Recycle, Reuse!!

I have tried to divide products into categories and all brands listed are either recommended by author Will McCallum or by fellow LTers.

This thread is a place to share information, brands and resources. And to make a commitment to make some positive changes! : )

A great book to start thinking about...How To Give Up Plastic! It was slow going, but only because I tried to not only read it but make small changes in my lifestyle and that is not easy. Please let us know if you have other book recommendations.

450 years for a plastic bottle to break down in the ocean
114* years since first plastic was invented
90 percent of seabirds have plastic in their stomachs
80 percent of plastic in the ocean originates on land
59* years since the first plastic bag was created
1 rubbish truck of plastics enters the ocean every minute
We typically use a plastic bag for less than 15 minutes
Most tampons have plastic in them
*(+3 years since publication)

This is my personal list and I plan to keep updating this as I make changes.

Things I was already doing
*Carry reusable shopping bags
*Reuse packaging and don't overwrap (I have a whole closet of boxes and packing material I recycle)
*Use recyclable paper and cardboard instead of styrofoam packing material
*Buy my veggies in cardboard crates instead of plastic containers whenever possible
*Use a home soda maker with reusable bottle
*Dishwasher detergent -- Planet
*Silicone and beeswax dish toppers/wraps
*Garbage Bags -- Seventh Generation
*Compost Collector under sink that goes into city Compost Bin
*Cloth Napkins
*Wider comfort range for heating and cooling house
*Motion detectors on lights to keep them off when not in use

Also started
*Keeping a reusable water bottle and cup in the car
*And a reusable utensil kit in my glove compartment
*And a reusable metal straw
*Phone Case -- Switched to compostable case by Pela
*Toilet Paper -- Who Gives A Crap
*Laundry Detergent sheets -- TruEarth
*Cloth "Paper" Towels -- Marley's Monsters
*Recycled Paper Towels -- Who Gives A Crap
*Tissues -- Who Gives A Crap (Recycled and no plastic keeping tissues inside)
*Sponges compostable -- If You Care
*Scrub Cloths cotton and cellulose -- Down to Earth Basics

Next steps
*Transitioning from liquid soap, shower gels and shampoo to solid versions not packaged in plastic. This one may be a bit harder for me with my skin allergies, but I am going to try. I am using up what I have left and then I will try to make the switch.
*Toothpaste
*Cleaning supplies -- etee?
*Composter -- outside
*Ridwell for recycling things

Shampoo Lush, Ethique, Silver Falls Sustainability Company
Conditioner
Deoderant BITE, Wild, Silver Falls Sustainability Company, Earth Conscious Natural Deodorant Stick
Toothpaste BITE
Tampons Daye
Toilet Paperget rid of plastic packaging and find more easily recycled or replenishable paper like bamboo. Who Gives A Crap (LOL), Pure Planet, Ecoleaf, Reel Paper, and Seventh Generation

DW Detergent Planet, Dropps (subscription)
Paper Towels or Cloth Marley's Monsters, Seventh Generation, Reel Paper
SpongesScrub Cloths made by Down To Earth Basics and Reusable Sponge Cloths made by If You Care
Containers Grove.co
Cleaners Grove.co
Trash Bags Seventh Generation

Laundry Detergen TruEarth, Kind, Dropps, Amway SA8, etee, Stoneworks
Cleaning Supplies TruEarth, etee

And to see where you laundry detergent is being made...

https://enviromom.com/where-is-your-laundry-detergent-made/

Home Soda Machines

Recycling Things Ridwell. The regular categories of things they take are plastic film (including all those pesky plastic shipping bags), threads (old clothes, worn-out shoes, destroyed stuffed animals -- stuff Goodwill etc. can't use), batteries and light bulbs, and they have rotating featured categories every few weeks. They will also take styrofoam, but it's an additional fee each time you have them collect a large bag.

Phone Cases Pela

Compost

Other ideas

Other ideas

List of Earth Friendly Vendor Names

Amway SA8
BITE
Daye
Dropps
Earth Conscious
Ecoleaf
Etee
Ethique
Grove.co
Kind
Pela
Marley's Monsters
Planet
Pure Planet
Ridwell
Seventh Generation
Silver Falls Sustainability Company
The Rounds (currently only available in DC, Philly, and Miami)
TruEarth
Who Gives a Crap
Wild

Come on in and share!

What do you use? What's your next goal? Let us know!

Hello!

I'm at the reusable bag stage. I've been stuck there for a while.

Thanks for creating this thread, Kim! I was inspired by the conversation on your personal thread and started working on this myself. I'll update this list as I make progress.

Things I was already doing
* Composting: under-sink bucket and outdoor compost pile
* Reusable bags: string bags that are great for trips to the farmers market or quick errands
* Reusable travel mug for the car
* Reusable utensil kits and metal straws
* Cloth napkins
* "Swedish dishcloths" (made of compostable cellulose) to reduce paper towel use

Recently started
* Reusable shopping bags for supermarket use (these went away at the start of the pandemic and have only recently returned)
* Toilet Paper: Who Gives A Crap
* Paper Towels: Who Gives a Crap
* Dishwasher tablets: Dropps (subscription)
* Shampoo, conditioner: Plaine (refillable, recyclable)
* Facial cleanser: Plaine (refillable, recyclable)
* Body Wash, Body Lotion: Plaine (refillable, recyclable)

Plans
* Transition to zero waste products as I run out of current supply. This includes personal care products like toothpaste and body lotion, as well as laundry and cleaning products.
* Continue to inventory home plastic use and look for ways to change.

Added this thread to the group wiki. Great idea for a thread!

Grove.co is a great company for eco-conscious household products. They sell low-plastic or plastic-free containers (e.g. spray bottles, soap dispensers) as well as concentrated cleaners that you mix with water yourself.

I've just signed up with a company called The Rounds (currently only available in DC, Philly, and Miami), which brings eco-conscious products right to my door once a week. So far I've gotten recycled toilet paper, recycled trash bags, compostable sandwich bags, and glass jars of toiletries and food (rice, pasta, coffee). When empty I give the jars back to them for reuse. I'm one person who lives in a small apartment and doesn't have a car so I can't usually get things in bulk so this is a huge help to me.

A big source of ocean plastic is toothbrushes. Most popular toothbrushes are unrecyclable since they mix plastics. I had been using toothbrushes that are made of recycled plastic because I could get those easily at Target, but now I can get bamboo toothbrushes from The Rounds.

>18 norabelle414: The dogs recycle the toothbrushes as chew toys. Not much of a help, but it gives them hours of fun. They love the textures.

>15 quondame: >19 quondame: Hey! Every little bit helps. And you are here thinking about it. I challenge you to find one new thing to try out. : )

>16 lauralkeet: Awesome! I look forward to your future discoveries and inspiration.

>17 drneutron: You rock Doc!

>18 norabelle414: Awesome info. I've added your brands to the lists up above. I hope to reuse containers that I already have, but if I need a new one I will check out Grove.com and I wish that Rounds was in my area!

Toothbrushes--yeah, that is on my list to replace conscientiously when my current one is done.

Thanks for setting up this thread, Kim! You've put a lot of work into it.

I have a big bag in my car which holds my reusable shopping bags and coffee cups with straws. I'm not quite sure why it's so large and the kids always complain that it takes up too much space (but if I don't have it next to me, I forget about taking it in to the shops until I'm at the counter) in spite of the fact that two of the cups are for them. I'm emptying my coffee grounds into the garden and we put recycling into the recycle bin but I think that's about it.

Singapore is a bit behind; I recently discovered that 40% of stuff put into public recycling bins can't be recycled either because it's the wrong material or because of food contamination. That last ... that's just ridiculous. I mean, I know we're in the tropics and organic stuff goes off really quickly but there has to be a way around that. For the sake of the planet.

Toothbrushes - we've switched to electric toothbrushes but I doubt they do recyclable brushes for them yet?

(PS: >7 Berly: switch to tap water 😘)

>22 humouress: Same! If the reusable grocery bags are not in my car, I often forget them! And I have been saving containers that come with takeout food and reusing them to give leftovers to my kids and friends after they come over for a meal. But I really need to eat less takeout! It costs more money and it is loaded with calories and then there are all the plastic containers. Sigh.

Regarding >7 Berly:...That's not for fizzy water (at least for me; I do use tap), but to make soda in reusable containers so I don't have to buy soda cans or big plastic bottles. And the soda would be for my son, LOL. Now that he is back in the house I have to get in the habit again. But if I was a fan of fizzy water, I think this would still be a better thing than all the cans and bottles. I think.

Remember--I am not an authority!! I am just trying to up my recycling game, so all insights are appreciated.

Here's an idea for those old toilet paper rolls!



https://blog.whogivesacrap.org/home/goodcrafts/garden-with-toilet-rolls?utm_sour...

>24 Berly: Great idea. I don't think that's why I'm saving them. I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Two of my Amazon packages came in brown bags proclaiming "recycle" - both contained lots of plastic. It's more like 3 steps back.

I am sure there are other things to do with the toilet paper rolls. : ) Sorry about the packaging. : (

So today, in my local grocery store, I found...

Scrub cloths made by Down To Earth Basics, 97% cotton and 3% water based coating.

And Reusable Sponge Cloths made by If You Care. Certified compostable. One cloth replaces up to 15 rolls of paper towels and machine washable up to 30 times.

They both work great!!

On the reduce side, a tip I saw in an AASingapore magazine was to turn off the car engine while waiting at traffic lights.

My parents claim it takes more fuel than it saves to start the engine again - but my dad’s latest bells-and-whistles car turns off the engine automatically* at lights :0) You decide for yourselves but I usually do turn off the engine when it looks like it’s going to be a longish wait.

ETA: * when it's waiting at lights

>27 humouress: Nice tip! I also turn my car off when I am waiting in line for gas. Thumbs up.

>27 humouress: My husband's new vehicle turns the engine off after so many seconds of waiting. I find it disconcerting, and he actively dislikes the feature.

Pre-covid, I avoided drive-through situations whenever I could so as to NOT be idling and wasting gas in a drive-through line. I'm talking decades here, so figure I've built up a lot of credit that I'm now using.

>27 humouress: my dad’s latest bells-and-whistles car turns off the engine automatically* at lights I thought that was pretty standard these days? My old Skoda Citigo (tiny car) bought in 2014 certainly had a stop-start system, so it would switch the engine off if you put it in neutral. And the last two Skoda Octavias have had it as well. And none of those are what you would call fancy cars.

You just have to touch the accelerator to switch it back on.

>29 karenmarie: It is a bit disconcerting if you're not used to it and the engine suddenly turns itself off.

>30 SandDune: Oh? It was the first time I'd come across it myself. Mind you, my dad's car is now a few years old - but it's newer than mine which is about 8 years old.

I've just watched the second programme on BBC Lifestyle of Cook Clever, Waste Less which addresses food waste (in the UK). There are ideas to stretch foods and some tasty looking recipes so they hopefully prevent so much food waste ending up in landfills .

ETA: the composter arrived and my 18 year old son helped me put it together (major achievement there on my part; he even did most of the work) but looking at it afterwards I suspect we may have put the legs on the wrong way around. I've never composted before so I'd appreciate any advice on how to compost and what (or what not) to put in. I'm expecting, with the heat and humidity here, that it should degrade quite quickly. The bumph on Amazon says there shouldn't be any insects or smell - let's hope they're right!

Thanks for starting this thread, Kim. I'm happy to share ideas and learn from others.

It has been gratifying to find that Kauai has eschewed plastic in so many uses where it was ubiquitous. Our Shave Ice, at two different places, was served in compostable bowls. One place used compostable spoons, the other provided little wooden spoons (also compostable). The one that gave us a straw used paper straws and that has been true in restaurants when they serve cocktails, too. No more stupid little plastic straws with a cocktail! Yay! Why do I need little tiny plastic straws in my Mai Tai or my Manhattan anyway???

One of our favorite adjustments at home has been using Tru Earth Laundry Strips. No more plastic bottles of laundry detergent!

Well, I see that you already know about Tru Earth but I'm happy to provide another endorsement.

And Who Gives a Crap is awesome!

We're trying a plastic-free toothpaste, BITE (Because It's The Earth). Honestly, I'm using it at night and still Colgate in the morning. But I'm making the transition.

I'm going to try Ethique shampoo.

Although I'm not a "regular" member of this group, I have joined in on some group reads and also this year for Paul's Asian reads. This topic is very near and dear to my heart. To be honest, while I was working 60+ hours per week, I really didn't have the time nor inclination to leave a smaller carbon footprint. However, in the past 2 years since retirement, I've started making strides, baby steps really. But here's what I'm currently doing:

*using reusable shopping bags made from recycled materials
*hanging 90% of my clothing to dry
*bought a pressure canner and am canning my own food-meats, vegetables, and fruits, to cut down on food waste, tin can/s wrappers, plastic/styrofoam, etc.
*turned hot water heater down 10 degrees
*took kitchen timer (wind up) into bathroom to time my showers
*Use dishwasher sparingly--however, newest reports say that a dishwasher uses less water than washing and rinsing by hand When I do use dishwasher it is totally full and I turn it off before the high-steam dryer at the end (unless we have colds)
*bought 100% cotton napkins and am using them
*bought hotel packs of wash rags and hand towels and use them instead of paper towels. Useful in the house and the garage. Keep some in the car, also
*bought "wheat" plates that are sustainable and can be used in the microwave and dishwasher. I love them so much I will never use anything else!
*began a composting pile which I will use for the first time this spring/summer (leaves, mowed grass, coffee grounds/filters, egg shells, any fruits parts such as apple cores, orange peels, banana peels, tea bags, non-coated cardboard, potato peels. I will add this years cut-backs from flower beds and prunnings from the bushes in the spring)
*Use bamboo straws--no plastic
*eat more plant foods, less animal foods--a bit difficult as hubby is a determined carnivore.
*have instituted the Great Depression program: Meatless Mondays Heatless Tuesdays, Wheatless Wednesdays
*buy items in bulk, when possible, to reduce packaging
*travel wisely
*as appliances need replaced, replace with more energy efficient appliances
*buy local, whenever I can
*invested in a bunch of mason jars/lids (second hand) for canning and storage. Trying to eliminate storing/using anything plastic.
We really keep our house cool in the winter--63 degrees and don't turn on the air in the summer till the temp goes over--about 84--unless the humidity is real high. The air temp is set on 74. If I had it my way--I would not turn the air on at all--open windows and a fan is good enough for me!
Set out bucket in the summer to collect rainwater--what is used to water plants/flowers.
plant permanent bushes (fruit) and trees--at least one per year.
*most of the lights in our house are kept off. We watch TV in the dark (night). I have a Kindle, so I prefer to read on it because I can adjust the font--no need for a light. I usually try to read my tree books during the day. Speaking of books, I either get from library or used book store, again, to cut down on the use of paper.

I have not yet begun to study the cleaning supplies yet--that's next on my list. Although I will say, I have 2-3 years worth of supplies in my pantry.

I look forward to seeing what other are doing!

Things I’m doing now
Buying milk & fruit juice in returnable glass bottles from the milkman.
Reusing glass jars for kitchen storage.
Bamboo wraps & silicone bowl covers rather than cling film.
Organic fruit & vegetable box delivery (no plastic and no air freight) (Riverford)
Using refillable water bottles & reusable coffee cup when out & about.
Reusable shopping bags.
Solid soap, shampoo and conditioners (usually from Lush).
Refillable household cleaning & dishwashing products (Splosh).
Wood & bristle washing up brush & coir scrubbers for washing up.
Washable cotton dishcloths for washing up.
Loo paper & kitchen towels made from recycled paper and not packed in plastic (Who Gives A Crap).
Wooden toothbrush
Home composting & buy peat free compost
Natural material for clothes as much as possible.
Utilise natural materials for crafting
Eat more plant foods - both vegan meals and meals that are meat light.
No air-freighted foods (well I try on this one!)
Giving up flying (within Europe at least) - I may succumb on this one but I will try.

Things I want to start
Make better use of zero-waste shop
Buy more fruit and veg plastic free ( we buy some from supermarket)
Learn visible mending
Hanging washing out to dry in fine weather.
Make more effort to buy cheese and meat plastic free.

>32 humouress: You can compost most anything except meat, dairy products, and plastic products: grass (only non-treated), leaves, garden wastes, fruits, veggies, egg shells, cardboard (nothing glossy), newspaper (nothing glossy), coffee and coffee filters, teabags, dead houseplants, sawdust, woodchips, cotton cloth, pine needles/cones, weeds from the garden, Just remember, you need: brown, green, and water!

>34 EBT1002:

Re: Eithique.
I bought shampoo & conditioner, and their storage container for the duo. I tried them both right when they were delivered and like them, and am currently using up my current supply of plastic-bottled product. I should run out soon and will then use my Ethique bars full time.

I bought their facial cleanser (bar) and my initial trial was positive, but again I'm using up my current stuff.

The only Ethique product I wasn't happy with, was their moisturizing serum. It is packaged as a stick in a cardboard tube. The stick is very hard and feels uncomfortable when rubbed against your face. Not a fan. I bought a creamier moisturizer from the Zero Waste Store, and I'll use it up but doubt I will buy more. I'd love to hear what others are using for facial and body moisturizers.

Re: BITE toothpaste, I understand these are not fluoridated. Our water is on a well, so it is not fluoridated either. I'd like to find an alternative that contains fluoride.

>32 humouress: Nice! Hope you figure out the legs and put the composter to good use. I have never used one before, so let us know what you figure out. : )

And thank you for the recipes!

>33 EBT1002: Why can't we get rid of those pesky straws and switch to compostable bowls? Good for them! And I am liking the TruEarth laundry strips too. Thumbs up!

>34 EBT1002: BITE is on my list to try when I get low on toothpaste. Although maybe I should just start and alternate like you do....

>35 Tess_W: Nice to meet you Tess! You have some great ideas on your list. Thank you so much for sharing. I am also trying to heat and cool the house less and just put on a sweater. As for lights, we have added motion sensors to most of our high traffic areas so that we don't leave lights on. It also has the option to leave the light off, which we frequently do.

I am trying to eat more veggies and less meats, but like you I have a hubby who is a carnivore. ; )

Keep the ideas coming!

>36 SandDune: Another great list of things to do! Thank you! Okay, so I have to ask...what is "visible mending"?

I have struck out so far finding a milk delivery system so I can go to glass bottles, but I haven't given up yet.

>37 Tess_W: Do you (or does anyone) have a composter brand they recommend?

>38 lauralkeet: Ethique and Lush are the brands I want to check out. And I am super excited because a new soap store just opened in the downtown village area and they carry some of these health care brands! I gifted some soap to my daughter and her feedback was good. I'll have to find another one though, because hers has coconut in it and I am allergic. They also have Marley's Monster brand stuff. Yay!

I just got some kitchen reusable sponge cloths from If You Care (love them!) and when I checked out their website, they have these cool sandwich bags and recycled aluminum foil and lots of other stuff!



https://buyifyoucare.com

I went to an (online) talk last night about our local waste disposal which was surprisingly interesting. Our local area collects everything fortnightly: recyclables (glass, tins, tetrapaks, paper, cardboard), organic waste (garden and kitchen waste) and residual waste. The guy giving the talk was saying that their number 1 priority is to reduce the amount of organic waste in the residual waste bin. They had done an analysis of the contents of the residual waste and there was a lot of food which would have originally have been edible. With recycling rates already quite high, it was this that they wanted to reduce.

>44 SandDune: That is very interesting! The biggest problem we have in my region (US east coast) is what they call "wish-cycling", where people put non-recyclable things in the single-stream recycling bins, just in case they are recyclable. It ends up costing a huge amount time and effort (and therefore money) just to sort the trash from the recycling.

Do you have single stream recycling (plastic/glass/paper/metal all in the same bin) or multi-stream there? I think single stream seemed like a good idea to get people used to the idea of recycling in the 90s but now it's causing problems.

>45 norabelle414: All our recyclables go into the same bin, except for paper which has its own box. It was interesting to hear about the strategies which are used to encourage more recycling, which they need to do to meet increasing government targets. Many areas in Hertfordshire have moved to smaller bins for residual waste, which means that people run out of room if they do not recycle properly. They don’t take soft plastics (although major supermarkets here do recycle them at the moment, but the opinion of the speaker was that it was not cost-effective to do so.

We have single stream recycling here, except for the glass which is in a separate bin. I have never heard of "wish-cycling," but I am probably a bit guilty in that department. I need to look up the most recent list of eligible items and retrain my brain.

Here's a very short explainer about what wish-cycling is and why it is a problem: https://theconversation.com/what-is-wishcycling-two-waste-experts-explain-173825 (the problem might be US-specific; I'm not sure if other countries sell their plastic recycling to China like we do)

I live in a high-rise apartment building with communal recycling on each floor, and the things I see in the recycling bin are crazy. Aside from the things that are explicitly forbidden by a big sign above the bins (e.g. clothing hangers), once I saw a half-empty plastic bag of lettuce in there. Meanwhile I'm over here feeling bad about not removing the label from a plastic bottle before putting it in the recycling.

Glass has been a big issue here. It used to be included in single-stream recycling but a few years ago a report came out that showed no jurisdiction in the area was actually recycling the glass, they were just throwing it out. There's so little single-use glass nowadays that truly recycling it is inefficient, and glass in sorting centers tends to break and damage machinery/people. Now the single-stream recycling won't accept glass at all, but the county has set up a few dedicated glass recycling bins in central locations. It's a bit annoying to have to walk a few blocks carrying my glass, but my closest bin is behind the library I go to anyway so it's not that inconvenient. The glass is still not recycled into new glass, it's ground up to make road pavement.

>48 norabelle414: There seems to be a very different experience between the U.S. and the U.K. I looked it up and apparently about 76% of our glass is recycled (and it’s higher in other European countries) compared to about 33% in the U.S. I’m surprised you have so little single-use glass. Loads of things here seem to come in glass bottles and jars - I’ve got any number of food and drink items using glass as a packaging in the house right now. Are there any government plans to increase the recycling rates?

One thing that the speaker did mention about sending waste to the Far East (particularly cardboard and plastic waste) was that it was there that it was needed for manufacturing and packaging once it had been processed, something I hadn’t previously considered.

>49 SandDune: I was about to reply that we had no national recycling strategy, but apparently the federal Environmental Protection Agency did set our very first national recycling strategy in November 2021. The new goal is to increase the national recycling rate to 50% by 2030. Here's a one-pager about the plan: https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/documents/final_one_pager_to_pri...
It's not very specific but does mention recycling contamination as a major issue. (But doesn't mention single-stream vs. multi-stream)

I think the only things I get in glass anymore are pasta sauce, jam, salsa, pickles, and hard liquor. Most condiments come in plastic, wine mostly comes in glass but I get boxed wine since it's just me here, and I purposefully buy canned beer to reduce my glass usage.

I'm hopeful that people will get used to taking their glass to a dedicated glass bin and the glass put in the bin can be actually recycled eventually.

>50 norabelle414: I hate to say this but 50% does not seem very ambitious!

I have got a lot of wine bottles! And I’m not a beer drinker but Mr SandDune much prefers bottled beer so we have those too. I’ve had a look in the cupboard and we’ve got the same things stored in glass as you have, but I buy the following things in glass as well: oils, vinegars, soy and other sauces, individual puddings, and cordials. Because the recycling rate is much higher and glass is infinitely recyclable I tend to prioritise purchases in glass.

We also get glass and fruit juice from the milkman in returnable glass bottles. Milkmen have been having a bit of a renaissance here, and they have been successfully targeting the green market. They did very well in the pandemic I believe.

>51 SandDune: That's 50% of ALL waste being recycled, not specifically glass.

There are milkpersons (lol) in this area as well, but they only service houses and not apartments. One of the reasons I was so excited about the new company The Rounds (mentioned >18 norabelle414:) is because it's basically unheard of for any kind of sustainable delivery service (dairy, produce farms, etc.) to deliver to apartments.

I've updated my list in >16 lauralkeet: to add two new products:

* Body Wash and Body Lotion: Plaine Products. These come in refillable containers, and they have a mail-in recycling program for the refill bottles.

* Shaving soap: EcoRoots. They carry a number of health & beauty products as well as items for home & kitchen.

Well, the composter is up and running - which is to say, we've put stuff in but still - apparently - waiting for it to decompose, which rather surprised me. I haven't investigated but left it to the gardener to decide.

We have also had our solar panels installed and - despite overcast days and our rather high electricity consumption - have even sold back to the grid every day that it's been set up!!! That's as of this week, and we have (apparently) saved 4 trees. Unfortunately for us monetarily-wise our system doesn't store the power we make so if we have excess at the time, we sell it to the grid but at night we have to buy it (at a higher cost, of course). If we were to get a battery, then the system's first priority would be to charge it rather than supply the house. I've asked the representative to look into something more commonsensical (to the house first, then a battery and then to the grid) but he said as far as he knows at the moment, there isn't one.

Wow! Nicely done. Good luck with the solar panels. I have not looked into those at all and know nothing about the storage intricacies. And I think composting takes a while...

: )

>54 humouress: We finally got batteries for our solar panels this year and it's been great not having to worry about the power - over the last couple of months they've been making attempts to upgrade the equipment for our few houses at the end of the block that were all built 25-30 years after all the others when a large property was sub-divided.

I am doing ‘No Mow May’ which is a thing here.

https://nomowmay.plantlife.org.uk/what-is-no-mow-may/

Actually Mr SandDune and I are having a debate as to whether it should be ‘No Mow Last 10 days in April (when we last mowed lawn) and all of May’ (my preferred option) or ‘No Mow May but 1st May doesn’t count’ (his preferred option). I won’t be mowing whatever as I’ve hurt my back.

>57 SandDune: My husband was telling me, because he was amused, that environmentalists are going too far, putting masks on cows to cut methane emissions (reduces a farm’s output by 25%, apparently) and banning lawns because the maintenance of them is more of an environmental cost than a benefit.

But I’m looking at my lawn and thinking that I could put more flowers in. I’ll have to ask Jasper (the boys’ retriever) what he thinks, first.

>56 quondame: Solar panels!! I have a few other house projects that need to happen first, but I'm adding that to the list.

>57 SandDune: I have very little grass on my property. It is in the back yard and our property line is up against a city forest, so we hardly ever cut it, except for when we are having company. LOL. Save your back! Was it ‘No Mow May but 1st May doesn’t count’? ; )

>58 humouress: I like more flowers!! And I just put in this cool glass bee ball in my garden that has little dips and points which are supposed to hold rain and dew to provide more watering spots for bees.

>59 Berly: He decided in the end that he had time to mow the lawn on 30th April. So problem was solved.

; )

>43 Berly: Thanks for posting that. I have been trying to decide which trash bags to purchase to replace the plastic ones I had been using. I know they go in the landfill where they will not actually biodegrade or compost, but I just want to avoid plastic! So I'm going to try the If You Care brand.

: ) Let me know what you think!!

I clicked on a YouTube video and an ad for Earthwash laundry detergent sheets popped up. While I like what it says, it seemed a bit too pushy. Has anyone used it and what do you think?

I'm not sure if we can get it here, anyway. I could order it online, of course, but then it may have to come from overseas which would be robbing Peter to pay Paul, pretty much.

We use Tru Earth laundry sheets and love them. They're out of Canada and we get them sent to us on a subscription basis. They're pretty good about minimalist packaging.

Here is the link

>64 humouress: >65 EBT1002: Tru Earth is the one I use too -- love it!

Also just a heads up from Etee, another really good company with lots of products....

We’re almost at the end of our Plastic Free July Sale (and savings of up to 60%) which means we’re starting to say goodbye to a number of products that no longer serve the mission.
In the last two years we’ve launched a ton of products in an effort to see what works and what doesn’t. Now we know and quoting GI-Joe “knowing is half the battle”, but goodbye’s such a harsh word, and we prefer to say thank you!.
So in the coming months you’ll see us discontinue a number of products as we make way for the next generation of etee products.
Now’s the time to take advantage of up to 60% off. Including new products and old. Like toilet bowl cleaner (60% off), lip balm (50% off) and chewpaste (40% off)...

Have an awesome day!
Steve & the whole etee crew

https://www.shopetee.com/pages/plastic-free-july-2022?utm_source=etee%20Contest%...

My latest effort to be eco-friendly is Blueland Toilet Bowl Cleaner! My daughter recommends it and I just ran out, so we'll see. It comes in a tin tub and you just take a pellet and drop it in the toilet bow, and what for a few minutes while it fizzes. We'll see!

Ordered today....

https://www.blueland.com/products/toilet-cleaner-starter-set

Did you know bubble wrap can be recycled?

Contact plasticfilmrecycling.org to find out how. : )

>68 Berly: Provided you can get it away from the kids before they pop all the bubbles ;0)

>69 humouress: LOL. True, so true!!

And here's a link to all the recycling symbols...



https://www.grainger.com/know-how/business-operations/sustainable-practices/kh-r...

>67 Berly: How do you like the toilet cleaner product, Kim?

It works great!!! : )

This thread is a treasure! I've starred it and will study it further as time permits. I keep trying to use less plastic, but keep stumbling in my efforts -- sometimes a matter of convenience, sometimes a matter of something I really want that isn't available sans plastic, and sometimes just general availability of things around here. There is a store in Somerset called Jar: the Zero Waste Store, and I found a great bar shampoo and bar hair conditioner that I really like. Of course, since it didn't have a box or wrapper, I don't remember the name of the brand!

Anyone have any other recycling ideas to pass along? In time for the New Year and a new start!! : )

Check out Ridwell -- https://www.ridwell.com/plans

>75 Berly: A friend gave me a free month at Ridwell and I am thrilled with it. Now that I can recycle layer plastic and plastic film I'm astonished at how much of that I accumulate in two weeks. It's really hard to avoid clamshells if you want to eat fruit in the winter (and I do) and now those can be recycled too!!

I will check out Ridwell.

I'm also investigating options for recycling, um, bras. I have a bunch of "work bras" that I'll never wear again....

>76 RebaRelishesReading: Ridwell is on my list to try. So glad you hear you love it!!

>77 EBT1002: Let us know if you find anything for the, um, bras. LOL. Wow -- you ARE officially retired!! : )

Charl08 recommended some things on my thread -- hair products from Faith in Nature and Alter/native soap on ethicalsuperstore.com

Love more recommendations!!

We've just (almost) finished a kitchen renovation and in an attempt to be a little bit green, I collected glass bottles in the hopes I could use them to build a wall. We didn't get enough for that but we did get enough to upcycle some of them to make a couple of features for the wall of the small washroom that we also had built.

>79 humouress:- I once saw a pub in my city that had a sign outside with the letters of the name of their business created entirely out of bottles. If I can find a pic I'll add it here. It was very clever and your use of bottles for art reminded me of that. I love reusing things for purposes other than their original intent.

>79 humouress: Those are so cool! Thanks for sharing. : )

>80 jessibud2: We also used up a heap of those coloured glass pebbles (which you can see if you zoom in on the photo of the outside) that used to be trendy about twenty years ago for putting in the bottom of flower vases to look pretty/ help to anchor them. I have loads of those in different colours but I never use them - partly because they're a pain to clean up afterwards and partly because I tend to forget about them. So now they're serving a useful purpose too, since we needed something pretty to fill in the gaps between the bottles.

And my husband tends to use the same perfume, so we had just about enough to make that blue glass line all the way around.

>81 Berly: You're welcome :0)