Reducing the use of Plastics

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Reducing the use of Plastics
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Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Wed Apr 11, 18 5:53 am Post subject:

That looks interesting Gz. I take my own plastic bags with me and reuse them at the farm shop. They know I am mad anyway, so it doesn't matter.

I don't buy fruit and veg at the supermarket except for bananas, and I never put them in a bag. If there is a paper bag, I prefer to use that.

Son told me yesterday that our county doesn't do landfill any more; all the non-recyclable waste goes to the incinerator that produces power from the burning. It is better than the first one we had here which produced rather bad pollution. I worked near it and we had to keep silver carefully wrapped or it went black in days.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8882
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 18 8:35 am Post subject:
Just heard in conversation with a friend that Skipton (I think) is landfilling plastic..she missed her plastic collection, took it to the local recycling centre. There was no plastic recycling point there and she was told it all goes to landfill as they can no longer export it to China.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 18 8:53 am Post subject:
Not sure if anyone saw the one show last night but apparently they have an enzyme now that eats plastic. Should help with the recycling process.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46169
Location: yes

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 18 11:40 am Post subject:

lab scale, only pet iirc but it is a start in enzyme tech.

a big downside is that pet is one of the easiest to recycle with no chemistry involved.

most can be recycled or repurposed if and it is a big if is is sorted into specific types each of which need different methods. any mixed plastic or muck contamination makes recyc uneconomic

china got fed up of being used as a dump rather than being supplied with well graded feedstock for reuse

the world market for recycled paper fibres is very strong so at least that part of the recyc system is doing ok at the mo.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 18 6:41 am Post subject:

The only downside with that is that the trees which were planted for pulping can no longer be used for that. Luckily the beech trees we have that were planted for pulp are doing well for firewood. This is the problem with long term crops; our oak trees are no longer wanted for ships, and really only for shingles for houses unless we have a very good one for timber framing. Luckily we know people who make shingles and do timber framing.

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28229
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Wed Apr 18, 18 8:57 am Post subject:
It really struck me a few days ago looking round a quid shop type place, that not only was everything plastic, but that 80% of it was for products like disposable razors and other shite that 50 years ago people would not have used, and which are in fact worse than non disposable alternatives.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Thu Apr 19, 18 6:09 am Post subject:
We have certainly developed as a throw away society, but plastic products do allow us to do things we couldn't 50 years ago. We did have some plastic; my mother had some bakelite clothes pegs I remember, but we used paper bags in shops, all bottles were glass, and mainly deposit on the bottle. Things like razors were made of metal and pencil cases for instance, of wood.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8882
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Fri Apr 20, 18 5:17 pm Post subject:
There is a fb page,Using Less Plastic.....the more the merrier, spread the word! Seems to have been going for at least three years

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9858
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Sat May 05, 18 10:43 am Post subject:

buzzy wrote:

Jam Lady wrote:

Brown sugar will dry out and get very hard if it is kept in paper.

..............................................................

Maybe so, but I remember buying brown sugar and watching the shop assistant weigh it out and pack it in a blue paper bag, and fold and seal the top ever so neatly. How did we manage then?

Henry

brown sugar is offered in paper tubes in coffee shops - it seems to survive perfectly well then - don't see why it wouldn't work on a larger scale

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Sun May 06, 18 8:33 am Post subject:

Perhaps we need to be aware of how to store things. I know that to soften brown sugar you have to put it in a bowl and put a damp teatowel over it, so our parents/grandparents would have probably kept the brown sugar in a glass jar or covered pot and softened it when it got hard. I don't remember my mother using it particularly as she used mainly white sugar, which goes solid when wet. Remember many 2lb sugar cubes from camp.

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Tue May 08, 18 8:54 am Post subject:
Well you learn something new everyday. Never knew that about brown sugar MR.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8882
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu May 10, 18 8:08 am Post subject:
We had presents well wrapped in pretty paper..unfortunately pretty paper has a lot of plastic on it Most were so well taped I can't re-use it either..so congratulations to those who wrapped in papery paper,or in gift bags

Nicky cigreen

Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 9858
Location: Devon, uk

Posted: Thu May 10, 18 9:13 pm Post subject:

gz wrote:

We had presents well wrapped in pretty paper..unfortunately pretty paper has a lot of plastic on it

Most were so well taped I can't re-use it either..so congratulations to those who wrapped in papery paper,or in gift bags

I'm slowly building a collection of cloth bags made from my scrap cloth stash, to wrap presents in. Mostly for my son at Christmas. They look really nice, all tied in ribbon, and are reusable.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8882
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu May 10, 18 9:22 pm Post subject:
brilliant idea

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15936

Posted: Fri May 11, 18 5:49 am Post subject:
My mother taught me how to wrap a present using very little sticky tape. She always said it was expensive so don't waste it, but of course it does make the wrapping reusable too if it isn't covered in tape.

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