post that I thought I posted a while back, turns out it didn't post. I only just found it so here it is, better late than never.

But before I give you my teeth post, here is the second instalment of me on the radio when I was visited by Johnny I'Anson.

Teeth

I mentioned before about the whole toothbrush problem, that every toothbrush that has ever been made in plastic is still out there. They won't break down for at least 400 years so there are plenty of them around.

One response to that is the bamboo toothbrush. I just got mine today along with the sign to stick on my door.

I think the bristles are still made of a nylon material but the wooden handle will decompose along with all the other natural materials instead of just sitting there forever.

Then it comes to toothpaste. I have tried to make one as suggested by the lovely Lauren at Trash Is For Tossers, but I really didn't like it. This was a base of coconut oil with some bicarb and peppermint oil. Yack. I tried to use just bicarb with a little peppermint oil to mint it up. Yack. And I tried just using the bicarb alone. Yack. The ones I have seen on the net are based with coconut oil too so no good either.

It's not the toothpaste that is my problem though, it's the tube. I would be happy if I could find regular toothpaste in a large bottle in bulk, metal is even better. One large container with enough to last a long, long time rather than plastic tube after plastic tube.

So I set out on my next mission and found good old Lush have a solution for teeth as well. I went in and got some samples to try out. They have a Tooth Fairy dust which you dab your brush in, but I have 3 types of little tabs. Returnable, recyclable bottle with a 100 little tablets in. Give it a chew to crush it up then brush away. You can even get the same thing as a mouth wash, dissolve it it your trap and swill it out.

I have samples of BOOM!, Limelight and Miles of Smiles

Can't wait to brush my teeth tonight now, new bamboo brush and some fancy pants tooth tabs.

Plastic tooth brush and toothpaste tube? Go plastickit!

It's Not Just Me

There are plenty of other people out there who are blogging their journey to reduce plastic use. If you have a search around the net you will find many people in different stages on the road to zero waste. Here is just one other who will share the experience with you.

MyPlasticFreeYear

Radio Chats and Being Surrounded

I have just been on BBC Radio Leeds this morning talking about trying to reduce the use of plastics. It went very well and I believe I should be back on each morning this week. I will be getting the clip of the show later on to add here.

We were talking about just how much plastic is all around us and how you don't even notice it...until you do. And when you do, you really do. I would like to set out a challenge for anyone who hasn't seen just how much one use plastic there is. When you next go shopping, for every item you pick up try and see if there is a plastic free version, whether you buy it or not, just have a look for one. For a lot of products, there isn't one.

I have so far not found salad cream in glass, only plastic. I thought tomato sauce would be a simple one, but I only just found one in a warehouse shop by a brand I have never heard of. Brown sauce is only the supermarket smart price one which the hubby doesn't like, and he loves his brown sauce. He likes HP and Aldi's own which are all now plastic bottled.

Wash liquid is always going to come in a bottle, all plastic, but the wash tabs? Do they really have to come in thick plastic boxes or the thick plastic bags that can't even be recycled? Dishwasher tabs normally come with individual plastic wrap. Bread in plastic bags, even the fresh in store baked ones. And the worst offender of all has to be the fruit and veg. Why do I need a lettuce to be shrink wrapped? Why do I have a plastic bag on apples or plastic netting around oranges? If it's a deal or offer on so many, can you not just put up a sign and trust that people are able to count? 

So if you haven't seen it, go ahead and take a look. Look in your kitchen, look in your bathroom, look all around your home and see the extent of the problem. Every item you see is eventually heading out of the house at some point. Where will it go? What will happen to it? And what problems will it create?

The Radio Chat Is Up

Share Waste - Community Compost

I have just seen this website being shared on a zero waste group and I think it's a great idea. So Here it is, I shall share it out there some more.

If you have the ability to compost or you are wanting to compost but don't have the space or time to do it, you can sign up to share. Find places near you that will take your compostable waste or list your composting ability.

There is not much listed just yet but with a bit of time and more people joining it will hopefully get going. You can sign up and ask for a notification when something happens nearby. 

Magic!

Visit the Share Waste Website 

Basic Baking to Defeat Plastic Waste

I'm really rubbish at cooking and baking. I have tried a few times before at making things but for some reason it has never come out well. This time though I decided to have another go and it's working out pretty well. The idea being to make more things from scratch that normally come all wrapped up. It's better getting flour in a paper bag than bread in a plastic one. I might try and do a little video of the things I have started making but for now I shall do the typey word thing. 

Yummy Simple Bread

I have always found anything with a dough to be messy and sticky and I don't like it, but this has been fun to do and not very sticky at all. I have made wholemeal, white and a mix of both and they have all come out great. Super simple.

Get a bowl and weigh out 500g of strong bread flour, add 7g yeast and a teaspoon of salt. I use a metal spoon to get them all mixed together properly. 

When they are well mixed up, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of honey and 300ml of warm water. Use the spoon to mix it all together. I try to give it a bit of a squash with the spoon too and get all the loose flour to stick in the dough, really squish any sticky looking bit of the dough in to the flour. It makes the next part less sticky on the hands.

Sprinkle flour all over the worktop and get your dough out of the bowl. Now you knead the dough for at least 5 minutes. It will still have some stickiness but just roll it about in the flour and it will dry out a bit. Lay the dough out in a loaf tin and leave it in a warm place for about an hour.

When it has risen up, put it in the oven at 180c/356f for 30 minutes. Turn it out and cool on a wire rack.

Yum num.

Basic Pasta

Pasta is another thing I had tried to make before with varying results, but I made this today and it was damn tasty. I just used a rolling pin but I am planning on finding a pasta machine second hand. I have spotted a few already on Shpock, one in my home town for £15 and 5 or 6 of them quite a drive away at £5 each........damn it!

Get out the trusty bowl and add 140g of plane white flour and half a teaspoon of salt. Mix them together then add one beaten egg and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix together until it starts to look like a dough. Flour the work surface and knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. Then you can use your pasta machine if you have one to roll and cut as you like, or you can roll out the dough with a rolling pin and a knife to make noodles, tagliatelle, lasagna, ravioli or whatever else you like. 

If you are boiling up your pasta, just drop it in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. It cooks super fast.

I like to make a sauce too. I use canned, chopped tomatoes but plan on experimenting with making these myself from fresh. I put them in a pan with a little cornflour and add some butter, some herbs (whichever I have and feel like using at the time), some salt and pepper and then sometimes some cheese too. No science to it really, just play around with it.

I have been trying to get pastry right as well but that still hasn't come out great. I shall keep having a go and see if I can improve on it. So I should be getting on with making pies and quiche and I also have plans for making some yummy pizza.

Let's get cooking.

Washing the waste free way

Another thing I had trouble with is doing the washing. I had been using a washing liquid for a while but it comes in a plastic bottle, I swapped to some of those pods that dissolve in the wash, but they come in a plastic box. So these are both out if I want to get rid of the demon plastic. I got a box of wash powder recently, thinking that a card box was going to be the best option. I don't know a lot about the wash powder and it's impact on the environment but I knew I was probably on to more of a winner when I spotted this on the net.

The Ecoegg just goes in the wash and does it's thing without putting any nasty stuff out in the water. The bead things just need changing every 54 washes and the egg itself is made from a recycled plastic that is made to be tough and durable to last you a very long time. It came in just a card box so no plastic wrap anywhere. So far I am a fan, it seems to be working fine and if it's telling me the truth then it really quite a good eco solution to washing.

Plastic Petition

Everyday we buy products packed in materials that are not biodegradable or recyclable. Packaging like this can only be tossed in the bin, and it ends up in landfills or in oceans. This waste is slowly poisoning the Earths underground and overground water channels, the soil, the air, plants and animals and us too. We are creating an impending disaster for ourselves by polluting the very environment we depend on for life! The retail giants that are responsible for creating the most waste need to step up and change their packaging to sustainable and biodegradable materials first, with others to follow. These biodegradable materials are already being produced and are readily available so why aren't they being used on a large scale ? The UK government needs to make laws to BAN retailers from using plastic and other packaging which is not biodegradable or recyclable. The actions we take now will determine our very immediate future, WE NEED TO MAKE THIS CHANGE NOW BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE! 

SIGN NOW