Reducing plastic waste

Plastic-eating bacteria

http://uopnews.port.ac.uk/2018/04/16/engineering-a-plastic-eating-enzyme/

There's probably something in my fridge or pan on the back hob which will do the same...

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My friend is running a zero waste market. Lots on reducing plastic waste and other waste. check it out. (sorry for spam, but it looks really good)

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/zero-mkt-london-tickets-46824244576
https://www.facebook.com/zeromktlondon/

Is it just me who is finding that a lot more places are using plastic glasses recently? Could be as a fair bit of my drinking recently has been around football (where licensing conditions often stipulate plastic glasses) or various hipster pop-ups.

Brought it home when one had the de rigueur paper straw but disposable plastic glasses.

I dunno if it’s increaed recently or anything but I happened to be in a night club for the first time in several years last month and I’d forgotten about the horror of the wobbly plastic cup.

At first I only thought about it being a drag to have to use one but then I thought about the amount of waste it must generate.

I can remember being at gigs where you were literally knee deep in plastic cups by the end of the night.

There’s a brewery place here with s beer garden and you have to use a disposable cup if you’re going outside but the cups they use aren’t so wobbly and are marked as biodegradable/compostable. Guess there’s a cost implication though and a nightclub pumpin out Grants voddy n comes to teenagers isn’t gonna be interested in the moral high ground angle.

Does anyone know of any refills you can get for kitchen sprays and the like?

Concentrated if possible (even less packaging that way).

I've used the Method / You refills, but they don't appear to be sold anywhere anymore, and I'm not convinced they had any less plastic / packaging at all.

I'm sort of tempted to just get any old cleaner and chuck it in the bottles - given they're pretty much all the same, bar colour, scent and branding.

Been thinking the same, how about Ecover all purpose stuff?

https://www.ecoverdirect.com/departments/refills.aspx?deptid=RF

I've been using stuff from Eccoegg. It smells great and as you only need a capful per bottle it lasts ages (unless the other half doesn't read the instructions and just uses it neat!)

https://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/products/ecoegg/ecoegg-antibacterial-multi-purpose-cleaner/

^, ^^ noice - cheers both

I already buy the Ecover 5l bottles for floor, toilet & washing up - I should have thought they'd have an all-purpose cleaner...

Noticed there is now a plastic free store at Tooting Market. Its called BYO and the website is: byo.london. Basically bring your own containers and fill them up with shampoo, rice, etc.

Yet to go there but will report back when I do...

There is also a new one in Lee

Makes for grim reading
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/18/uk-recycling-industry-under-investigation-for-and-corruption

Contamination = British population are not well trained in sorting and rinsing, or bad contractors deliberately mixing waste to bulk it out, or what?

Unnecessary amount of free plastic courtesy of BMC

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Radio 4 food ptogramme gad a goid piece about future shopping trends and they reckon the envlronment and waste will be the big thing thus year.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00029fz

Unfortunately the majority of that plastic is required for a legal sale. Not saying it isn't daft though!

Apart from the usual ways of cutting down on plastic I experimented with bamboo toothbrushes, but they seem to last for a couple of weeks only. Electric toothbrush heads have 60%(?) less plastic than a standard toothbrush is the solution at the moment.

Not plastic waste, but how should I dispose my old Sidi shoes? They’re about 13 years old and worthless on eBay...

Well timed question. I was wondering what to do with old bib tights which I’m guessing are probably similar man-made textile. Are they recyclable in the textiles recycling bins at the tip/launderette/etc?

I like this...
https://twitter.com/KERB_/status/1109018308110635009

I don't know about you but there's a textile collection thing near us. I'll ask the missus.

They collect clothes and stuff that's too far gone for reuse as a wearable item but could be used for its fibres or something.

Meanwhile..
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=london+textile+collection+recycling&t=ffab&ia=web

Ok, there's a textile collection bin in our shopping centre

https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201171/recycling_services/1780/textile_recycling

https://www.ealing.gov.uk/directory/29/neighbourhood_recycling_sites

Try Bio-D for this as well, good stuff and all UK made.

https://biodegradable.biz/

Natoora stuff looks like it's in plastic wrap but it's some kind of biodegradable plastic-free stuff:
https://natoora.com/plasticfree/index.php