We’ve just started getting our milk (and fruit juice) delivered by the milkman (ah the nostalgia!) – plastic free!
There’s no hiding that it is more expensive than buying milk from the supermarket. But with each glass bottle reused 25 times then recycled into a new bottle, and every delivery made by a fully electric milk float…it felt worth a few extra pennies! Just love peeling off those little foil lids and getting that lump of cream on the top!
…or a £31,000 fine – that’s the hefty plastic bag law in Kenya! It got us thinking, the number of plastic bags has reduced by 80% in the UK, but there really is no excuse for needing one.
We’ve just bought a few more cloth bags so we don’t get caught out. I keep them everywhere – the boot of the car, the glove box, my handbag, backpack…even my coat pockets! Shove them anywhere – your kids backpack, your coat rack, your gym bag, in your shoes in the cupboard – anywhere that will remind you to take one out with you!
We just went to the fishmongers and took our own container with us!
Usually they’d lay a thin piece of plastic on the scales to weigh the fish, then put it into a small plastic bag and finally into another bag to carry away. All that plastic saved from landfill just by taking our own container 
Be brave, don’t feel embarrassed, if you go regularly they’ll soon get to know you and your little dishy! Or, like me, you’ll find out that you’re not ground-breaking and that they’re already used to people bringing their own container!
Fight the urge to use or take home those mini little shampoos, shower gels and body lotions from your hotel bathroom. The smaller the size the higher the plastic to product ratio. Billions of little half used bottles are scooped up by cleaners and sent to landfill every year. Take your own toiletries with you and feel good about leaving those little bottles be!
We use single-use plastic cutlery for just a few minutes before sending it to landfill, even though it’s manufactured from valuable fossil fuels that took millions of years to form.
If we’re grabbing food on the go we make sure we’re carrying our metal spork with us! They’re lightweight, durable, easy clean and can be used over and over and over…
Love your coffee pod machine?
Almost 200 million coffee capsules are bought in the UK each year. The disposal of these used coffee capsules is a huge problem for the environment with the majority ending up in landfill. If you love the convenience of these little single serving pods then turn to the great new range of capsules from Eden Project…
These Nespresso compatible capsules are completely compostable! Just put them in any food recycling bin, garden waste bin or even your own garden compost heap. What’s more, they’re produced using energy generated from wind, sun, hydropower and biogas, so they don’t contribute to climate change either!
We spotted them yesterday on the shelf in Waitrose!
Drink veg water?!!
…no I don’t fancy it either, but the water we’ve boiled or steamed our vegetables in is packed full of nutrients. Don’t waste it, if you’re not going to drink it (I hear a squeeze of lemon helps the taste!) water your house plants with it, they’ll thank you for all that goodness!
Some plastics break down quickly in the ocean due to the sun and weathering, creating a plastic smog which can’t be seem to the naked eye. These micro plastic pieces resemble food to small fish and plankton, where steadily they work their way up our food chain. The plastics we see bobbing around on the surface are just the tip of the iceberg…
We’re taking steps to reduce our plastic use. We’re now using solid shampoo bars, much like a bar of soap they last ages and come packaged plastic free. They’re also great when you go on holiday – no leaking shampoo bottle, and they can be packed in your cabin case too!
If it helps, we use a fab one from ALL NATURAL SOAP Co
We take junk mail straight from our mailbox to our recycling bin without even looking at it – I’m sure we’re not the only ones. What a crazy waste of a tree, and not only that, resources and taxpayers money are being spent on recycling the millions of pieces of junk mail sent yearly – junk mail we didn’t even want in the first place!
Consider putting a ‘no junk mail’ sticker on your letterbox or download an opt out form from the Royal Mail website. https://www.royalmail.com/…/D2D-Opt-Out-Application-Form-20…
Collectively refusing junk mail will encourage companies to look for other (hopefully greener!) ways to advertise.
We’ve been looking for smarter choices when we wash up…
Those little handy green scourers (often attached to a sponge) are made from matted plastic. Every time we use it it slowly breaks down washing tiny plastic strands into our waterways that can’t be filtered out. We’re now using a loofah – yep the same kind you’d use in the bath. It’s an entirely natural dried fruit from a marrow-like plant, so once it’s worn out it can be composted. You can find them in any highstreet chemist or beauty aisle.
Now that’s a truly ‘green’ scourer!
The Greener House 