Use 10 Percent Less

All things must change when the consumer changes

packaging

Buy local to reduce emissions

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Remember those old movies where rich families would have exotic fruits from half way around the world that had to be transported on those old ships? In some parts of the world, exotic fruits could be just bananas and oranges. It seemed so decadent for these rich families to have such things. Well, today, we all have exactly these things available in our local supermarket, and we think nothing of it. It’s our right. But the ubiquitous availability of such things is one of the important reasons why our atmosphere is getting so polluted. It’s worth looking to buy local and to eliminate as many things as possible that are shipped great distances.

I’ve been worrying more and more about the energy used to move produce about the world and I’ve taken two steps recently to use 10 percent less, or more.

Farmdrop – buying local produce

I’ve started using the Farmdrop delivery service (I have no affiliation with them at all) because they build agreements with local producers and have a “Sourcing Policy” that starts with “Prioritise Local” and the intention to source within 150 miles where possible and to never use air freight. Their website makes it easy to see where every option comes from and I like that. I now buy only fruits and vegetables that come from nearby counties in the UK and that makes me feel better. We’re currently getting delicious plums, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and cheese from local farms, among other things. [Read more…] about Buy local to reduce emissions

Extinction of convenience

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The human race today, even in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, is addicted to convenience. It’s this addiction that is bringing us down and, with all likelihood, be the main cause of our extinction. Due to our desire for extreme convenience, we use the resources of the world with gay abandon and create enormous amounts of pollution everywhere. In response to this, the world’s environment has been changing rapidly in recent decades, as if the world is preparing for the extinction of convenience, which includes us. Our only hope is to create an “extinction of convenience” of our own, and eliminate our insatiable desire for endless convenience.

During the current coronavirus pandemic, I see a persistent desire to get back to the ways things were even though there are plenty of fantastic examples of how things could be better. The skies are clearer because there are not many planes flying, pollution from our cities has dropped dramatically, nature in many parts of the world is springing back into action and local communities are becoming stronger all over the world, just to name a few. Do we really want to go back to the way things were? People are worried about the “economy” but we really need to build a new economy rather than simply return to the old one. [Read more…] about Extinction of convenience

Disposable Batteries – what a waste!

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Disposable batteries obviously increase pollution and use up the Earth’s resources, but there’s really very little need for them. Rechargeable batteries are so good these days that it must actually be very close to the point where disposable batteries should be banned. I’ve been using rechargeable batteries for almost everything for 3+ years now, and they work well. There’s no need for disposable batteries.

 

First experience with rechargeable batteries

The first time I really looked at using rechargeable batteries was to power the external flash unit of a new Canon camera that I bought. The external flash unit took four AA batteries and I did a bit of research to see what professional photographers used for this purpose and I came across Eneloop batteries (note that I’m not deliberately promoting this type of battery – it’s just what I have experience with – there must be other good types of rechargeable battery as well). These worked great for the camera flash and, I learned over time, also seemed to work well on everything else. [Read more…] about Disposable Batteries – what a waste!

Recycled and recyclable

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Here’s a really good example of recycling. It’s a product from Ecover where the cardboard packaging was already 100% recycled and is also recyclable. Recycled and recyclable – that’s great.

recycled and recyclable
This product from Ecover was their All-In-One Dishwasher Tablets. Yes, I know it’s bad that I’m using a dishwasher as I’m sure it would create less impact on the environment if I washed the dishes by hand. But remember that one of the main ideas behind Use 10 Percent Less is that you don’t have to go from zero to hero in one huge step. If the whole world can start reducing consumption by just 10 percent, right now, that would be a tremendous relief for the planet and the environment.

[Click on the images to see them full-size]

recover dishwasher tablets

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Non Recyclable Packaging

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Do you ever bother to look at the back of the package you’re buying to see its recycling status? Even better, it’s good to check if it’s already recycled. I’m constantly amazed how often the packaging is clearly labelled as non recyclable packaging. In the UK this is defined as “not currently recycled”.

Non Recyclable Packaging

 

This is so bad. We all know about the plastic crisis the world is facing – how can it still be legal for companies to produce packaging that can’t be recycled? We know that Two Farmers have solved this problem and are using compostable packaging, so there should be no excuse for big name companies, like Kettle, to use non recyclable packaging but they do, as you can see here.

[Click on the images to see them full size]

And, as you can see below, there are ultra-cheap Cheese Puffs from Happy Shopper that also come in non recyclable packaging. That just shows how cheap this packaging must be. I’m sure that using recycled or compostable packaging must be more expensive and that’s why it’s avoided.

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Soap without plastic

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It’s hard to avoid plastic in general in today’s world, and it’s especially hard to find soap without plastic. Somehow, we’ve managed to convince ourselves that soap comes from the factories of large corporations and comes in disposable, plastic, pump-action bottles. That’s crazy!

Soap is actually pretty simple stuff and you can definitely buy it without the need for any plastic. We should all really get our soap without plastic pollution as part of the transaction.

I’m glad to see that more and more soaps are available in packaging that does not include plastic. It is possible to buy soap without plastic. All that’s needed is for the soap to be wrapped inside some paper and put in a simple cardboard box. Not even that is needed, but that’s a perfectly safe solution.

Examples of soap without plastic

One place that I’ve been buying soap from for the past 2-3 years is Maharishi Ayurveda (I have no affiliation with them, I just like their products) because they have nice, natural soaps. This example here is a “Vata” (lemongrass) soap from Maharishi Ayurveda that I really like.

Another example of some nice soaps I’ve bought recently have come from Trevarno Skincare (I have no affiliation with them either) who make some very nice natural soaps. They do make plenty of things in plastics as well, but the soaps I’ve bought from them have been very simply packaged in almost only a single piece of cardboard.

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Compostable Crisp Packets

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We don’t think about crisp packets too often do we? We just enjoy the crisps, without realising that almost all crisp packets are not recyclable and will end up in landfill (or worse!) for a very long time. The good news is that a British company called Two Farmers has come up with a way of creating compostable crisp packets, which is fantastic, and they taste great too!

Compostable Crisp Packets

It’s amazing that a small start-up company in the UK has been able to beat all the big manufacturers to a compostable crisp packet. Amazing, but understandable. We’ll see later what’s really going on here.

On the Two Farmers website, they say this about their compostable crisp packets (I have no affiliation with Two Farmers – I just enjoy their crisps);

“Eco-Friendly Packaging
In a pioneering move for the crisp industry we package our crisps in 100% compostable bags. These will completely break down in a home composting environment in 26 weeks. We also package into recyclable tins. Just another way in which we give back to the countryside.”

It’s great to see that these crisp packets will break down in a simple home composting situation – no need for some sort of “industrial” composting to make them break down. Apparently, the packets are made from sustainably-grown eucalyptus wood pulp.

7000 plastic packets every minute!

There has been a lot of pressure put on major crisp manufacturers, like Walkers, to ditch non-recyclable packaging. Walkers has said that they will be 100% recyclable, compostable or biodegradable by 2025, but this isn’t good enough. Apparently, Walkers make 7,000 non-recyclable crisp packets every minute, and they will make 28 billion more of them by 2025. Walkers have started their own recycling program, but this seems pretty lame and I can’t see it being successful. It appears to be just window dressing when they really could be tackling the problem head-on.

If the small Two Farmers startup company can make compostable crisp packets right now, why is Walkers putting it off until 2025? It’s not hard to understand…

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Mobility Lab and Amazon Plastic Packaging

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I was completely shocked recently when I ordered a “Mobility Lab” mouse from Amazon and the package arrived with so much plastic packaging. It’s really awful, so unnecessary and  none of it recyclable. In this case, Mobility Lab and Amazon plastic packaging is so bad, they should both be ashamed, and governments need to step in and stop such usage of plastic.

In the images below you can see that seven independent pieces of plastic were used to package the mouse. Really over the top. Not good Mobility Lab and not good Amazon!

I’d purchased the “Mobility Lab ML301884 1600 DPI Wired Optical Mouse for Mac and PC – White” from Amazon. I’m a little disappointed that I bought a new mouse made out of plastic and I didn’t try to find a second-hand one somewhere, but at least I hope the mouse will be used for a long time and won’t be discarded any time soon.

But the amount of unnecessary plastic packaging that came with the mouse is just crazy. Mobility Lab added five pieces of plastic packaging! They could have got away with none with just a little effort. Then Amazon added two more pieces, and again both were not necessary.

The real problem is that it’s just too cheap to use plastic for packaging like this, but it’s quickly suffocating the world. Governments need to step in a ban new plastic. At the very least, they need to put high taxes on new plastic production and use the money for tax rebates for companies working on plastic recycling methods. Maybe that would stop Mobility Lab and Amazon plastic packaging overuse.

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