Life without Single Use

[forrestdweller]

No pasta, rice or prawns? I can do that, got it!

due to a VERY limited budget i'm surviving on rice and beans (can you spell ?!), but i'm recycling the bags (and whatever other packaging i can't avoid),the rice i buy in 10kg bags which come in handy for a lot of things and the twine holding the bags closed makes good sewing twine or can be used to attach arrowheads or fletching to shafts...

long, long time ago when i was a kid there was ways less packaging and more recycling, but that's one thing which changed after the takeover (of the country where i grew up...)

 

[Paul_B]

Butcher's shops all had sawdust on the floors when I was little, and they had carcasses hanging up right beside where people queued too.
We knew what meat actually was, you could smell it, every shop had it's own distinctive smell. Butcher, baker, greengrocer, chemist, sweetie shop....now it's all wrapped in plastic.

There's a butcher's about 20 minutes or so from us now that was located up by a tarmaced drive in a field. It was the only building there. Front was a typical shop but in a small carpark the back behind a red, white and blue vertical strip "closed" entrance was a passageway with a gutter in the middle. Other side of that was a room with animal pens behind the building. I saw through the shop door strips once to see a butcher hosing the blood away after he'd obviously host slaughtered and butchered another rare breeds cow.

It was a ln abattoir and butchers in one. They took only Cumbrian animals and they often took them from the fells in the case of sheep and cattle. The latter they'd bring down into lowland farms within a few miles from the abattoir to finish off and to ensure there's less food miles to get the animal to the slaughterhouse.

They sold beef, lamb, pork and chicken too. There were often rare breeds too. In fact you could look at a blackboard behind the counter that told you what rare breeds today meat was and which farm they came from.

Then they served into plastic. It was going so well until that point! I bet there's very few places quite like the butchers.

Then again about 10 years ago the oldest butchers in Lancaster shut down. It had gone for over hundred years AIUI and mostly the same family over several generations. They'd have seen the food packaging trends change over that time.

 

[Pupers]

You may want to check out BookFace for the group , and its been a while so I may have forgotten exactly what its called ' " Free game for UK " - Its an opportunity to get connected to local people whom are hunters and have Venison, Pheasant , Rabbits etc that they need to get rid of - whilst its not all free it is low cost for an undressed deer carcass - if you make a good connection in your area , don't mess them around and become a known name I'm sure that could go a long way to field to plate style consumption.


Good luck - like the idea of limiting unnecessary packing and paper/trash - difficult to do. Can only think moving to a more 'source' based almost Paleo diet is the step to do so.

Or even better…….Shoot it yourself!

 

[TeeDee]

Or even better…….Shoot it yourself!

Yes - although certain issues being able to do so for many people.
I think just the notion of getting and making Game more part and parcel of a monthly/weekly dietry inclusion as standard and ensuring meat ( game or other wise ) isn't wasted.

 

[Toddy]

There's a concerning article on Medscape this afternoon. It reports about the huge increase in nano particle of polyethylene being found in the brains of those who died with alzheimer's disease.

Apparently water bottles, fast food containers, and plastic food storage vessels are the main suspected culprits.

There’s a Sandwich Bag of Plastic in Your Brain

Dr F. Perry Wilson reviews disturbing data about the accumulation of nanoplastics in the human body.

www.medscape.com

 

[RonW]

At least in the UK one apparently can still go to a baker, butcher etc.
Try Sweden where EVERYTHING is supermarket. Except for the small shops run by migrants, but I see those go out of business on a regular basis.
And with the supermarket everything is plastic; sheets, foil, cups, lids. Since we are separating waste (mandatory) we have a good look at how much that is. Plastic exceeds normal waste by at least 3:1, paper and metal not included.

 

[Woody girl]

I bought some glass storage containers for the fridge from IKEA, a few years back, they have bamboo lids, and are brilliant for storing leftovers or things like home made coleslaw or humus in the fridge.
Today, I did a survey of this week's plastic waste for the blue bag recycling. It's not worth putting out tomorrow. I have10 items. I'm pretty pleased with that. Only ten items in a week. Still too much in my view, but its realy hard when the only local supermarket sells everything covered in plastic, and in plastic trays. I'll redouble my efforts for next week.
Then it's my mission to tackle film and soft plastic waste.
Last Wednesday, a rare trip out, I got from morrisons, a refillable deodorant. Sadly the container is plastic, but at least its refillable, it smells nice and works too. I won't be throwing aerosol cans away anymore. The price was scary! But I was lucky to find one reduced in price to a mere £9.
The refills are much cheaper, on a par with a can of deodorant. So a one off ouch, and then it's back to normal price. I got a couple of refills too. I think it's worthwhile, as I don't indulge in perfume or aftershave costs!...yes I stink like a pig!! But only when I don't shower.

 

[Toddy]

You might look at PitRok....it's basically just a big crystal of alum, but it works really well as an anti perspirant.

Lots of the 'organic/ethical' type stores sell them though.

Like this,

Natural Deodorant Stone - 165g - Natural Collection Select

This natural deodorant stone is a great, eco-friendly way to remain odour-free throughout the day. All you need to do is wet the stone – made from natural...

www.ethicalsuperstore.com

 

[Pattree]

I reuse two Carex hand wash pump containers. They are plastic and incorporate a steel spring pump. While the materials are “recyclable” no one is going to dismantle them.

So I refill them. The official refill is rated category 7. Mixed plastics. Again it might be recyclable to doubt anyone will bother to separate them.
I fill from a bulk bottle, also plastic but they are totally Cat2 and very recyclable when they eventually run out.

Those Carex “disposable” pump bottles? I’ve been using them for six years and they are going strong.

 

[Falstaff]

Just read the research paper, interesting if you're into that sort of thing. Anybody in denial could easily downplay this - the small sample size, tissue came from all over the US only etc etc. But the paper itself points out all of this and is a pointer that more research is required/justified.

But us older folk have more commonsense and suspicion, if it looks and quacks etc. it's probably a duck. The link between plastics and harm has not been proven, but I cannot see how anything can be totally inert and harmless, much less plastics made from oil products.

 

[Pattree]

The link between plastics and harm has not been proven, but I cannot see how anything can be totally inert and harmless, much less plastics made from oil products.

No organic compound is totally inert.

I’m not sure about the connection with harm. I am reading a number of articles about microplastics in the human brain. At this stage they are only being monitored but I can’t help thinking that we were not designed to cope with this.

If in the highly complex human brain then to what extent in plankton, leaf cells, bacteria etc.

 

[Woody girl]

They say micro plastics have even been found at the North Pole, and on top of everest. Its in our drinking water, fish and even plants.
There is a tentative correlation to the increase in altziemers with plastics being found in the brain, and its also its found in breast milk.
Now there is talk of intelligent plastic...havnt looked into that yet, but that sounds even scarier.
What the heck are (supposedly intelligent) humans playing at!!!!!

 

[grainweevil]

You might look at PitRok....it's basically just a big crystal of alum, but it works really well as an anti perspirant.

Lots of the 'organic/ethical' type stores sell them though.

Like this,

Natural Deodorant Stone - 165g - Natural Collection Select

This natural deodorant stone is a great, eco-friendly way to remain odour-free throughout the day. All you need to do is wet the stone – made from natural...

www.ethicalsuperstore.com

Seconded. Although I gather they don't always work for everyone, skin chemistry varying as it does. Lasts for ages too, if you don't drop it...!

 

[Woody girl]

Seconded. Although I gather they don't always work for everyone, skin chemistry varying as it does. Lasts for ages too, if you don't drop it...!

Yep, PitRock was a waste of time and money for me. It just didn't work. Dripping armpits are not attractive on anybody!
This new one I bought seems to work very well, keeps me smelling sweet, and no sweaty armpits so far. In fact works better than my normal deodorant.

Just had to pop into town to buy milk...forgot to fill up my glass bottle on Saturday. Dam! That's already messed up my plans to have less plastic waste next week, but dry cornflakes..yerk, ! At least it's organic, and bovar free. One small mercy.