Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

Using less plastic

ArsenetattersArsenetatters
edited November 2018 in Not Sports Related
I've been looking into alternatives for plastic based items.

I get through a lot of those plastic washing-up pads with foam backing. However, I have found a superb alternative from LoofCo, who make a plant based one. I've had it for a few months now and it's still as good as new. You can machine wash it too.

Have any of you found other alternatives to plastic items?

Comments

  • shirty5shirty5
    Stainless steel
  • ArsenetattersArsenetatters
    Rob7Lee said:

    Milk from the milkman in glass bottles!

    Not seen a milk float in years. Used to like the sound they made.
  • redmanredman
    In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.
  • Dazzler21Dazzler21
    JiMMy 85 said:

    redman said:

    In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.

    Yep. Doing something yourself feels so futile to me. Go into a supermarket and survey the area. Look at all that stuff. It's an acre of plastic, that will sell out in a week and be replaced. Now consider this is one supermarket in a thousand in the UK alone.

    Until big business/ government make sweeping changes, plastic is going to fuck this planet.

    We think we're doing good by using something multiple times. Sure, that reduces a little bit of plastic, but the planet won't, in 10,000 years, respond with "at least this collection of plastic pellets were once a re-useable 'bag for life'!

    Not that I wish to put a downer on this thread, it must be a good thing for people to make the effort - I just agree with redman that to make a meaningful difference, things have to change further up the chain.
    It's literally the only way that change will occur.

    If you rely on the average man, who relies on affordability of items, he will always choose the option that is affordable and balances in his mind the moral dilemma.

    The answer will NEVER be to trust the consumer to eradicate plastic... It must fall on producers.
  • Stuart_the_RedStuart_the_Red
    We have replaced plastic drinking straws with stainless steel ones and always recycle any plastic bags we may have at home in waste baskets and always take our own bags shopping.
    There‘s a lot more we can do, but we‘re getting there!
  • Sponsored links:


  • Bournemouth AddickBournemouth Addick
    Dazzler21 said:

    JiMMy 85 said:

    redman said:

    In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.

    Yep. Doing something yourself feels so futile to me. Go into a supermarket and survey the area. Look at all that stuff. It's an acre of plastic, that will sell out in a week and be replaced. Now consider this is one supermarket in a thousand in the UK alone.

    Until big business/ government make sweeping changes, plastic is going to fuck this planet.

    We think we're doing good by using something multiple times. Sure, that reduces a little bit of plastic, but the planet won't, in 10,000 years, respond with "at least this collection of plastic pellets were once a re-useable 'bag for life'!

    Not that I wish to put a downer on this thread, it must be a good thing for people to make the effort - I just agree with redman that to make a meaningful difference, things have to change further up the chain.
    It's literally the only way that change will occur.

    If you rely on the average man, who relies on affordability of items, he will always choose the option that is affordable and balances in his mind the moral dilemma.

    The answer will NEVER be to trust the consumer to eradicate plastic... It must fall on producers.
    Not sure I agree that it's the only way.

    Despite some naysayers incorrectly presenting it as just another tax and doomed to failure, the impact of the plastic bag charge has been a widespread success.

    "...data indicates that the 7 main retailers issued around 83% fewer bags (over 6 billion bags fewer) in 2016 to 2017 compared to the calendar year 2014..."

    https://gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-charge-data-in-england-for-2016-to-2017

    It might only be a start but this was an initiative aimed at changing behaviour from the bottom up rather than the top of the supply chain.
  • i_b_b_o_r_gi_b_b_o_r_g
    I was watching em put in the timber telegraph poles they still use in France a while back, interesting I know. But I was thinking to meself why they don't make a plastic composite pole. It can't be that much more money to produce....
  • SolidgoneSolidgone
    edited November 2018
    Co op now using biodegradable bags. Shame really as I shop in Waitrose :o)
  • MountsfieldParkMountsfieldPark
    Logically, all us old farts who wear their clothes until they fall apart are doing a very good thing for the environment. And shouldn't there be a campaign to encourage people to wear natural fibres as much as possible? A lot of the tiny bits of plastic that enter the food chain through river and marine life come from clothing lint.
  • newyorkaddicknewyorkaddick
    Arsenetatters said:

    Rob7Lee said:

    Milk from the milkman in glass bottles!

    Not seen a milk float in years. Used to like the sound they made.
    Not all that dissimilar to a Tesla if you listen closely enough.
  • RedArmySE7RedArmySE7
    It really winds me up that the big clothes shops and other high street stores haven't moved to cardboard or paper bags. Go into M&S ,Debenhams etc and they charge you 5p for a bag to stick some pants and socks in. They could easily make paper bags but chose not to.

    Going to the supermarket I virtually always remember to take bags with me, but not always if you go into town to shop.

    Some have moved to cardboard, but far too many haven't, and they're making money because of it.

  • RedPandaRedPanda
    We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.

    I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?

    Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.
  • Bournemouth AddickBournemouth Addick
    Arsenetatters said:

    Rob7Lee said:

    Milk from the milkman in glass bottles!

    Not seen a milk float in years. Used to like the sound they made.
    First vehicle I ever drove on the road was a milk float. Aged 11.

    #differenttimes
  • Sponsored links:


  • addixaddix
    RedPanda said:

    We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.

    I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?

    Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.

    This year The Co-op had a shop in a tent at a number of festivals and they had a bottle return machine whereby there was an additional cost of buying a bottle of drink which you then got back when it was returned via the machine.



  • CarterCarter
    All clothes shops should be using paper bags, ironically the more expensive shops have used paper for ages

  • MountsfieldParkMountsfieldPark
    Arsenetatters said:

    I've been looking into alternatives for plastic based items.

    I get through a lot of those plastic washing-up pads with foam backing. However, I have found a superb alternative from LoofCo, who make a plant based one. I've had it for a few months now and it's still as good as new. You can machine wash it too.

    Have any of you found other alternatives to plastic items?

    @Arsenetatters, are the LoofCo thingies reliably non-scratch?
  • ArsenetattersArsenetatters
    MountsfieldPark said:

    Arsenetatters said:

    I've been looking into alternatives for plastic based items.

    I get through a lot of those plastic washing-up pads with foam backing. However, I have found a superb alternative from LoofCo, who make a plant based one. I've had it for a few months now and it's still as good as new. You can machine wash it too.

    Have any of you found other alternatives to plastic items?

    @Arsenetatters, are the LoofCo thingies reliably non-scratch?
    Yes, I think they're good.
  • addixaddix
    Carter said:

    All clothes shops should be using paper bags, ironically the more expensive shops have used paper for ages

    Paper bags can be less environmentally-friendly than plastic ones.

    They are more resource-intensive to produce; they tear easier so are less likely to be reused; they are heavier than the equivalent sized plastic bag, therefore costlier to transport.

    The environmental impact of each option just occurs at different stages of a bag's life.

    -

    Another issue with using bags-for-life many times for supermarket shopping is keeping some bags for raw meat separate from the others so you don't put chicken in it one week followed by bread etc the next.

    -

    When I started shopping at Lidl they didn't provide hand baskets so I'd get a cardboard box from the produce section and use that instead, then I wouldn't have to pay for carrier bags at the till as I took the box home. If only I could remember to bring the box back the following week I'd still be using the same one.
  • Exiled_AddickExiled_Addick
    addix said:

    RedPanda said:

    We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.

    I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?

    Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.

    This year The Co-op had a shop in a tent at a number of festivals and they had a bottle return machine whereby there was an additional cost of buying a bottle of drink which you then got back when it was returned via the machine.



    There's a refundable deposits on all drinks containers (plastic, glass and metal) here in Canada. And Depots where you return them to get your deposit back. I think it's 5c < 1 litre, 25c >1L. Doesn't necessarily discourage plastic use, per say, but does encourage recycling. I save mine up for 2 or 3 months and usually get at least enough for another crate of beer when I return them. Charities, particularly kid's sports team, go around knocking on doors to collect them for fund raising. You will see a lot of homeless people collecting them from bins etc too to get a little bit of money to live on.

    The biggest problem is not using plastic, more just how much stuff we own and use. We need to get back to more of a mend and make do attitude. So much of the carbon footprint of everything we own and use, including fossil fuel running cars, is locked up in the manufacturing process. But even things like reusable bag, the picture is not clear. I think the stat is something like a plastic 'bag for life' needs to be used 10 times before it comes out ahead of a single use bag (which in themselves, are not so flimsy they cannot be reused a few times) and a cotton one needs to be used something like a hundred times.

    I just dion't see a situation where your are going to get enough people changing their lifestyle dramatically enough. What we need is zero carbon, or drastically reduced, energy sources as soon as possible that will allow people to carry on living something close to the lifestyle we've all come to expect, without the carbon footprint.
  • IdleHansIdleHans
    If I buy more than I can carry and dont have a bag, I take an empty cardboard box from the wine section - theyre a good size to fit under your arm. Not sure how many supermarkets put cardboard boxes out for customers though.

    But the amount of plastic packaging you just cant avoid is frightening - biodegradable packaging made of plant starch etc must be the way forward, but how you replace plastic shampoo/bleach/shower gel bottles etc is a tricky one. The technology will get there eventually, and surely a return to glass for drinks

    I used to supplement my pocket money by collecting corona lemonade bottles and returning them for the deposit. Especially at the petrol station where you could help yourself to them from the crates out the back...
  • Dazzler21Dazzler21
    Bournemouth Addick said:

    Dazzler21 said:

    JiMMy 85 said:

    redman said:

    In my opinion this has to be driven more from supply side. And again in my opinion that means tax at source.

    Yep. Doing something yourself feels so futile to me. Go into a supermarket and survey the area. Look at all that stuff. It's an acre of plastic, that will sell out in a week and be replaced. Now consider this is one supermarket in a thousand in the UK alone.

    Until big business/ government make sweeping changes, plastic is going to fuck this planet.

    We think we're doing good by using something multiple times. Sure, that reduces a little bit of plastic, but the planet won't, in 10,000 years, respond with "at least this collection of plastic pellets were once a re-useable 'bag for life'!

    Not that I wish to put a downer on this thread, it must be a good thing for people to make the effort - I just agree with redman that to make a meaningful difference, things have to change further up the chain.
    It's literally the only way that change will occur.

    If you rely on the average man, who relies on affordability of items, he will always choose the option that is affordable and balances in his mind the moral dilemma.

    The answer will NEVER be to trust the consumer to eradicate plastic... It must fall on producers.
    Not sure I agree that it's the only way.

    Despite some naysayers incorrectly presenting it as just another tax and doomed to failure, the impact of the plastic bag charge has been a widespread success.

    "...data indicates that the 7 main retailers issued around 83% fewer bags (over 6 billion bags fewer) in 2016 to 2017 compared to the calendar year 2014..."

    https://gov.uk/government/publications/carrier-bag-charge-summary-of-data-in-england/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-charge-data-in-england-for-2016-to-2017

    It might only be a start but this was an initiative aimed at changing behaviour from the bottom up rather than the top of the supply chain.
    And it costs us more to have plastic bags so we stopped buying plastic bags...

    Literally the same thing. Supermarkets bought the bags, then they got told they HAD to charge for them... People now use them less but they're certainly still used.
  • iaitchiaitch
    RedPanda said:

    We lag behind other countries and always will if we can’t even recycle all that goes in our collection bins.

    I went to a German festival in 2005 and even back then you had to pay a plastic cup deposit for beer. I’ve not been to a festival for a while – we don’t have that here, do we?

    Germany and Austria do that for sport events and even at zoos.

    Went to see Kent at Beckenham last year and you had to pay a deposit on plastic beer glasses there.

    Also went to Warwick races a month or so ago and a similar thing there. Jockey Club racecourses saying they are trying to use less glasses. Seemed ok on a midweek meeting but going to a big meeting at Sandown on Friday, I'll see what they do there.
Sign In or Register to comment.

Roland Out Forever!