Use 10 Percent Less

All things must change when the consumer changes

plastic

Anything but Plastic – it’s good to use less

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This is a mini celebration of all the ethical and more sustainable businesses that are popping up all over the world. It’s very refreshing to see companies with principles and a real desire to supply something better to the world rather than destroy it in the quest for the highest profits. In this post, I’d like to highlight a company in the UK called “Anything but Plastic” who have provided me good service and helped me reduce the amount of plastic I bring into my home. I have absolutely no affiliation with this company, I just enjoy their products and service.

anything but Plastic
This is the card they included in my latest order.

Nothing is better

Before I move on, I’d like to reiterate one of the main principles behind Use 10 Percent Less, which is that the best thing we can possibly do is stop using things. Avoiding something and not using it is far better than buying recycled products, finding alternatives to plastic, looking for renewable options, and the like. Not using something that we don’t really need to use releases a little of the pressure on the world. But, when something is necessary, it’s important to find a product that creates the minimum impact on the natural world (of which we’re an integral part – Bee a Human). All of the plastic we briefly use and dispose of thoughtlessly is a terrible imposition on the world and that’s one of the reasons I turn to companies like anythingbutplastic.co.uk when I need to.

Anything but Plastic

I was led to “Anything but Plastic” when looking for a way to avoid standard dental floss that is made from plastic. It’s horrible to think that I use dental floss every day and these little bits of plastic have to go somewhere after I used them. Not only the floss is plastic, but the container is another small plastic thing that has to go somewhere and, wherever that “somewhere” is, this plastic will be there for hundreds of years (even if it’s incinerated, the releases CO2 will be in the atmosphere for a long time). [Read more…] about Anything but Plastic – it’s good to use less

Shaving without plastic

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We are often caught in a trap of creating waste, paying too much money for unnecessary things, and not even realising there’s a less wasteful, cheaper way to go. Shaving is a classic case. We’re stuck in the disposable plastic world of shaving and have forgotten that there’s a simpler way. It’s crazy! It is possible to organise your shaving without plastic and it’s been around for centuries, and it’s cheap. Maybe all we can say is it’s less convenient, but it’s not really.

How I used to shave

I’ve been concerned about disposable (whatever that means!) plastic involved in shaving for many years now. Way back in 2007, I purchased a plastic razor from a company called Preserve because it was made out of recycled plastic already and because you only needed to replace the razor head when it got blunt. The idea was to keep the razor handle for a long time (I used mine for 12 years without the need to replace the handle) and only “throw away” the small head with the blades. The following three images are some photos of the razor I was using and its detachable blade head. [Read more…] about Shaving without plastic

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

Plastic, pollution and the coronavirus

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These are difficult days for humanity with most of us now housebound to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Quite rightly, this life-and-death issue has to take priority until the threat passes. However, unusual times like these have created an link between pollution and the coronavirus that offers us the opportunity to view things in a different way and make some interesting observations.

Using less and treading lightly on the world

For quite a while now, we’ve known that the world is struggling under the weight of human consumption and human pollution. There have been great amounts of progress towards minimising unnecessary consumption and pollution, especially plastic pollution, even though much, much more needs to be done. However, with the coronavirus threat, many people have gone into super-consumption mode and are stock-piling. It’s understandable because people are afraid, but it’s interesting to observe.

Also, any concern about plastic pollution has dissipated temporarily. The amount of food being stockpiled with plastic packaging is astonishing. The protective equipment for health professionals (all very necessary of course) appears to be mostly plastic. The coronavirus testing kits being manufactured at pace contain lots of plastic. Hand-sanitiser dispensers are almost always plastic. The UK has (temporarily?) abolished the charge on plastic bags at supermarkets.

I agree that this can’t be helped at the moment and protecting people has to be our immediate priority; but we also have to remember that we’re protecting people so we can continue to have meaningful lives. If we choke the world with plastic, we might find it hard to live in such a place.

I keep thinking of Satish Kumar’s call to “tread lightly on the world” (see Elegant Simplicity – The Art of Living Well). It’s a good thing to keep in mind. There’s nothing wrong with treading lightly on the world with everything we do, but the human race doesn’t have a good track record of doing that. [Read more…] about Plastic, pollution and the coronavirus

Toothbrushes and plastic

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I received this question from a friend, and it got me thinking about toothbrushes again.

“I’m trying to buy some plastic free toothbrushes. Have come across a number of options. Just wondered if you had done any research on this that you may want to share. Also wondered if you could help me with the difference between “nylon -6” biodegradable bristles and “nylon – 4”. Sounds like a con to me as nylon and biodegradable is surely an oxymoron.”

I haven’t really thought about toothbrushes for some time, ever since I started using a Monte Bianco toothbrush that I bought about 6 years ago now. It’s not that I’ve been using the same toothbrush for that length of time, but it’s because the toothbrush has replaceable heads. Yes, the heads are still plastic, but I’m throwing away much less plastic every time as the full handle is kept and I just pop a new head on it, and it’s still working fine after 6 years. Even better, Monte Bianco have replacement heads that have either “natural” bristles made from boar hair or traditional nylon plastic. I’ve used both and they both work fine, the only difference is that the boar hair ones don’t seem to last as long as the nylon ones. Also, I don’t know how the boars are treated when they harvest their hairs, and that worries me too. [Read more…] about Toothbrushes and plastic

Important things other than Brexit

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Living in the UK in recent times, it’s hard to find news reports that don’t include Brexit. Of course Brexit is an important issue that must get resolved, but there are far more important things other than Brexit that aren’t receiving enough attention. Last week, I decided to write a letter to a few of our politicians to suggest some actions that they could be considering, and preparing for, at the same time as resolving Brexit. I’ve posted the complete letter below.

The UK has some good recent momentum on environmental issues with the amazing work of Sir David Attenborough (see https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/plastics-watch) and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (see https://www.rivercottage.net/news/join-the-war-on-plastic) and the country really has an opportunity to help the world push forward quickly.

I’ve sent this letter to four politicians;

  • Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP – Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service
  • Rt Hon Jeremy Corbyn MP – Leader of Her Majesty’s Official Opposition
  • Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP – Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • Sam Gyimah MP – Member for East Surrey

I know full well that the letter might gather no attention at all and may not even be read, but I hope that’s not the case. Sending the letter certainly can’t cause any damage and, at the very least, it might be read and may have an influence on some of the future decisions made for the UK.

It’s important that we focus on pollution, and something other than Brexit. We’re definitely polluting too much and plastic and CO2 seem to be our biggest, out-of-control, polluting factors at the moment. This letter requests changes to our laws to rapidly promote the reduction of pollution as changes to laws can have almost instant effect. However, we can also acknowledge that if every one of us starting using and consuming less, that would be of great benefit as well. Both actions at the same time would be best.

See the letter below… [Read more…] about Important things other than Brexit

It’s Not all Rose Gold Straws and The Perfect Pantry

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Today we have a guest writer, Abi Jarvis, talking about some of her advice for using less. I find Abi inspirational. She’s a young person who’s really showing us all the way and I’m glad that she’s been able to write this post for us. Until I saw her post, I’d never heard of “Rose Gold Straws and The Perfect Pantry“, so I’ve been further educated by Abi. Many thanks.

Peter.

It’s Not all Rose Gold Straws and The Perfect Pantry

By Abi Jarvis

First, I would like to start with – THERE IS NO PERFECT WAY OF DOING THIS. Whether you’re lucky enough to live near a zero waste bulk buy food shop or not, whether you don’t have time to pre-make your meals for the week or you do, you do not need to be perfect at this, you just need to try. It’s not all Rose Gold Straws and The Perfect Pantry.

I’d definitely say, buy some kind of flask or Thermos for hot/cold drinks and foods. We drink a lot of tea and coffee as a nation, also as well as cutting down on waste it means you keep it hot/cold and it’s your personal container. I love KLEAN KANTEEN for their drink opening mechanism, also CHILLY’S BOTTLES are decorative but functional, and THERMOS make great long life containers.

It's not all rose gold straws and the perfect pantry

Cut down on everyday plastic – bread, milk, fruit, veg, meat. An easy one would be buy bread from the bakery section in paper bags over pre-cut and overpackaged loaves, the bread is often of a better quality too. Sign up to MILK AND MORE (https://www.milkandmore.co.uk/) milk and juice delivery, use the drinks and then put the bottles back out for collection, think of all the plastic milk and juice bottles you go through. [Read more…] about It’s Not all Rose Gold Straws and The Perfect Pantry

Plastic and shale gas from the US

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A couple of weeks ago, I watched the BBC’s programme “War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita, Series 1, Episode 3” and was shocked by many things, but none more than the fact that the UK is shipping in US gas (from US fracking) so that we can make more and more plastics in the UK. I didn’t realise there was such a strong link with the plastic we use every day and shale gas. Now I feel quite sad, and I wonder if people are aware of the connection between plastic and shale gas.

US Gas from fracking in the UK!

Firstly I’m shocked that US gas from the fracking of their own land is being shipped to the UK. Even as the Scottish government is strongly debating whether to implement a complete ban on fracking in the country, they are allowing gas fracked in the US to come into Scotland. The UK has areas like the North Sea and the Norwegian Continental Shelf right near by, so why don’t we take advantage of that? I’m sure it’s all because it’s cheaper, but cheap is not always good (see – Is “cheap” the right direction?). Cheap means somebody is making more profit out of it, but doesn’t mean that the value of humans and the value of the environment are being adequately taken into account.

INEOS is the company that was highlighted in the programme on BBC, and they seem to be proud of bringing in US gas to their Grangemouth facility in Scotland. In the links and quotes at the bottom of this article, you’ll quickly get the impression that the owners of the company are making big profits out of plastic and shale gas and they’ve convinced the government to keep their hands off by talking about preserving jobs and supplying UK manufacturing.

[Read more…] about Plastic and shale gas from the US

An evil plot to pollute the world

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Let’s imagine we live in a beautiful world without pollution, with plenty of fruit to eat and clean running water in beautiful streams. Everyone is happy in this beautiful place. Now, enter an evil mastermind who wants to ruin everything. What plans could he hatch to pollute the world and ruin it? Well, pretty much what humans have been doing for the last 100 years would work. Sounds like a plot for a 007 movie, and it would be amusing if it didn’t feel so true.

The plot to pollute the world

The evil mastermind hatched a plot to pollute the world. He wanted to bring the world to an end and have everyone else in the world help him do it without knowing. His first plan was to dig up enormous amounts of coal from under the ground and start burning it in large furnaces all over the world, and have people pay for it! He started industrial and technological revolutions and convinced people that all this new technology will make their lives easier (it won’t! – he loves it when he can fool people). The real reason he wants them to desire new technology is because it requires extra energy and they’ll need more and more coal-fired power plants.

Next he invents the “steam” engine. This is brilliant marketing because “steam” sounds clean but, in reality, this is an engine that burns more coal. In every possible situation, people all over the world are now wanting steam engines so they can be part of the industrial and technological revolution. More and more coal is being burnt and the skies are getting more polluted. [Read more…] about An evil plot to pollute the world

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.

[Read more…] about Non Recyclable Packaging