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

Cooking without the plastic

I had a good rummage through my kitchen cupboards a few days ago. I was very pleased to find a little tea strainer I didn't know I had and it is metal. I thought I only had a plastic one. Yay for digging in cupboards. I have cleared out a lot of stuff for the charity shop, I don't like to throw things away if I think it might be of some kind of use to someone and it could make a little money for charity too.

I was digging around in there because I am wanting to cook from scratch more to save on packaging waste. I dug out all the mixing bowls and my loaf tin. I have a metal one and a silicone one in there already. I made some very yummy bread. I have never really made bread entirely by hand before, we have a bread maker and that doesn't normally come out that great either, hence why we hardly use it. This bread came out wonderful. Bloody love it so I'm going to try and keep at it. No plastic wrapping on my homemade loaf. I made wholemeal and you can find the instructions I followed here.

I really suck at pastry. I have had two goes recently at a wholemeal pastry but it's really not very good. I'm going to try regular white flour pastry again soon but the last time I did that it wasn't much better. Gordon makes it look easy but our food processor broke on us a while back and I am still on the look out for a decent second hand one.

I did make some reasonably acceptable little pasties and a pie as well as a quiche, I just need to crack this pastry business. It looks nice and was quite yummy but could have been much better. I made cheese and broccoli.

I already have my next thing in mind too. Crisp bakes. I do like a nice crisp bake and I found this page on making them. I'm ideally wanting to find things I can make up and freeze so I can just throw them in the oven when I can't be bothered to make anything else. I am starting a collection of little pie dishes and ramekins so I can use those instead of foil and throw away items. I picked my quiche dish up in a charity shop for £1.99.

Making things like this might take extra time and effort but it's far better in a few ways. It's cheaper by far to get cooking than to buy things ready made. It's a more healthy option as you know exactly what is going in it, no preservatives or anything fake needed. The packaging is greatly reduced if not eliminated depending on if you have access to bulk buy/weigh and save. It also makes you a little more mindful of the food you are eating, I have found that I think more about what I am consuming when I am picking out all the ingredients instead of just grabbing a box. As well as all this, I am ending up using things I have rather than eating from a bag in the freezer and leaving the carrots and broccoli to go bad. I see them and use them in something.

So, packages of ready made stuff in the supermarket? You can go plastickit! (and the card and foil trays too). 

Shaving without plastic

I don't like being a hairy fairy. Problem is that most razors tend to be made of plastic and even if you get a good one with changeable heads instead of disposable ones, the heads are still plastic and the razor is often also plastic which will one day need replacing too. So what do I do?

Well for me I have an epilator. I didn't just get it, I have had it for many, many years. If you don't know what that is, it looks like a lady shave but it's actually rotating tweezers rather than a blade. It spins and plucks at a crazy rate and yes, it hurts, but it works really well at getting shut of hair. My issue is that it only works properly on my underarms. My hair is thicker there and can actually be plucked out. My legs are a different story. I used the epilator on my legs for many months but the hair just breaks so I end up constantly stubbly. If you want to be rid of hair in a zero waste way then I do strongly recommend the epilator. They are made of plastic it's true, but a second hand one should be easy to find and they will last a VERY long time. There are no parts to replace either. I have had mine at least 10 years and it's still going strong.

So for me, I wish it worked on my legs but it doesn't. I have to shave. I have tried sugar wax too which can be made at home, it's easy to do and natural, but that didn't work at all on me. It is always worth a try though and can be used for face too instead of using wax strips.

I have decided recently to try out a safety razor. They are made of metal and you just replace the blade itself which comes in a tiny paper sleeve. The blades do normally come on a tiny plastic case though which I didn't know before getting the razor, I will have to see if I can find an alternative if I decide to keep the safety razor on.

I tried a really cheap one thinking that they would all be the same, but the cheap thing fell to bits when trying to put the blade in and it cut me too, not the blade I might add, the razor had it's very own sharp edge that cut my finger. I went to get some better blades, thinking the rough shave was probably due to the blade and not the razor. At this point I shall tell you that I have a large tattoo of Maleficent down the side of my left leg. When I shaved the second time, the poor evil witch looked like she had been involved in a rather nasty accident. It felt even rougher this time and no matter how careful I was, there were little cuts all over. I even dripped blood on the bathroom rug. My legs were sore all over for the rest of the night. I got a better razor then, thinking it could be to do with it being so cheap and not holding the blade firmly enough. The hubby tried to use it last night too and has said he ain't touching it again.

I don't know if there is a trick to it, I'm going to look it up before giving up on it. I don't really want to go back to my plastic ones but I don't want to be hairy either. It's just not my bag man. 

Research time.

Plastic free cup of tea, not as easy as you think

So here is a good one for you. Tea bags contain plastic. Yep, the actual bag itself. I have found this in quite a few places but a blog HERE gives some good information about it. I like Chai tea and, like the blogger I just linked, thought tea bags were fully biodegradable and was happy that my tea bags were just in a small card box and had no film or wrapping around them. I thought they would be plastic free but it looks like the bags do contain plastic.

Crazyness. so we have an easy solution and it's actually a really good one. Loose leaf tea and a good old fashioned tea pot. It makes making a cup of tea more of a little ritual which goes along nicely with my hygge. There is just something soothing and comforting about a tea pot and the tea is normally much nicer than the bagged kind anyway.

I had to, as with a few things so far, order my tea on Ebay. You can easily get regular loose leaf tea in large supermarkets but I'm the difficult one that like Chai. So I had a good look around and couldn't find loose Chai so I ordered. It came in a pouch that is mostly thick paper but with a plastic window on the front. Not too bad for now but the eyes are open for a place I can just go buy it, hopefully where I can just fill up my tea jar.

I have a large tea pot, a small tea pot and a mini tea pot already, but if you don't have one they are very easy to get hold of. Go to any charity shop and you will normally find at least one sort of tea pot. I also already had the strainer which is sadly a plastic one. This is due to cost. I always wanted a nice metal one but they always cost more and seem to be harder to come by in charity shops. Plastic ones are easy to find and very cheap, this is the case with a lot of plastic things which doesn't help the problem. When mine is worn out though and needs to be replaced, I will fork out and get a metal one. I had been getting honey for my tea in a plastic squeeze bottle just because it was easy to squeeze some in to the cup. I am now opting for the glass jar and also hope to eventually find a place where I can just fill up my own jar.

If you don't want to go down the tea pot route, you can always get a couple of tea strainer/infusers. They can be found very cheap on Ebay and some shops do sell them. I got one from Aldi but it doesn't close properly so it just lets all the tea out. I think mine is just faulty but I prefer the tea pot anyway.

So the old way was using the tea bags, which I now know have plastic in them and the plastic honey bottle. I would still drink the regular tea as well which comes in foil wrapping but I am ditching that altogether now. I'm sticking to my loose Chai.

Another step closer to telling them they can plastickit!

Milk bottles

I'm really bothered by milk bottles. It might make me sound old to some, but I liked the old way. I'm old enough to clearly remember the milk float in a morning and opening the door to glass bottles of fresh milk on the doorstep. I liked the empty bottles sitting there ready for collection with a little note. Refilling and reusing the bottles all the time. I even remember the egg lady, coming around making deliveries of fresh eggs. Straight from the farm, in to her car and right to the door. Perfect. Even though we live in a more town like area, it made it feel more like a little friendly village. It gave off this feeling of community. 

Now we have milk in one time use plastic bottles and I have been hunting around for glass bottled milk with no luck yet. I found a milkman listed as delivering to this area but he is based quite some distance away. He won't be coming around the streets on an electric float, that's for sure. He also has no listing of prices or any information up to read. Plus, even if milk was left on the doorstep these days in this area, it wouldn't be there for long. I've had flowers stolen from my yard before, a pot frog taken from the side of my door and my garden Christmas decorations pulled apart. Community spirit and respect for property isn't something we have a lot of.

I went to the local farm shops but they have bought in milk in plastic. I have read that a few farms will sell directly to customers, missing out the shop, but I'm yet to find any around here.

There must be somewhere that still does things the old way. I'm keeping the feelers out. 

IFLscience post on plastic

Click below to read it

Marine Organism Shreds Plastic Bags into More Than A Million Pieces

Toilet issues

This one is only a little bit plastic related but I see it as a big, huge, gigantic chunk on waste that we don't often think about. 

Toilet roll.

A lot of it is freshly made paper, many that say they are recycled are only using a percentage of recycled materials, and pretty much all of them come all wrapped up in our old friend plastic. Plus then the fact that it's all paper down the toilet. So what do I do about this?

I found a zero waste solution is to use something they call 'family cloth'. Pretty much what it sounds like. Sections of re-purposed fabric to wipe with, drop them in a bucket and then wash them. I saw a suggestion of filling the bucket with vinegar to combat the smell, but I still can't imagine it would be a great odour.

Well hats off to you if you can do the family cloth thing because it really does seem like a great zero waste solution, but for me? NOOOOOO! I am not willing to have poo rags hanging around and messing with them to throw them in the washer? Nope!

So then we have what a lovely fella I knew referred to as a 'bum gun'. He was an interesting sort, but what he meant was a bidet. We really should have more of these things, very eco friendly and hygienic. I thought they would be really costly but you can actually get a basic kit on Ebay starting at about £7 on the super cheap end. They are meant to be very easy to fit yourself too, but looking at my toilet pipes I'm not sure. I can be quite handy but I have never really had a play with plumbing before. Some are simple little things that fit in the back of the toilet that squirt you and others are like a mini hand held shower head that hooks up next to the toilet. No paper needed and always freshly washed bits.

There is also another option. One that lands between the others. A company I found very charmingly called Who Gives A Crap? They produce toilet paper that is 100% recycled material, packaged in recycled paper and not plastic, and 50% of the company profit goes to helping build toilets for those who really need them to reduce the spread of disease. Is it affordable? Well, the best value option they advertise is 48 rolls for £36, working out to 75p per roll. Not the cheapest but very, very ethical for loo roll.

So personally I'm going with the 'bum gun' as the best option but dare I go for it, get one and try messing about with the pipes? Watch this space.

Doing bits and bobs

This post is going to be just about the odd thing here and there.

So teeth again. I tried biting the Lush tabs in half and it's perfect. The full tooth brushing tab was making me look kind of rabid but using half at a time is just about the right amount and I didn't get as much of that odd taste from it either, more just the mint coming through. And they really work along with my bamboo brush, feeling very clean indeed.

I got all my items today for making my own deodorant as per the Trash Is For Tossers suggestion. I will be making up a batch of this soon. The solid bar I got from Lush is good but a bit rough on the pits. The powder it's made of is quite compacted and not really rubbing off easily like the top layer did. 

I have had a problem with some things though. Getting my ingredients and low waste items is creating waste in postage packaging. I can't get some things around here, I have no idea where I could get them if I can, and so I order them. I needed shea butter for the deodorant, I have no idea where to go and buy it. It came in a zip lock bag, inside another zip lock bag, inside a plastic postage bag. This outer bag says it is recyclable plastic but still, it's a lot of plastic. I'm just hoping that it will still be far less plastic than buying commercial finished products. My coconut oil is in glass, corn flour (UK version of arrow root) is in card, bicarb (baking soda) in card and oil in glass. I'm only starting out though so still figuring out how to keep it as low as I can.

I have also replaced my hand wash with soap from a small family business, as well as using their bath bombs. Lovely stuff, small place and local. They said they are going to be having a bash at making sold shampoo and conditioner bars too so I'm looking forward to those. I am not a big fan of just basic soap as I have always found it quite drying, but these little colourful, fruity soaps are actually really nice.

And lastly, I'm trying to make more things to eat rather than buy things. I made some wholemeal pastry (I normally suck at pastry but it's not too bad) and made little pasties with potato, leek and feta in a basic sauce. Pretty nice. Going to make some pies too, got some little oven dishes/ramekins I can use over and over rather than foil trays or anything disposable. I'm wanting to make some stuff from scratch and freeze them instead of having boxes and wrapping and foil to throw out. It should be cheaper, healthier and produce far less waste. We also have a lot of plastic tubs with lids from ordering Chinese food.  We have always saved them so I shall be able to use those as well, get plenty of use out of what I already have up til they break before they go in the plastic recycling bin. One of the projects on the list is making fabric food wrap with bees wax, that can be used instead of cling film for storing things.

So many things to do.