It's been a while, but there's been no green news to report...Still enjoying our veg box deliveries (fantastic seasonal squash recently which go very well with sausages), and using our new kerbside collection (our plastics box is mostly filled with stuff saved by colleagues at work, as there's no such thing as kerbside recycling for offices!).
However, I did get rather (over?!) excited last weekend when it was time to take out the summer bedding plants in our garden pots and replace them with winter pansies and spring flowering bulbs. To give them all a head start (although the bulbs are the National Trust's finest so I have high hopes for them) I thought I should give them a bit of fresh compost around their roots when planting.
With some trepidation I prised away the little 'door' at the bottom of our huge compost bin and I think I actually whooped with delight at what I saw! In front of my eyes was plenty of brown, crumbly stuff that looked like actual compost that you would buy in a shop!!! I scooped some out into a bucket to take a closer look - I can't believe that our old veg peelings, tea bags etc have, with no attention whatsoever (save a warm spot in the garden and a drop of water when it got too hot) have, thanks to some worms and bugs and heat from the sun, mulched down into this marvellous nourishing stuff! I scattered a good deal into the pots and beds as I was planting the pansies and bulbs - time will tell what difference it makes but there are two flowers and more buds on some of the pansies already - fab!
Why don't more people have compost bins?! So easy to do, puts less in your bin/landfill, and yields goodies if you're patient (ours has taken about 15 months to get to this stage).
Now, I quite fancy the idea of a wormery with all those cute wriggles chewing away...wonder if I can persuade Mr Going Greener...
See www.recyclenow.org.uk for more home composting info.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Kerbside collection
A couple of weeks ago I was very excited to receive a leaflet from the council informing us that our street was next in line for the 'Black Box' kerbside recycling scheme for cans and plastic bottles. This has been an ongoing project for the council for a few years now: black boxes have been rolled out on a postcode-by-postcode basis as funding has become available to run the scheme. According to council statistics, recycling rates have really leapt up in our local area since the introduction of the black box scheme - essentially people now have no excuse not to recycle the specified items. Households being charged per kg of waste they throw out rather than recycle? Bring it on!!
Kerbside collection of paper and cardboard for recycling was introduced in our town several years ago. At present, the box is emptied fornightly. Even for a two person household such as ours this isn't frequently enough: we easily fill our box every week, with the overspill stored in the shed until collection day. Still, it's better than nothing. The black box will also be emptied fortnightly (on bin day), beginning tomorrow, and I'm pleased that it has a better design than the papers box! The lid is securely fastened, as opposed to needing to weighted down with a brick in windy weather. Perhaps the council learnt from the design faults in the previous recycling box design?!
So now the only things we will have to take to a recycling centre ourselves are glass bottles, tin foil and textiles etc. I hope that, in time, glass will also be collected from our kerbside: when we lived in the adjacent county some 5 years ago, the council there collected a mixed box of paper, plastic, cans and glass every week on bin day. It still mystifies me how one council can differ so much from another in a country as small as ours, but hey ho - it all helps.
Our first black box collection is tomorrow - how exciting!
Kerbside collection of paper and cardboard for recycling was introduced in our town several years ago. At present, the box is emptied fornightly. Even for a two person household such as ours this isn't frequently enough: we easily fill our box every week, with the overspill stored in the shed until collection day. Still, it's better than nothing. The black box will also be emptied fortnightly (on bin day), beginning tomorrow, and I'm pleased that it has a better design than the papers box! The lid is securely fastened, as opposed to needing to weighted down with a brick in windy weather. Perhaps the council learnt from the design faults in the previous recycling box design?!
So now the only things we will have to take to a recycling centre ourselves are glass bottles, tin foil and textiles etc. I hope that, in time, glass will also be collected from our kerbside: when we lived in the adjacent county some 5 years ago, the council there collected a mixed box of paper, plastic, cans and glass every week on bin day. It still mystifies me how one council can differ so much from another in a country as small as ours, but hey ho - it all helps.
Our first black box collection is tomorrow - how exciting!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Daily pinta - at work!! PART II
Quick update.
Another unit in our office building have followed our lead and begun getting their milk delivered! Myself and my tea club cohort are hoping, after some initial confusion, that no-one will nick anyone else's milk - don't fancy a milk turf war!!
Another unit in our office building have followed our lead and begun getting their milk delivered! Myself and my tea club cohort are hoping, after some initial confusion, that no-one will nick anyone else's milk - don't fancy a milk turf war!!
Ethical Man
I brought back with me from India a newspaper cutting, from a quality daily rag called the Mumbai Mirror. It caught my eye as it was about a BBC Newsnight presenter by the name of Justin Rowlatt (link to BBC mini-site here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight
/ethical_man/default.stm)
In spring 2006, Justin was set the challenge of spending a year leading a more ethical life, with the aim of reducing his family's carbon footprint. He and his wife got rid of their car, converted to cloth nappies for their young children, switched the laundry eco-balls, started composting...His blog makes interesting reading and is full of good ideas and tips, from a man keen to 'do his bit', and to see how feasiible this would be to sustain on a long term basis. I'd recommend a browse.
The Mumbai Mirror ran a two-page spread about his efforts, predicated on his recent trip to Mumbai to see if he could encourage a local family to change their habits to more eco-frinedly ways. It has to be said that India is something of an eco disaster zone: poorly regulated urban development, ever-increasing traffic with no mitigation in terms of emmissions limits, and massive urban populations, many of whom have no access to clean water, toilets or secure housing. Recycling seems to be pretty much unheard of: in the rush to embrace Western ways (the McCulture) 'progress' seems to be all that matters, regardless on the impact on the environment/population. I know that in the West we have a litany of errors to answer to in this regard, but it seems sad that rapidly developing nations don't look at those with a view to avoiding repeating them.
So it was with much interest that I read the article. Rowlatt was tasked with given a middle class Mumbai family an 'eco makeover' to see if they could take steps to reduce theri carbon footprint. The family was similar in size and age to Rowlatt's own, and whilst they were not prepared to give up their car (high temperatures and humidity make public transport an almost unbearable experience in the summer months), they were amenable to making some changes (sadly the article doesn't go into much detail). Interestingly, Rowlatt also spent time with a different family whom the newspaper claims have zero carbon emissions: the wife, before her recent marriage, lived in one of Mumbai's many slums and the usage of public 'toilets' was extolled as something we could learn from in the West...
The Mumbai Mirror's top tips for reducing Indians' carbon footprint are resonant with those put forward here:
1. Consume only locally grown/produced food and avoid meat
2. Reduce car usage to a minimum
3. Switch to energy saving lighbulbs
4. Put your air conditioning at 25 degrees C of higher (the flip side of our 'turn your thermostat down by one degree' I guess)
5. Avoid using your tumble drier
6. Take the train to your next holiday destination
I'm not sure if the irony was realised by the printers, but immediately below these tips was an ad for a low-cost Indian airline...ha!
/ethical_man/default.stm)
In spring 2006, Justin was set the challenge of spending a year leading a more ethical life, with the aim of reducing his family's carbon footprint. He and his wife got rid of their car, converted to cloth nappies for their young children, switched the laundry eco-balls, started composting...His blog makes interesting reading and is full of good ideas and tips, from a man keen to 'do his bit', and to see how feasiible this would be to sustain on a long term basis. I'd recommend a browse.
The Mumbai Mirror ran a two-page spread about his efforts, predicated on his recent trip to Mumbai to see if he could encourage a local family to change their habits to more eco-frinedly ways. It has to be said that India is something of an eco disaster zone: poorly regulated urban development, ever-increasing traffic with no mitigation in terms of emmissions limits, and massive urban populations, many of whom have no access to clean water, toilets or secure housing. Recycling seems to be pretty much unheard of: in the rush to embrace Western ways (the McCulture) 'progress' seems to be all that matters, regardless on the impact on the environment/population. I know that in the West we have a litany of errors to answer to in this regard, but it seems sad that rapidly developing nations don't look at those with a view to avoiding repeating them.
So it was with much interest that I read the article. Rowlatt was tasked with given a middle class Mumbai family an 'eco makeover' to see if they could take steps to reduce theri carbon footprint. The family was similar in size and age to Rowlatt's own, and whilst they were not prepared to give up their car (high temperatures and humidity make public transport an almost unbearable experience in the summer months), they were amenable to making some changes (sadly the article doesn't go into much detail). Interestingly, Rowlatt also spent time with a different family whom the newspaper claims have zero carbon emissions: the wife, before her recent marriage, lived in one of Mumbai's many slums and the usage of public 'toilets' was extolled as something we could learn from in the West...
The Mumbai Mirror's top tips for reducing Indians' carbon footprint are resonant with those put forward here:
1. Consume only locally grown/produced food and avoid meat
2. Reduce car usage to a minimum
3. Switch to energy saving lighbulbs
4. Put your air conditioning at 25 degrees C of higher (the flip side of our 'turn your thermostat down by one degree' I guess)
5. Avoid using your tumble drier
6. Take the train to your next holiday destination
I'm not sure if the irony was realised by the printers, but immediately below these tips was an ad for a low-cost Indian airline...ha!
Back...!!
Hello blog fans! I'm back after too long an absence. I was in Paris with my job for a couple of weeks, then after 5 hectic days at home, went to India to visit The Travelling Macbook and Datchet Diva (links aside).
The garden is now blooming (and would be even more had not some rascal pinched two plant pots from beside our front door two nights ago - grr!) and thanks to my parents-in-law was reigned in from it's meadow-like state in time for my return home. It does now need a weed though, and the grass needs cutting again, so my aim is to do that if it stays dry on my days off this week.
I will give a compost update in due course too. It needs a good stir, and I left the lid off last week for a day or two so some rain could get in as it was all looking rather dry. The stuff at the very bottom looks to be about the right colour/consistency, so I"m hopeful...ish!
I've also, being unable to close the drawers, finally defrosted our freezer so it should be running more eco-efficiently now. Just in time for being filled with ice-cream!
The garden is now blooming (and would be even more had not some rascal pinched two plant pots from beside our front door two nights ago - grr!) and thanks to my parents-in-law was reigned in from it's meadow-like state in time for my return home. It does now need a weed though, and the grass needs cutting again, so my aim is to do that if it stays dry on my days off this week.
I will give a compost update in due course too. It needs a good stir, and I left the lid off last week for a day or two so some rain could get in as it was all looking rather dry. The stuff at the very bottom looks to be about the right colour/consistency, so I"m hopeful...ish!
I've also, being unable to close the drawers, finally defrosted our freezer so it should be running more eco-efficiently now. Just in time for being filled with ice-cream!
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Going greener....abroad
I'm currently in Paris for a couple of weeks with my job (hard life, I know). I flew here (bad, but cheaper than the train which is what it unfortunately boiled down to), but am walking/using public transport to get around everywhere (good). I can now vouch for the efficacy of sterilizing tablets for cleaning my mooncup (see previous post 'One for the girls'), but am suffering from a guilt complex re recycling my rubbish!
I brought with me a gorgeous Radley shopping bag, which I'm using in the little shops near to my apartment. France has yet to fully succumb to the lure of a Tesco metro on every corner, and there are still plenty of independent shops all specialising in one or two types of produce, even in the centre of Paris. However, I'm still reliant on supermarkets for most bottled/canned products and its this packaging which is causing me angst, especially as BBC World which is beamed to my tv 24/7 is running a special series of Climate Watch progammes...
Anyway, I guess it shows how used I've become to recycling at home, which is a good thing, in that now the thought of not being able to do the same here is an anathema. I have seen some bottle banks on street corners, so will have to scope out the nearest ones. Cans are still a quandy, although I think I may have spotted a paper recycling bin on the way home from the office today...Not sure of the system in terms of bin ownership - perhaps I ought to go out under the cover of darkness!!
Paris really is beautiful at this time of year, and I guess careful waste disposal plays an important role in keeping it that way. I shall let you all know if I achieve recycling succes...!
I brought with me a gorgeous Radley shopping bag, which I'm using in the little shops near to my apartment. France has yet to fully succumb to the lure of a Tesco metro on every corner, and there are still plenty of independent shops all specialising in one or two types of produce, even in the centre of Paris. However, I'm still reliant on supermarkets for most bottled/canned products and its this packaging which is causing me angst, especially as BBC World which is beamed to my tv 24/7 is running a special series of Climate Watch progammes...
Anyway, I guess it shows how used I've become to recycling at home, which is a good thing, in that now the thought of not being able to do the same here is an anathema. I have seen some bottle banks on street corners, so will have to scope out the nearest ones. Cans are still a quandy, although I think I may have spotted a paper recycling bin on the way home from the office today...Not sure of the system in terms of bin ownership - perhaps I ought to go out under the cover of darkness!!
Paris really is beautiful at this time of year, and I guess careful waste disposal plays an important role in keeping it that way. I shall let you all know if I achieve recycling succes...!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Daily pinta - at work!
Milk and orange juice deliveries to our home are proving very successful. I still get a bit excited seeing the bottles huddled up on the doorstep twice a week! Perhaps I need to get out more....!
Anyway, the place where I work has just moved offices. Myself and a friend run the tea club, and we were forever lugging big bottles of supermarket milk to work to feed the voracious thirsts of our colleagues.
So I got thinking...and put our new office postcode into the Dairy Crest website (www.dairycrest.co.uk). Hey presto - it's on a local delivery route! So, just like I'd done for home, I wizzed off our order via the website, and 5 days later 6 pints of milk were waiting outside the main entrance when the first person got to work! It's early days yet, and it may take some tweaking to ensure the regular order meets our needs, but so far so good. An added bonus is that the tea club can pay by direct debit, so no risk of cheques left in bottles outside overnight going AWOL. And who knows, it may even make some of my colleagues explore the possibility of using their own local milkman.
Now, I wonder what the reaction would be if we introduced fair trade tea and coffee into the tea club... :-)
Anyway, the place where I work has just moved offices. Myself and a friend run the tea club, and we were forever lugging big bottles of supermarket milk to work to feed the voracious thirsts of our colleagues.
So I got thinking...and put our new office postcode into the Dairy Crest website (www.dairycrest.co.uk). Hey presto - it's on a local delivery route! So, just like I'd done for home, I wizzed off our order via the website, and 5 days later 6 pints of milk were waiting outside the main entrance when the first person got to work! It's early days yet, and it may take some tweaking to ensure the regular order meets our needs, but so far so good. An added bonus is that the tea club can pay by direct debit, so no risk of cheques left in bottles outside overnight going AWOL. And who knows, it may even make some of my colleagues explore the possibility of using their own local milkman.
Now, I wonder what the reaction would be if we introduced fair trade tea and coffee into the tea club... :-)
Kentucky Fried Chicken advert update
This is an update on my previous blog entitled Adverts (Feb 07)...
I emailed the Advertising Standards Agency last week to register my astonishment and disappointment that such a blatant endorsement of a disposable lifestyle was allowed in 2007.
This morning I received a letter from them. I'm very impressed at the speed with which they replied. Here is what they wrote:
'Thank you for your recent online complaint regarding the above advertisers [KFC]. I am sorry to hear that this has caused you concern.
I note that you object to the new KFC commercial because it does not encourage viewers to recycle the material supplied with their meal. While I appreciate your concerns regarding this matter, this commercial does not appear to have breached our Codes on the basis you suggest. While we do regulate the content of commercials, we do not regulate the creative content to this extent and do not feel that a brief shot of a child disposing of some rubbish is likely to influence consumer's [sic] methods of waste disposal. The emphasis in this instance appears to be on the fact that no washing up is required, therefore creating less work for the family, rather than an attempt to promote irresponsible behaviour.
Whilst I appreciate you maybe [sic] disappointed with our decision, please be assured that we have considered your complaint thoroughly.
Although we do not propose further action, I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.'
Next stop - an email to KFC...
Watch this space!
I emailed the Advertising Standards Agency last week to register my astonishment and disappointment that such a blatant endorsement of a disposable lifestyle was allowed in 2007.
This morning I received a letter from them. I'm very impressed at the speed with which they replied. Here is what they wrote:
'Thank you for your recent online complaint regarding the above advertisers [KFC]. I am sorry to hear that this has caused you concern.
I note that you object to the new KFC commercial because it does not encourage viewers to recycle the material supplied with their meal. While I appreciate your concerns regarding this matter, this commercial does not appear to have breached our Codes on the basis you suggest. While we do regulate the content of commercials, we do not regulate the creative content to this extent and do not feel that a brief shot of a child disposing of some rubbish is likely to influence consumer's [sic] methods of waste disposal. The emphasis in this instance appears to be on the fact that no washing up is required, therefore creating less work for the family, rather than an attempt to promote irresponsible behaviour.
Whilst I appreciate you maybe [sic] disappointed with our decision, please be assured that we have considered your complaint thoroughly.
Although we do not propose further action, I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns.'
Next stop - an email to KFC...
Watch this space!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Plastic bags
Grrr! I hate plastic bags! I've just walked to our local swimming pool, and the wooded verge of the pavement seems to be full of them.
About a year ago, we bought some tough canvas shopping bags, albeit from our local supermarket. I think they were about £2.50 for 4, which are enough to take a week's shopping for two people. We have since accumulated some others, but our favourites are two hessian ones we bought in an eco shop in York a couple of weeks ago stamped, in huge letters, with 'Say No To Plastic Bags!'. They're fab!! See www.sharedearth.co.uk
Plastic bags are bad on so many levels:
1. most are not made from any recycled material, meaning scarce oil resources are used in their manufacture, which also requires energy
2. there are limited recycling facilities available for plastic bags (in our area anyway, although some supermarkets do take them)
3. they result in litter
4. those that end up in landfill take an age to break down, doubtless releasing all sorts of nasties into the earth/air
Some of the big supermarkets have introduced bags made from (partially) recycled material, others offer more loyalty points to those who resuse plastic bags at the checkout. But so much more could and should be done. It is so depressing to see people staggering behind their trolley, stuffed to the gunwhales with groaning plastic bags. It doesn't help that canvas bags on sale in supermarkets seem to be behind the checkouts, so that by the time people see them, and have the chance to think 'oh what a good idea', they've packed everything up and off they go, sure to forget next time. I long for the day when we will follow the Ireland and introduce a plastic bag tax - 10p each would soon encourage people to at least think twice about using so many, even if they continued to use them.
So what can we do?
1. REDUCE the number of plastic bags used:
- consider using canvas/cloth shopping bags, and get into the habit of taking them with you when you go to the shops/town - perhaps keep a couple in your car if that's how you normally travel to do your shopping, or in your hallway where you'll see them as you go out
- say no when shop assistants offer you a bag, if you can easily carry the item, or pop it into a bag you already have with you. They will sometimes look at you like you're mad, but persevere! You never know, you may encourage others to do the same!
- do you really need to put a hand of bananas, stalk of broccoli etc into a little bag at the greengrocers/supermarket? Consider just buying them 'loose' - you'll end up washing/unpeeling them before you eat them anyway and a bit of polythene will do nothing to protect against bruises whilst in transit
2. REUSE plastic bags you do take:
- as small bin liners
- to clear up after your dog
- at the shops. There's something a bit deliciously naughty about using another company's bags in a rival store, and we've even left a few behind at the checkout before as we giggled out. Childish I know, but fun!
3. RECYCLE plastic bags where possible. Tescos stores offer facilities (usually inside the store)
4. CHOOSE paper bags if you can, and then recycle/compost them
So next time you see a plastic bag caught in a tree, fluttering and fading in the breeze, seek out some funky alternatives. If we all used even a couple of cloth bags, the overall impact would be great and perhaps the staggering figure of over 240 plastic bags each person in the UK is estimated to use every year could be reduced.
Happy shopping!!
About a year ago, we bought some tough canvas shopping bags, albeit from our local supermarket. I think they were about £2.50 for 4, which are enough to take a week's shopping for two people. We have since accumulated some others, but our favourites are two hessian ones we bought in an eco shop in York a couple of weeks ago stamped, in huge letters, with 'Say No To Plastic Bags!'. They're fab!! See www.sharedearth.co.uk
Plastic bags are bad on so many levels:
1. most are not made from any recycled material, meaning scarce oil resources are used in their manufacture, which also requires energy
2. there are limited recycling facilities available for plastic bags (in our area anyway, although some supermarkets do take them)
3. they result in litter
4. those that end up in landfill take an age to break down, doubtless releasing all sorts of nasties into the earth/air
Some of the big supermarkets have introduced bags made from (partially) recycled material, others offer more loyalty points to those who resuse plastic bags at the checkout. But so much more could and should be done. It is so depressing to see people staggering behind their trolley, stuffed to the gunwhales with groaning plastic bags. It doesn't help that canvas bags on sale in supermarkets seem to be behind the checkouts, so that by the time people see them, and have the chance to think 'oh what a good idea', they've packed everything up and off they go, sure to forget next time. I long for the day when we will follow the Ireland and introduce a plastic bag tax - 10p each would soon encourage people to at least think twice about using so many, even if they continued to use them.
So what can we do?
1. REDUCE the number of plastic bags used:
- consider using canvas/cloth shopping bags, and get into the habit of taking them with you when you go to the shops/town - perhaps keep a couple in your car if that's how you normally travel to do your shopping, or in your hallway where you'll see them as you go out
- say no when shop assistants offer you a bag, if you can easily carry the item, or pop it into a bag you already have with you. They will sometimes look at you like you're mad, but persevere! You never know, you may encourage others to do the same!
- do you really need to put a hand of bananas, stalk of broccoli etc into a little bag at the greengrocers/supermarket? Consider just buying them 'loose' - you'll end up washing/unpeeling them before you eat them anyway and a bit of polythene will do nothing to protect against bruises whilst in transit
2. REUSE plastic bags you do take:
- as small bin liners
- to clear up after your dog
- at the shops. There's something a bit deliciously naughty about using another company's bags in a rival store, and we've even left a few behind at the checkout before as we giggled out. Childish I know, but fun!
3. RECYCLE plastic bags where possible. Tescos stores offer facilities (usually inside the store)
4. CHOOSE paper bags if you can, and then recycle/compost them
So next time you see a plastic bag caught in a tree, fluttering and fading in the breeze, seek out some funky alternatives. If we all used even a couple of cloth bags, the overall impact would be great and perhaps the staggering figure of over 240 plastic bags each person in the UK is estimated to use every year could be reduced.
Happy shopping!!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Adverts
Has anyone seen the current KFC 'family bucket' advert? 'Look you can get all this processed, fried, brown gunk for sixpence and give mum the night off cooking...'. It's the end bit that got me so angry when I saw it for the first time: the final boast is that all the packaging is disposable, cue footage of the whole lot being swept into the bin at the end of the ad...paper cartons, cups, wrappers...
To my mind, this is criminal as we approach global environmental meltdown. Surely this kind of statement can't be considered acceptable in 2007?! I'm going to write to the Advertising Standards Agency (www.asa.org.uk) and see if I get any response...
UPDATE 17/03/07: I'm not the only one to be mad about this ad - Nick at Enviroblah has also blogged about it! There is a link to his blog from mine.
Referring back to my 'One for the Girls' blog, I've also recently seen ads for Always Ultra 'with silk'...Hello?! Silk?! It's almost as bad as scented tampons. Come on girls - we don't need this nonsense!
To my mind, this is criminal as we approach global environmental meltdown. Surely this kind of statement can't be considered acceptable in 2007?! I'm going to write to the Advertising Standards Agency (www.asa.org.uk) and see if I get any response...
UPDATE 17/03/07: I'm not the only one to be mad about this ad - Nick at Enviroblah has also blogged about it! There is a link to his blog from mine.
Referring back to my 'One for the Girls' blog, I've also recently seen ads for Always Ultra 'with silk'...Hello?! Silk?! It's almost as bad as scented tampons. Come on girls - we don't need this nonsense!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Household stuff
Cleaning:
A few months ago I was asked my a market reseacher in our town centre if I had 10 minutes to spare. She was lovely, it was raining and I only had the washing up to look forward to at home, so I said yes.
The survey was for Cilit Bang, that purple stuff on the shouty adverts which promises to clean your drains, nuke soap scum, and probably walk the dog too. I can't even remember what the new product was now, but I had to watch a promotional video then answer a series of questions about it and whether or not I would be likely to buy it. I said that I probably wouldn't. The reason: it was PURPLE! Now, I love pink, purple and that whole range of girly colours, but purple toilet cleaner?! How un-natural is that?! And it fizzed in a scary way on the ad...
I told the lovely market research lady that I was an Ecover habitue, and thus unlikely to swap my eucalyptus for purple foam. Despite everything, I landed a Boots gift voucher, she was closer to her day's quota, and off I skipped.
I don't think it's overstating things to say that I LOVE Ecover stuff! Some friends of ours have been using it for a while, and they've recently gone the whole hog with washable nappies for their baby daughter, so we really felt it was time to give Ecover a go.
We broke ourselves in gently with the washing up liquid and cleaning spray. The Ecover website details their full range, as well as information about their environmentally aware production methods:
www.ecover.com
The washing up liquid is made with camomile and smells very fresh and natural - almost a bit minty. It cleans as well as standard washing up liquid, and per litre is not significantly more expensive. It is concentrated, so you don't need much.
The kitchen cleaning spray is likewise fragrant, and is perfectly effective. Building in confidence, we decided to give the toilet cleaning liquid a go. The over-riding scent is eucalyptus, which is refreshing with no chemical overtones which catch in your throat - it's about as far from horrid 'forest pine' as it's possible to get! For best results, you need to use a toilet brush too, but as for limescale, we don't find we need to use a separate limescale remover. We live in a very hard water area, so this is a bonus.
All Ecover bottles and their caps are made of the same type of plastic so the whole lot can be recycled. The products are biodegradable and do no harm acquatic life.
Laundry:
We've also been using Ecover washing powder for a few months now. It is similarly priced to other brands, and cleans everything very well. Like all their products, it has a natural subtle scent, and is meant to be ok if you have skin allergies (luckily, neither myself nor my husband suffer from these).
Our washing machine is Bosch, and rated A in terms of energy efficiency. However, I am trying to wash more at 30 degrees on the 'quick wash' setting to further reduce our energy and water consumption. This is fine for dark loads, but for lighter colours, especially towels, I still prefer a 40 degree wash. I will persevere however, as I'm aware that this may just be due to habit.
I recently bought some dolly washing balls from Lakeland (www.lakeland.co.uk). These are meant to act like old fashioned washing dollies: you put them in the machine with your laundry and the extra agitation they generate is meant to shift dirt so that you can reduce the amount of detergent you use. At £13 for 9, I thought they were worth a go, although I've not objectively tested how effective they are - it's difficult to do so unless you are washing really grubby stuff. Having no pets or children, nothing ever gets that dirty. However, I did a home hair dye yesterday and shoved the red/brown stained pale green towel into the washing machine with the balls and no detergent for a cold rinse and it came out spotless. This may have been helped by the fact that the dye had not had a chance to dry in, but I was pretty pleased.
You can also buy washing balls which ionise the water so that dirt is drawn from your clothes, meaning you can dispense with detergent altogether. The most common ones in the UK seem to be Ecoballs (try a google search). I've not tried these as I don't think you can use them if you also use water softeners (which we do as I don't want liomescale to cause my washing machine to seize up). However, you can also buy magnetised balls which claim to solve the limescale problem, which you can use in conjunction with ionising balls. When I get round to it, I may give these a go, although without opening the back of the washing machine I"m not sure how you would test the level of limescale being deposited.
There are even balls for tumble dryers which claim to fluff up your towels etc without recourse to Bounce. Not having a dryer, however, I've not tested these.
Washing balls are very noisy in your machine, so if possible set the machine to come on when you're out! If I do try the ionising/magnetic balls I'll update the blog...
Bathroom:
Who out there has tried recycled toilet paper? It's amazing how many people seem to think it is actually made from 'reclaimed' used toilet paper!!
Currently, Nouvelle is the only recycled brand available at our local supermarket - and there are NO recycled tissues available at all!! It's not triple-ply-quilted-also-makes-the-tea, but it's more than adequate than you very much. What is the point of recycling your old newspapers and junk mail if you only ever buy 'virgin' paper products? Remember reduce, reuse, as well as recycle!
I've just starting using washable cotton face pads made from towel offcuts and polyester (the middle bit, so your products don't soak into the flannel covering completely). I found them at www.lovetheplanet.co.uk and they're great! They come in little mesh bags of 5 (use this for washing them as otherwise they can get stuck in between the drum and the door of the machine). I've not yet used them for removing nail polish etc, but when I do I plan to keep one specifically for this so as not to spoil the others.
Right, that's your lot for now.
A few months ago I was asked my a market reseacher in our town centre if I had 10 minutes to spare. She was lovely, it was raining and I only had the washing up to look forward to at home, so I said yes.
The survey was for Cilit Bang, that purple stuff on the shouty adverts which promises to clean your drains, nuke soap scum, and probably walk the dog too. I can't even remember what the new product was now, but I had to watch a promotional video then answer a series of questions about it and whether or not I would be likely to buy it. I said that I probably wouldn't. The reason: it was PURPLE! Now, I love pink, purple and that whole range of girly colours, but purple toilet cleaner?! How un-natural is that?! And it fizzed in a scary way on the ad...
I told the lovely market research lady that I was an Ecover habitue, and thus unlikely to swap my eucalyptus for purple foam. Despite everything, I landed a Boots gift voucher, she was closer to her day's quota, and off I skipped.
I don't think it's overstating things to say that I LOVE Ecover stuff! Some friends of ours have been using it for a while, and they've recently gone the whole hog with washable nappies for their baby daughter, so we really felt it was time to give Ecover a go.
We broke ourselves in gently with the washing up liquid and cleaning spray. The Ecover website details their full range, as well as information about their environmentally aware production methods:
www.ecover.com
The washing up liquid is made with camomile and smells very fresh and natural - almost a bit minty. It cleans as well as standard washing up liquid, and per litre is not significantly more expensive. It is concentrated, so you don't need much.
The kitchen cleaning spray is likewise fragrant, and is perfectly effective. Building in confidence, we decided to give the toilet cleaning liquid a go. The over-riding scent is eucalyptus, which is refreshing with no chemical overtones which catch in your throat - it's about as far from horrid 'forest pine' as it's possible to get! For best results, you need to use a toilet brush too, but as for limescale, we don't find we need to use a separate limescale remover. We live in a very hard water area, so this is a bonus.
All Ecover bottles and their caps are made of the same type of plastic so the whole lot can be recycled. The products are biodegradable and do no harm acquatic life.
Laundry:
We've also been using Ecover washing powder for a few months now. It is similarly priced to other brands, and cleans everything very well. Like all their products, it has a natural subtle scent, and is meant to be ok if you have skin allergies (luckily, neither myself nor my husband suffer from these).
Our washing machine is Bosch, and rated A in terms of energy efficiency. However, I am trying to wash more at 30 degrees on the 'quick wash' setting to further reduce our energy and water consumption. This is fine for dark loads, but for lighter colours, especially towels, I still prefer a 40 degree wash. I will persevere however, as I'm aware that this may just be due to habit.
I recently bought some dolly washing balls from Lakeland (www.lakeland.co.uk). These are meant to act like old fashioned washing dollies: you put them in the machine with your laundry and the extra agitation they generate is meant to shift dirt so that you can reduce the amount of detergent you use. At £13 for 9, I thought they were worth a go, although I've not objectively tested how effective they are - it's difficult to do so unless you are washing really grubby stuff. Having no pets or children, nothing ever gets that dirty. However, I did a home hair dye yesterday and shoved the red/brown stained pale green towel into the washing machine with the balls and no detergent for a cold rinse and it came out spotless. This may have been helped by the fact that the dye had not had a chance to dry in, but I was pretty pleased.
You can also buy washing balls which ionise the water so that dirt is drawn from your clothes, meaning you can dispense with detergent altogether. The most common ones in the UK seem to be Ecoballs (try a google search). I've not tried these as I don't think you can use them if you also use water softeners (which we do as I don't want liomescale to cause my washing machine to seize up). However, you can also buy magnetised balls which claim to solve the limescale problem, which you can use in conjunction with ionising balls. When I get round to it, I may give these a go, although without opening the back of the washing machine I"m not sure how you would test the level of limescale being deposited.
There are even balls for tumble dryers which claim to fluff up your towels etc without recourse to Bounce. Not having a dryer, however, I've not tested these.
Washing balls are very noisy in your machine, so if possible set the machine to come on when you're out! If I do try the ionising/magnetic balls I'll update the blog...
Bathroom:
Who out there has tried recycled toilet paper? It's amazing how many people seem to think it is actually made from 'reclaimed' used toilet paper!!
Currently, Nouvelle is the only recycled brand available at our local supermarket - and there are NO recycled tissues available at all!! It's not triple-ply-quilted-also-makes-the-tea, but it's more than adequate than you very much. What is the point of recycling your old newspapers and junk mail if you only ever buy 'virgin' paper products? Remember reduce, reuse, as well as recycle!
I've just starting using washable cotton face pads made from towel offcuts and polyester (the middle bit, so your products don't soak into the flannel covering completely). I found them at www.lovetheplanet.co.uk and they're great! They come in little mesh bags of 5 (use this for washing them as otherwise they can get stuck in between the drum and the door of the machine). I've not yet used them for removing nail polish etc, but when I do I plan to keep one specifically for this so as not to spoil the others.
Right, that's your lot for now.
Veg boxes
We've had two veg boxes from Abel & Cole now, so thought it ought to be the subject of my next post.
Their marketing clearly worked on us, as a leaflet shoved through the letter box early in January (doubtless cashing in on the New Year 'detox' market, although we've never subscribed to that!) persuaded us to give Abel & Cole a go.
Their website is very informative with regard to the contents of their boxes, and the vast range of products they offer, including bread, meat, and Ecover cleaning products:
www.abel-cole.co.uk
There are two of us in our household, and on average we cook 'properly' about 4 times a week. We opted for the 'mixed organic box' to be delivered fortnightly, which costs £14.80. Whilst we have not weighed and calculated the cost of equivalent organic items in a supermarket, our guesstimate is that the box represents reasonable value. Setting up an account was very easy via the website, and the deadlines for ordering products are pretty flexible. Our box is delivered on Mondays, and we can cancel any time until the preceding Friday night. Abel & Cole prefer you to set up a regular order, although you can amend/cancel them at any time with no obligation. Payment is taken via direct debit after delivery.
The amount of vegetables in the mixed organic box is sufficient for us for a week, although more fruit would be welcome as we both take packed lunches to work every day. Whilst you can state likes and dislikes via the website, you can't swap items in some boxes, so check for this if that is something you would like.
Our reasons for trying a veg box were several:
1. Convenience of doorstep delivery
2. British produce, with minimal imports (bananas being the obvious exception, and those are at least fair trade)
3. Imported goods are brought by ship rather than air, so helping to reduce their 'carbon footprint'
To be honest, neither of us are really that bothered about the organic element of Abel & Cole. I'm not 100% convinced as to its viability in terms of rates of production: if the world's food was produced via (UK standard) organic means, we'd run out of room to grow/rear everything. Thoroughly washing all fruit and veg prior to consumption/cooking must surely get rid of the nastiest pesticides etc or else they wouldn't be permitted for use.
However, we love the fact that the majority of Abel & Cole produce is British. Who really needs mange tout in February anyway? We have had some pretty interesting things in our box so far (the more obscure items come with suggested recipes): jerusalem artichokes this week prompted us to try a scrummy sausage dish that we wouldn't have found otherwise. A few days before delivery, the contents of that week's boxes are posted on the Abel & Cole website, so nothing comes as a complete surprise, which is great.
The produce in our (cardboard) box comes either loose or, joy of joys, in paper bags. The whole lot is tied up with string. Empty boxes left outside on delivery day will be taken back by the driver and re-used, or else you can just recycle them yourself. I was very excited to receive the first lot of potatoes complete with mud!
I'm well aware that an organic veg box is a luxury, and that farm shops provide less expensive British produce, but for convenience, you can't beat a box left on your doorstep.
I think when we get a bit more confident with the whole thing we might try some of the different boxes too - the salad one would be great for summer. So far, none of our produce has gone to waste and I'm discovering some nice soup recipes as a way of using things that I can't think what else to do with.
I would say a veg box is worth trying, and there are other companies out there doing similar things. Anything which diverts money being spent in supermarkets has to be a good thing.
Their marketing clearly worked on us, as a leaflet shoved through the letter box early in January (doubtless cashing in on the New Year 'detox' market, although we've never subscribed to that!) persuaded us to give Abel & Cole a go.
Their website is very informative with regard to the contents of their boxes, and the vast range of products they offer, including bread, meat, and Ecover cleaning products:
www.abel-cole.co.uk
There are two of us in our household, and on average we cook 'properly' about 4 times a week. We opted for the 'mixed organic box' to be delivered fortnightly, which costs £14.80. Whilst we have not weighed and calculated the cost of equivalent organic items in a supermarket, our guesstimate is that the box represents reasonable value. Setting up an account was very easy via the website, and the deadlines for ordering products are pretty flexible. Our box is delivered on Mondays, and we can cancel any time until the preceding Friday night. Abel & Cole prefer you to set up a regular order, although you can amend/cancel them at any time with no obligation. Payment is taken via direct debit after delivery.
The amount of vegetables in the mixed organic box is sufficient for us for a week, although more fruit would be welcome as we both take packed lunches to work every day. Whilst you can state likes and dislikes via the website, you can't swap items in some boxes, so check for this if that is something you would like.
Our reasons for trying a veg box were several:
1. Convenience of doorstep delivery
2. British produce, with minimal imports (bananas being the obvious exception, and those are at least fair trade)
3. Imported goods are brought by ship rather than air, so helping to reduce their 'carbon footprint'
To be honest, neither of us are really that bothered about the organic element of Abel & Cole. I'm not 100% convinced as to its viability in terms of rates of production: if the world's food was produced via (UK standard) organic means, we'd run out of room to grow/rear everything. Thoroughly washing all fruit and veg prior to consumption/cooking must surely get rid of the nastiest pesticides etc or else they wouldn't be permitted for use.
However, we love the fact that the majority of Abel & Cole produce is British. Who really needs mange tout in February anyway? We have had some pretty interesting things in our box so far (the more obscure items come with suggested recipes): jerusalem artichokes this week prompted us to try a scrummy sausage dish that we wouldn't have found otherwise. A few days before delivery, the contents of that week's boxes are posted on the Abel & Cole website, so nothing comes as a complete surprise, which is great.
The produce in our (cardboard) box comes either loose or, joy of joys, in paper bags. The whole lot is tied up with string. Empty boxes left outside on delivery day will be taken back by the driver and re-used, or else you can just recycle them yourself. I was very excited to receive the first lot of potatoes complete with mud!
I'm well aware that an organic veg box is a luxury, and that farm shops provide less expensive British produce, but for convenience, you can't beat a box left on your doorstep.
I think when we get a bit more confident with the whole thing we might try some of the different boxes too - the salad one would be great for summer. So far, none of our produce has gone to waste and I'm discovering some nice soup recipes as a way of using things that I can't think what else to do with.
I would say a veg box is worth trying, and there are other companies out there doing similar things. Anything which diverts money being spent in supermarkets has to be a good thing.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Daily pinta
Remember when everyone had their milk delivered by a cheery chap with a white jacket and a worn brown satchel for collecting the money? Then supermarkets got in on the act and you could buy 4 or 6 pints in one go, and it all seemed so much more convenient that way...
Ever since I left home I've always bought milk in plastic bottles, on the premise that milk deliveries seemed to be getting later in the day (where they still existed), and I didn't want the milk to go off sat on the doorstep all day, especially in the summer.
Then just a couple of weeks ago a newspaper article made me think again, and another one has since galvanised me further. Due to the falling price of milk, partly driven by supermarket 'price wars', there are now half the number of dairy farmers in the UK as there were a decade ago, and if things carry on in the same vein (including a continuing increase in dairy product consumption), the UK will need to import milk within the next few years to meet demand. How mad is that?! Apparently some organic milk is already imported.
A milkman calls mid-morning, three times a week in our road, and one Saturday I nipped out to ask how to go about setting up a delivery. All I had to do was email/phone the dairy with my order, and wait. You can amend delivery details online, including changes to the products you want and the days you want them delivered (e.g. to account for holidays/house guests etc).
So far so good. We are having milk and fresh orange juice (also in glass bottles) delivered twice a week. The juice is lovely, and our main motivator for ordering that is to cut down on the waste generated by the laminated cardboard cartons the supermarket variety comes in, which we can't recycle in our area.
I plan on buying a 'milk minder' to keep the bottles cool on summer days before we can get home and put them in the fridge. I am a little bit apprehensive about this, but time will tell. We may just have to be more organised and order deliveries for days when we know we'll be at home. Updates will appear here!
Useful links:
www.expressdairies.co.uk
www.dairycrest.co.uk
Both companies offer a postcode search facility which will tell you if your address is on a delivery route.
Give it a go - if it doesn't suit your needs, you can always cancel, and if you do persevere, you'll be supporting your local milkman and reducing waste.
Ever since I left home I've always bought milk in plastic bottles, on the premise that milk deliveries seemed to be getting later in the day (where they still existed), and I didn't want the milk to go off sat on the doorstep all day, especially in the summer.
Then just a couple of weeks ago a newspaper article made me think again, and another one has since galvanised me further. Due to the falling price of milk, partly driven by supermarket 'price wars', there are now half the number of dairy farmers in the UK as there were a decade ago, and if things carry on in the same vein (including a continuing increase in dairy product consumption), the UK will need to import milk within the next few years to meet demand. How mad is that?! Apparently some organic milk is already imported.
A milkman calls mid-morning, three times a week in our road, and one Saturday I nipped out to ask how to go about setting up a delivery. All I had to do was email/phone the dairy with my order, and wait. You can amend delivery details online, including changes to the products you want and the days you want them delivered (e.g. to account for holidays/house guests etc).
So far so good. We are having milk and fresh orange juice (also in glass bottles) delivered twice a week. The juice is lovely, and our main motivator for ordering that is to cut down on the waste generated by the laminated cardboard cartons the supermarket variety comes in, which we can't recycle in our area.
I plan on buying a 'milk minder' to keep the bottles cool on summer days before we can get home and put them in the fridge. I am a little bit apprehensive about this, but time will tell. We may just have to be more organised and order deliveries for days when we know we'll be at home. Updates will appear here!
Useful links:
www.expressdairies.co.uk
www.dairycrest.co.uk
Both companies offer a postcode search facility which will tell you if your address is on a delivery route.
Give it a go - if it doesn't suit your needs, you can always cancel, and if you do persevere, you'll be supporting your local milkman and reducing waste.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
One for the girls!
Although curious chaps are more than welcome to read on... :-)
At first glance, this might all sound a bit ick, but stay with me!
Have you ever wondered, as you're chucking another box of bleached white cotton/paper/plastic/super absorbent gel at not inconsiderable expense into your supermarket trolley, that perhaps there's an alternative to disposable pads and tampons? I hadn't especially, but one day, whilst reading an article on the BBC Woman's Hour website, I came across a mention of washable cloth pads and something called a Mooncup. To be honest, the latter looked a bit scary, but the former piqued my interest early last summer. I think I was getting into the green vibe, now we had set up our new compost bin!
Now, I can hear some 'Ewww's out there, but bear with me - it gets better and you never know, you may even be persuaded by the end! The more I thought about it, the more it made sense and it's no different to using washable nappies, and arguably a lot less yucky than that. And at the end of the day, periods are a natural process, and what's dirty or disgusting about that? No less disgusting, surely, than throwing used disposable products into landfull where they take an age to breakdown, or flushing them away only to see them washed up on the beach. That really is 'eww'!!
So I set about doing some internet research. The following sites are helpful:
http://www.plushpants.co.uk/
www.daisyboxonline.co.uk/
http://www.treehuggermums.co.uk/
http://www.weenotions.wahmall.co.uk/
www.peeweezrecycled.wahmall.co.uk
www.wen.org.uk - click on 'sanpro' for a fuller list of suppliers, and a pattern to make your own cloth pads if you're handy with a needle and thread!
Dayzee (through Daisyboxonline), Peeweez and Weenotions offer pads made in the UK by women working at home, with the former also offering pads/liners for g-string underwear. Treehuggermums and plushpants offer Wemoon pads, which are Australian. Other foreign manufacturers include:
http://www.pleasurepuss.com/
http://www.hagrag.bigstep.com/
www.manymoons.biz
If you type washable cloth pads (or similar) into Google you'll get loads of hits. Bear in mind that some companies' main business is cloth nappies, so you might have to click on the 'for mum' bit.
Sadly, the lady who made my favourite pads, Clothmadmummy, no longer makes them :-(
I bought a selection of Wemoons, Dayzee, Weenotions as well as the Clothmadmummy ones to test them out. I don't plan to write an exhaustive review of each brand here as there are already myriad sites with this info on on the web. www.ciao.co.uk offers reviews of some products. Feel free to pose questions in the comments bit if you like though.
How do they work?
Basically, the pads work like this: they have an absorbent core (usually made of hemp), and cotton/jersey/fleece outers. The thickness of the core will determine the absorbency of the pad. Some pads also have a thin waterproof bottom layer inside them to give extra peace of mind. All mine are the 'all in one type', although you can get pads which are composed of 2 parts - an outer and individual pad sections which fit into the outers. These are useful if your flow varies as you can adjust the number of inserts accordingly. As well as pads, I have also bought panty liners for use in between periods. These are very thin indeed with no absorbent core, and do the job perfectly. Almost all the pads and liners I've seen have wings, which wrap around your knickers (like disposable pads) and fix with poppers. This keeps the pad perfectly in place.
What are they like?
The most comfortable things ever! All my pads/liners are roughly the same length, width and thickness as their disposable conterparts (ultra slim type) and are thus just as discreet, and about a million times more comfortable. It is SO nice just having soft fabric next to your skin.
What's so great about them?
A few of their many plus points, in no particular order. I really don't have a bad word to say about cloth pads!
1. I'm not supporting multinationals, particularly in their assertion that periods are somehow dirty and shameful and need to 'dealt with' by ultra white, super absorbent, scented (?!) products.
2. They come in some very funky fabrics - cats, leopard print, stars, flowers, frogs!
3. They are just as absorbent as disposable products.
4. They are 'natural' and don't expose your skin to bleaches/chemicals.
5. They don't leak.
6. They don't bunch up.
7. They don't feel damp, and if this worries you then for extra reassurance choose a pad with a fleece outer. Fleece itself is non-absorbent so everything goes straight through to the hemp core.
8. No nasty adhesives to catch your pubic hair (we've all been there!).
9. No need for 'period pants'. I love frilly knickers, but didn't like the way the sitcky goo on disposable pads pulled the delicate fabric, so every month I ended up wheeling out the plain boring cotton ones in the back of my underwear drawer. But no adhesives on my washable pads means I can wear nice knicks every day of the month - hooray!
10. No tell tale ripping and scrunching noises in public toilets - just quiet 'snaps'.
11. They save you money! Washable pads will last you for years with proper care.
12. Last but by no means least, they are better for the environment in that they generate no waste. If you are concious about saving water, the pad soaking water is very good for your plants. You can use an economy cycle on your washing machine and/or make sure you fill it up each time you wash your pads - you don't have to wash them on their own.
Aren't they yukky to wash?
NO! All you need to do is rinse them once used and either bung them in the washing machine, or if your next wash day is a little way off, put the pads into a small bucket of cold water to soak, preferably an opaque one with a lid. I like to add some tea tree oil to the water which keeps everything smelling fresh. Mine only ever get washed at 40C, and have not stained. It is wise, though, to choose dark/patterned fabrics when selecting your pads.
What about when I'm not at home?
The design of most pads allows them to be folded in on themselves into a little envelope, which means they can then be popped into a small make-up bag until you get home. If you're on holiday, then you can rinse as you go and wash them properly once home.
I really really wish I'd known about these pads years ago. Give them a whirl!!
But I'm an avowed tampon user...
Well then read on!
Last summer my mum of all people asked me if I'd heard of the Mooncup as once of her not-quite-menopausal friends was thinking of trying one. See http://www.mooncup.co.uk/
I had heard of them, but had just bought myself lots of lovely cloth pads and was quite happy with those. I was still using tampons whilst swimming/on holiday though.
Then one of my friends got one last September and hasn't looked back...I finally took the plunge earlier this month and, like cloth pads, only wish I'd known about this fantastic thing years ago! I bought mine from a local independent health food shop, but you can get them from Mooncup directly via their website, or larger branches of Boots (I was thrilled to see them on sale at the Reading Oracle branch last week! :-) )
The mooncup is a silicone cup which you use instead of a tampon. It's worn much lower in the vagina than tampons are so coil users worried about threads catching on a tampon needn't have concerns as long as you take care to release the seal properly when removing the mooncup. The cup collects your flow, rather than absorbing it, which means your delicate tissues don't get all dried out, especially towards the end of your period when your flow is usually much lighter. Plus you're not exposing your body to the bleaches and other chemicals used in tampons manufacture, and the mooncup has not been associated with TSS. The mooncup is flexible and comes in 2 sizes: A for those over 30/who have given birth vaginally and B for those under 30/haven't given birth vaginally. It might look a bit big, but it does squish to fit you, honest!
You will probably find that you need to empty your mooncup less often than you need to change a tampon. It does take a bit of practice to get the hang of inserting and removing it (with regard to the latter, the trick is to 'bear down'), and I had to remove nearly all the stalk of mine to get it comfortable. But, as with tampons, once it's in the right place you won't be able to feel it at all. It forms a seal with your vaginal walls and your muscles hold it in place. I've used mine during exercise and swimming, and it has been absolutely fine. No leaks and no movement whatsoever.
When it needs emptying, you just tip the contents of the cup down the toilet. If you're at home/have a basin in the cubicle next to you, you may like to rinse it, otherwise you can wipe it with tissue paper. The outside tends to stay clean. Then you just reinsert and off you go! Mooncup recommend that you empty it every 6 hours or so. Between periods, you should sterilise your mooncup by boiling it in an open pan of water for 5 mintues, or by immersing it in sterilising solution (e.g. Milton). The latter may be a better option if you live in a shared house!
With proper care, your mooncup should last you several years. They cost about £18, but this is probably what most women spend on disposable products in 6-7 months. And think of all the waste you'll be saving, with no more tampons, applicators, boxes, etc etc. No more scuttling to the loo with your handbag at work, or stuffing your suitcase with tampons before you go on holiday. One mooncup is all you need! I haven't had any problems regarding leaks when using my mooncup, and neither have any fellow users that I know, but if this is something that concerns you, a small stash of washable panty liners (see above!) will compliment your mooncup nicely.
I'm currently very happily using a mixture of my mooncup and washable pads, depending on what I'm doing and my mood. Their discovery has easily been the best thing about my green journey so far.
Good luck!
At first glance, this might all sound a bit ick, but stay with me!
Have you ever wondered, as you're chucking another box of bleached white cotton/paper/plastic/super absorbent gel at not inconsiderable expense into your supermarket trolley, that perhaps there's an alternative to disposable pads and tampons? I hadn't especially, but one day, whilst reading an article on the BBC Woman's Hour website, I came across a mention of washable cloth pads and something called a Mooncup. To be honest, the latter looked a bit scary, but the former piqued my interest early last summer. I think I was getting into the green vibe, now we had set up our new compost bin!
Now, I can hear some 'Ewww's out there, but bear with me - it gets better and you never know, you may even be persuaded by the end! The more I thought about it, the more it made sense and it's no different to using washable nappies, and arguably a lot less yucky than that. And at the end of the day, periods are a natural process, and what's dirty or disgusting about that? No less disgusting, surely, than throwing used disposable products into landfull where they take an age to breakdown, or flushing them away only to see them washed up on the beach. That really is 'eww'!!
So I set about doing some internet research. The following sites are helpful:
http://www.plushpants.co.uk/
www.daisyboxonline.co.uk/
http://www.treehuggermums.co.uk/
http://www.weenotions.wahmall.co.uk/
www.peeweezrecycled.wahmall.co.uk
www.wen.org.uk - click on 'sanpro' for a fuller list of suppliers, and a pattern to make your own cloth pads if you're handy with a needle and thread!
Dayzee (through Daisyboxonline), Peeweez and Weenotions offer pads made in the UK by women working at home, with the former also offering pads/liners for g-string underwear. Treehuggermums and plushpants offer Wemoon pads, which are Australian. Other foreign manufacturers include:
http://www.pleasurepuss.com/
http://www.hagrag.bigstep.com/
www.manymoons.biz
If you type washable cloth pads (or similar) into Google you'll get loads of hits. Bear in mind that some companies' main business is cloth nappies, so you might have to click on the 'for mum' bit.
Sadly, the lady who made my favourite pads, Clothmadmummy, no longer makes them :-(
I bought a selection of Wemoons, Dayzee, Weenotions as well as the Clothmadmummy ones to test them out. I don't plan to write an exhaustive review of each brand here as there are already myriad sites with this info on on the web. www.ciao.co.uk offers reviews of some products. Feel free to pose questions in the comments bit if you like though.
How do they work?
Basically, the pads work like this: they have an absorbent core (usually made of hemp), and cotton/jersey/fleece outers. The thickness of the core will determine the absorbency of the pad. Some pads also have a thin waterproof bottom layer inside them to give extra peace of mind. All mine are the 'all in one type', although you can get pads which are composed of 2 parts - an outer and individual pad sections which fit into the outers. These are useful if your flow varies as you can adjust the number of inserts accordingly. As well as pads, I have also bought panty liners for use in between periods. These are very thin indeed with no absorbent core, and do the job perfectly. Almost all the pads and liners I've seen have wings, which wrap around your knickers (like disposable pads) and fix with poppers. This keeps the pad perfectly in place.
What are they like?
The most comfortable things ever! All my pads/liners are roughly the same length, width and thickness as their disposable conterparts (ultra slim type) and are thus just as discreet, and about a million times more comfortable. It is SO nice just having soft fabric next to your skin.
What's so great about them?
A few of their many plus points, in no particular order. I really don't have a bad word to say about cloth pads!
1. I'm not supporting multinationals, particularly in their assertion that periods are somehow dirty and shameful and need to 'dealt with' by ultra white, super absorbent, scented (?!) products.
2. They come in some very funky fabrics - cats, leopard print, stars, flowers, frogs!
3. They are just as absorbent as disposable products.
4. They are 'natural' and don't expose your skin to bleaches/chemicals.
5. They don't leak.
6. They don't bunch up.
7. They don't feel damp, and if this worries you then for extra reassurance choose a pad with a fleece outer. Fleece itself is non-absorbent so everything goes straight through to the hemp core.
8. No nasty adhesives to catch your pubic hair (we've all been there!).
9. No need for 'period pants'. I love frilly knickers, but didn't like the way the sitcky goo on disposable pads pulled the delicate fabric, so every month I ended up wheeling out the plain boring cotton ones in the back of my underwear drawer. But no adhesives on my washable pads means I can wear nice knicks every day of the month - hooray!
10. No tell tale ripping and scrunching noises in public toilets - just quiet 'snaps'.
11. They save you money! Washable pads will last you for years with proper care.
12. Last but by no means least, they are better for the environment in that they generate no waste. If you are concious about saving water, the pad soaking water is very good for your plants. You can use an economy cycle on your washing machine and/or make sure you fill it up each time you wash your pads - you don't have to wash them on their own.
Aren't they yukky to wash?
NO! All you need to do is rinse them once used and either bung them in the washing machine, or if your next wash day is a little way off, put the pads into a small bucket of cold water to soak, preferably an opaque one with a lid. I like to add some tea tree oil to the water which keeps everything smelling fresh. Mine only ever get washed at 40C, and have not stained. It is wise, though, to choose dark/patterned fabrics when selecting your pads.
What about when I'm not at home?
The design of most pads allows them to be folded in on themselves into a little envelope, which means they can then be popped into a small make-up bag until you get home. If you're on holiday, then you can rinse as you go and wash them properly once home.
I really really wish I'd known about these pads years ago. Give them a whirl!!
But I'm an avowed tampon user...
Well then read on!
Last summer my mum of all people asked me if I'd heard of the Mooncup as once of her not-quite-menopausal friends was thinking of trying one. See http://www.mooncup.co.uk/
I had heard of them, but had just bought myself lots of lovely cloth pads and was quite happy with those. I was still using tampons whilst swimming/on holiday though.
Then one of my friends got one last September and hasn't looked back...I finally took the plunge earlier this month and, like cloth pads, only wish I'd known about this fantastic thing years ago! I bought mine from a local independent health food shop, but you can get them from Mooncup directly via their website, or larger branches of Boots (I was thrilled to see them on sale at the Reading Oracle branch last week! :-) )
The mooncup is a silicone cup which you use instead of a tampon. It's worn much lower in the vagina than tampons are so coil users worried about threads catching on a tampon needn't have concerns as long as you take care to release the seal properly when removing the mooncup. The cup collects your flow, rather than absorbing it, which means your delicate tissues don't get all dried out, especially towards the end of your period when your flow is usually much lighter. Plus you're not exposing your body to the bleaches and other chemicals used in tampons manufacture, and the mooncup has not been associated with TSS. The mooncup is flexible and comes in 2 sizes: A for those over 30/who have given birth vaginally and B for those under 30/haven't given birth vaginally. It might look a bit big, but it does squish to fit you, honest!
You will probably find that you need to empty your mooncup less often than you need to change a tampon. It does take a bit of practice to get the hang of inserting and removing it (with regard to the latter, the trick is to 'bear down'), and I had to remove nearly all the stalk of mine to get it comfortable. But, as with tampons, once it's in the right place you won't be able to feel it at all. It forms a seal with your vaginal walls and your muscles hold it in place. I've used mine during exercise and swimming, and it has been absolutely fine. No leaks and no movement whatsoever.
When it needs emptying, you just tip the contents of the cup down the toilet. If you're at home/have a basin in the cubicle next to you, you may like to rinse it, otherwise you can wipe it with tissue paper. The outside tends to stay clean. Then you just reinsert and off you go! Mooncup recommend that you empty it every 6 hours or so. Between periods, you should sterilise your mooncup by boiling it in an open pan of water for 5 mintues, or by immersing it in sterilising solution (e.g. Milton). The latter may be a better option if you live in a shared house!
With proper care, your mooncup should last you several years. They cost about £18, but this is probably what most women spend on disposable products in 6-7 months. And think of all the waste you'll be saving, with no more tampons, applicators, boxes, etc etc. No more scuttling to the loo with your handbag at work, or stuffing your suitcase with tampons before you go on holiday. One mooncup is all you need! I haven't had any problems regarding leaks when using my mooncup, and neither have any fellow users that I know, but if this is something that concerns you, a small stash of washable panty liners (see above!) will compliment your mooncup nicely.
I'm currently very happily using a mixture of my mooncup and washable pads, depending on what I'm doing and my mood. Their discovery has easily been the best thing about my green journey so far.
Good luck!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Compost
Get greener by getting green fingered!
My darling husband is out in the back garden stirring the compost heap as I type (now the snow has melted), so I thought this would be a good time to write about it...
Last spring our council put a leaflet through the door offering garden compost bins, with a small caddy for the kitchen, for free! (see www.recyclenow.com). The bin for the garden is about 4ft high with maximum diameter of about 3 1/2ft (it tapers toward the top slightly). We've put it at the very end of the garden, next to the fence behind a screen of trellis (up which evergreens are growing) and, carefully following the instructions, began using it last summer. Even in the heat, it doesn't particularly pong - it just has a kind of earthy aroma. And now, 9 months on with regular additions and slightly less regular stirring, the stuff at the bottom of the pile is beginning to look compost-ish. There is a little trap door at the bottom of the bin, so you don't have to lean into the bin to fish the compost out. Hopefully it will be ready for use this year for the summer bedding plants...
Our main reason for getting the compost bin was to cut down on the amount of kitchen waste going into our household bin. We rarely throw food away, but peelings, cores, egg shells, tea bags etc are all excellent compost fodder. If anything, our compost bin should smell of tea what with all the bags in it (although be sure to take the tags and string off herbal tea bags)! The little caddy came with biodegradable liners and sit neatly in the cupboard under our kitchen sink. I would say it probably fills up quicker than our (equal sized) rubbish bin (especially with helpful contributions of peelings from friends!), although neither fill as fast as our recycling bin! (More on that in a separate blog)
Wycombe Council are gradually rolling out a kitchen waste collection scheme, which is great although it seems to have been a long time coming. If you're interested in composting, contact your local council who should be able to provide advice/contact details. The waste/recycling dept will probably be your best bet. Or else, try www.recyclenow.com
'But I don't have a garden!'....Well, you can get a wormery (with a lid!) which will sit quite happily in your kitchen whilst the worms inside munch their way through your kitchen waste. I don't know much about the world of wormeries, but I'm sure lots of websites do! And worms really are quite cute :-)
My darling husband is out in the back garden stirring the compost heap as I type (now the snow has melted), so I thought this would be a good time to write about it...
Last spring our council put a leaflet through the door offering garden compost bins, with a small caddy for the kitchen, for free! (see www.recyclenow.com). The bin for the garden is about 4ft high with maximum diameter of about 3 1/2ft (it tapers toward the top slightly). We've put it at the very end of the garden, next to the fence behind a screen of trellis (up which evergreens are growing) and, carefully following the instructions, began using it last summer. Even in the heat, it doesn't particularly pong - it just has a kind of earthy aroma. And now, 9 months on with regular additions and slightly less regular stirring, the stuff at the bottom of the pile is beginning to look compost-ish. There is a little trap door at the bottom of the bin, so you don't have to lean into the bin to fish the compost out. Hopefully it will be ready for use this year for the summer bedding plants...
Our main reason for getting the compost bin was to cut down on the amount of kitchen waste going into our household bin. We rarely throw food away, but peelings, cores, egg shells, tea bags etc are all excellent compost fodder. If anything, our compost bin should smell of tea what with all the bags in it (although be sure to take the tags and string off herbal tea bags)! The little caddy came with biodegradable liners and sit neatly in the cupboard under our kitchen sink. I would say it probably fills up quicker than our (equal sized) rubbish bin (especially with helpful contributions of peelings from friends!), although neither fill as fast as our recycling bin! (More on that in a separate blog)
Wycombe Council are gradually rolling out a kitchen waste collection scheme, which is great although it seems to have been a long time coming. If you're interested in composting, contact your local council who should be able to provide advice/contact details. The waste/recycling dept will probably be your best bet. Or else, try www.recyclenow.com
'But I don't have a garden!'....Well, you can get a wormery (with a lid!) which will sit quite happily in your kitchen whilst the worms inside munch their way through your kitchen waste. I don't know much about the world of wormeries, but I'm sure lots of websites do! And worms really are quite cute :-)
Where to start
I think (hope!) the worm is slowly starting to turn with regard to environmental issues, and more and more people are becoming eco-aware (still not enough, though!). However, modern (western) society can seem to contradict eco-living principles, for example myriad energy-sucking electrical gadgets, 'protective' multi-layered packaging, disposable single use products (contact lenses, cameras, nappies and so on...the list is endless). I wonder if these contradictions put some people off becoming greener? Also I think there are so many angles to environmental issues, that it can all seem very confusing and a bit 'where do I start?'. Shall I reduce my carbon footprint first, or get a wormery, or make my own yoghurt, or go organic....
I would describe my own efforts as being aimed at waste reduction above most other things, with a dabble in 'green' electricity and ethical banking. I drive to work (no suitable public transport, although I do usually car share) past a landfill site every day and the smell, let alone the sight, is nauseating. To think that that is replicated countless times across the globe is a depressing thought indeed. Each person acting alone makes a negligible difference, but imagine what could be achieved if we all made even a small effort... I remember once telling my dad off for not putting a yoghurt pot into the recycling box, and he said 'what does it matter, it's only a small pot', to which I replied 'but if 60m people in the UK alone all thought that then where would we be'. I guess that's part of the point of writing this blog - that if it encourages even a few people to change one or two habits, and they tell a couple of their friends, and they tell some of theirs....the revolution starts here!
I would describe my own efforts as being aimed at waste reduction above most other things, with a dabble in 'green' electricity and ethical banking. I drive to work (no suitable public transport, although I do usually car share) past a landfill site every day and the smell, let alone the sight, is nauseating. To think that that is replicated countless times across the globe is a depressing thought indeed. Each person acting alone makes a negligible difference, but imagine what could be achieved if we all made even a small effort... I remember once telling my dad off for not putting a yoghurt pot into the recycling box, and he said 'what does it matter, it's only a small pot', to which I replied 'but if 60m people in the UK alone all thought that then where would we be'. I guess that's part of the point of writing this blog - that if it encourages even a few people to change one or two habits, and they tell a couple of their friends, and they tell some of theirs....the revolution starts here!
Monday, January 22, 2007
Welcome to the blog!
Hi,
I'm new to this blogging lark, so bear with me! But if your average primary school kid can do it, I shall not be beaten!
So, what's brought me here? Well, as the name of the blog suggests, eco stuff. I've been thinking more and more about our impact on the environment and the implications this has for the future and I guess you could say I've had a bit of an epiphany over the last 8-9 months or so. And I thought it might be quite fun to write about and maybe give some ideas to those of you who are perhaps thinking about becoming a bit greener...
Let me start off by saying I'm no tree-hugger and I don't pretend to be green through and through with a carbon footprint the size of my little finger. I suppose you could say that I'm eco-aware and do what I can (within reason) to do my bit. But equally I don't eschew long haul flights (hard core environmentalists stop reading now!) as the best way to travel to far flung places as I believe the world is too exciting and life too short not to experience as many different things and countries as you can. Plus, frankly, I can't afford to spend 6 months sailing the globe on a round the world cruise!
I'm going to do little chapters in my blog about things I've tried so far and what I think about them, and maybe answer some of the questions I'd have liked to have known the answer to. I'm not here to zealously convert anyone, or admonish anyone, just to offer (I hope) a light-hearted diary of my efforts to be greener. From time to time my friends might contribute too, so you might see a few different names on here!
I am grateful to myriad other bloggers, chat boards and websites which I've accessed over the months to find out about products and services, and where I can remember their addresses I will put them in. For those that I forget, I'm sorry to have left you out, but please feel free to put contact details in the comments section of the blog.
Thanks for reading,
J
I'm new to this blogging lark, so bear with me! But if your average primary school kid can do it, I shall not be beaten!
So, what's brought me here? Well, as the name of the blog suggests, eco stuff. I've been thinking more and more about our impact on the environment and the implications this has for the future and I guess you could say I've had a bit of an epiphany over the last 8-9 months or so. And I thought it might be quite fun to write about and maybe give some ideas to those of you who are perhaps thinking about becoming a bit greener...
Let me start off by saying I'm no tree-hugger and I don't pretend to be green through and through with a carbon footprint the size of my little finger. I suppose you could say that I'm eco-aware and do what I can (within reason) to do my bit. But equally I don't eschew long haul flights (hard core environmentalists stop reading now!) as the best way to travel to far flung places as I believe the world is too exciting and life too short not to experience as many different things and countries as you can. Plus, frankly, I can't afford to spend 6 months sailing the globe on a round the world cruise!
I'm going to do little chapters in my blog about things I've tried so far and what I think about them, and maybe answer some of the questions I'd have liked to have known the answer to. I'm not here to zealously convert anyone, or admonish anyone, just to offer (I hope) a light-hearted diary of my efforts to be greener. From time to time my friends might contribute too, so you might see a few different names on here!
I am grateful to myriad other bloggers, chat boards and websites which I've accessed over the months to find out about products and services, and where I can remember their addresses I will put them in. For those that I forget, I'm sorry to have left you out, but please feel free to put contact details in the comments section of the blog.
Thanks for reading,
J
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