I've got a short 3 day trip planned. As a result of this post, I'm going to attempt "plastic free". Are tins permitted ?
Bury or burn?
- Thread starter Wayland
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I've got a short 3 day trip planned. As a result of this post, I'm going to attempt "plastic free". Are tins permitted ?
A difficult one really - in principal, in my opinion, yes. Nearly all metals are recyclable and are in an unstable state anyway (they will decay to oxides typically) but some canned food now comes in plastic lined tins so just check the products you're taking with you. I still pack it out with me (i.e. I don't burn and bury) which means you're carrying the weight in and out.
I think we have to do this by stages. So, for example, I try and use multi-use plastic storage containers when we're journeying to contain and protect dried and fresh food and try and stay away from throw-away plastic bags and freezer type bags. But, it is difficult and 'inconvenient' and I don't manage it all the time.
I think we have to do this by stages. So, for example, I try and use multi-use plastic storage containers when we're journeying to contain and protect dried and fresh food and try and stay away from throw-away plastic bags and freezer type bags. But, it is difficult and 'inconvenient' and I don't manage it all the time.
Whatever did people do before everything was covered in plastic? Maybe we need to look at "the old ways" and embrace them more.
I find having everything covered in plastic more inconvenient than if it's not..
I'd agree with Broch about tins. Acceptable as long as you pack them out again and recycle properly.
Remember the "law" leave nothing but footprints.
Well done for thinking about this and have a brilliant time.
I find having everything covered in plastic more inconvenient than if it's not..
I'd agree with Broch about tins. Acceptable as long as you pack them out again and recycle properly.
Remember the "law" leave nothing but footprints.
Well done for thinking about this and have a brilliant time.
A lot of the modern packaging is there for logistics. I've started "old style" shopping, by getting my food daily, fresh meat from the butcher, fish from the fishmonger. No food waste either. Can't get milk in a glass bottle though. I seem to remember when traveling through Denmark all liquids came in glass, and recycling was very prominent, some of the food I bought came in jars. I'm heading off up North (Betty Hill), so there will be a shop within easy reach, so one hot meal a day, fruit and granola for the rest, which doesn't require a plastic bag for travel.
Betty Hill.
Not much tree cover though.
I have just googled plastic free camping. I can't provide links as I' don't have the technical expertise but I can recommend a look for yourselves. I have also googled bamboo containers and discovered some bamboo lunch boxes which seem a good replacement for tupperware to store and carry meats and other things.
I also see vango do bamboo camp plates and bowls. A bit caravany but it is giving me ideas. Perhaps my tin plate bowl and cup may get replaced as I'm sure there is a weight saving factor there. I already carry a bamboo cup with me everywhere for takeaway teas and coffees.. you can get a discount in many places if you take your own cup. Presently my local cafe gives 25p off. So that equates to a free drink every so often! Gotta be good!
I also see vango do bamboo camp plates and bowls. A bit caravany but it is giving me ideas. Perhaps my tin plate bowl and cup may get replaced as I'm sure there is a weight saving factor there. I already carry a bamboo cup with me everywhere for takeaway teas and coffees.. you can get a discount in many places if you take your own cup. Presently my local cafe gives 25p off. So that equates to a free drink every so often! Gotta be good!
Is really bamboo that environment friendly?
Would wood sourced as locally as possible not be better?
I have seen an increasing amounts of items made from bamboo. All smartly marketed, but ....?
Google how a bamboo cup is made. Melamine resin. Formaldehyde.
China has zero standards for chemical safety for export stuff.
Keep your old, long lasting and beautiful enamelware!
Would wood sourced as locally as possible not be better?
I have seen an increasing amounts of items made from bamboo. All smartly marketed, but ....?
Google how a bamboo cup is made. Melamine resin. Formaldehyde.
China has zero standards for chemical safety for export stuff.
Keep your old, long lasting and beautiful enamelware!
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I certainly will keep the tinware,. It would be stupid to throw it away as I've had them for nearly 40 years. The ultimate ecco friendly plates and mugs! Certainly I will research more before I make any changes. I've been caught out before with supposed ecco friendly things that realy just pose a different problem.
I used to have a friend that regularly bought those cheap wooden salad bowls at boot sales. Rarely paid more than 10p for one and he would turn up with a pile of them when he was doing a medieval event.
He took great pleasure in the shock on everyone's faces when after eating his food he would casually throw his bowl onto the fire.
When I asked him about it he said that ten pence was not worth his time to clean it.
Haven't seen him for years but I wonder if he still does the same now.
He took great pleasure in the shock on everyone's faces when after eating his food he would casually throw his bowl onto the fire.
When I asked him about it he said that ten pence was not worth his time to clean it.
Haven't seen him for years but I wonder if he still does the same now.
Bamboo coffee cups are made of bamboo cornstarch and a resin. They are bpa free and take about a year to rot down if composted. So I'm happy withe that. No nasty chemicals Janne so you can relax and use them in safety.
Oooh! Wastrel! How lazy is that? No wonder people looked on in shock. I don't know what to say, that could be said here, without me getting banned!!!!!!!
I bet it cost lessin energy to make one of thoes than a paper plate, and you ain't gonna be able to wash that up.
Plastics on the fire, honestly on camp fires I've been around, plastic paper aluminium have all been incinerated.
Plastic is oil so you may as well get the energy from it in powerstations. It's now the new thing to mine landfills.
https://www.fastcompany.com/1778461...-and-profit?position=1&campaign_date=05032019
When I camp I have a five litre pot. As soon as the fire is going, the pot is on and full of water, for a brew, and for washing up, same with the Kelly kettle when I take it, although I prefer the pot as it packs easier. I take a small bottle of washing up liquid as well as it can be used for washing plates etc, and yourself. Most of my gear is 25+ years old, with the exception.of a couple of titanium mugs.
That's why my Defender is more environmentally friendly than a Toyota Prius - it will be on the road for three Prius lives and a car's environmental impact during manufacture is equivalent to 10 years running! - or so I'm told; I confess I've not checked the maths myself but happy to believe it 
I Would say you are probably correct.That's why my Defender is more environmentally friendly than a Toyota Prius - it will be on the road for three Prius lives and a car's environmental impact during manufacture is equivalent to 10 years running! - or so I'm told; I confess I've not checked the maths myself but happy to believe it
Bamboo cups and boxes? Bamboo fibre, cornstarch and melamine resin = bamboo, cornstarch and a plastic to stick it all together. Better than all plastic but being mixed materials it's not recyclable and try the composting route your still putting plastic into the compost, although in small quantities.
Perhaps iirc something like PLA which is a plastic made from cornstarch or any locally sourced starch depending on where it's made. Once no longer needed it will eventually biodegrade but might take some time. Nothing's perfect!
So far I wonder if the waxed paper is still the best option?
Perhaps iirc something like PLA which is a plastic made from cornstarch or any locally sourced starch depending on where it's made. Once no longer needed it will eventually biodegrade but might take some time. Nothing's perfect!
So far I wonder if the waxed paper is still the best option?
Like the Land rover, I think the best solution is to buy the most environmentally favourable solution that lasts a long time. Buy once and keep using. By not buying more of something you're not putting more into the atmosphere, potentially.
One nasty ingredients they did not tell you about.
Melamine. It is Melamine that glues together the bamboo strands, and makes it ‘waterproof’.
Cheap Melamine leaches our Formaldedyde and other less palatable agents.
Google Melamine, and you will be happy to use your old plates and cups!
Yes, the Bamboo will disintegrate, but the glue ( Melamine) will not.
Garbage dumps are money-makers here.
For decades, the methane has been harvested off the top.
The juice flowing out the bottom is refined as biodiesel.
I'd expect the UK to be a leader in this.
Cutlery and plates are now being made from the waste residue grain mash from beer brewing.
Yes, you can eat the plates. Raspberry & Apricot cutlery. Yummy.
For decades, the methane has been harvested off the top.
The juice flowing out the bottom is refined as biodiesel.
I'd expect the UK to be a leader in this.
Cutlery and plates are now being made from the waste residue grain mash from beer brewing.
Yes, you can eat the plates. Raspberry & Apricot cutlery. Yummy.
I've been doing just that since I last posted a comment and you are right to a great degree. Plastic leaches nasties too so the only realy safe product is pottery or China. But China has its environmental impact too. Just take a look at places around st Austell in Cornwall. So pure metal or pottery or glass is the best alternative. But they can be heavy and break easily. Not realy suitable for bushcraft or backpacking. So where does that leave us? Back to greaseproof or wax wraps I guess.
The one good thing about these bamboo /melamine cups is that they are biodegradable leaving only 3%residue. They say you can put the bamboo cups into the compost heap and I'm sure that if there were real nasties in any dangerous quantities this would not be advisable.
Pure melamine cups and plates are not recyclable and possibly have a much greater danger about them. Most of the bulk of a bamboo cup or plate is actually bamboo fibre so there is much less resin used in making them. I was not aware of the melamine content and realy am quite shocked that formaldehyde is used in their manufacture.
A pure bamboo cup on the other hand made from a stem is a perfect solution. To be honest I thought that was how they were made. So these newfangled ecco things are not as good as they are made out to be. It's a real shame as I realy thought I was onto a brilliant and ecco solution. Dissopointed is not the word.
At least I can make my own wax wraps from pure organic cotton and beeswax. I've made a few so I shall be making some more along with some muslin drawstring bags to hold any loose veg and fruit. I still have a problem carrying my porridge oats and rice and pasta though without some tupperware. At least that is reuseable.
My question still remains... how did campers cope before plastic became so everyday?
Swallows and Amazon's had a wicker basket with their milk bread eggs and bacon in, but it doesn't say what they put their sandwiches in... greaseproof paper perhaps?
so wicker baskets pottery plates and mugs and greaseproof . Surely we can come up with better than that with all this modern technology. .. oh wait.. that's what is making all the problems! Duh! I'm off to bed!
