This is very close to my heart. I wasn’t always this eco conscious, it's a
newish concept for me but now that I’m in, let’s say I’m definitely in. It happened most likely out of boredom and
curiosity fueled by unemployment and living in Southern California, which at
the time in 2015, according to articles written in the Guardian, Livescience and the Huffington Post was experiencing the worst drought seen in 1,200 years. A very long time. 2015 was in fact the warmest year on
record since global recording began in 1880. I needed a cause and something to pass the time so I researched and became increasingly passionate about it. In a time when climate change, a scientific fact is being denied by some and ignored by many, I saw a need to change my habits, appreciate the planet more and reduce my waste. My small changes won’t have any huge or profound impact but as the saying goes every little helps. I believe firmly that we need to wake up and save the planet. They say, love the skin you're in; shouldn't we love the planet we live on?
Where did my obsession originally come from? My mother probably, who chased after us if she saw a recyclable in the wrong receptacle. The offender scolded, irritated and slightly embarrassed at being so lazy having not just rinsed it and put it in the recycle bin. It’s that easy. Another lesson from her was not running the tap when brushing your teeth or wasting water at all. Turning off the tap when brushing your teeth will save approximately 6 litres of water. When rain and water were not a rare commodity on the luscious Emerald Isle, I didn’t really understand as a child why we had to turn off the tap at the sink, but we had to and we did. We also learned if it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown, flush it down. Everyone exasperated by the grossness, this one we let slide. In actual fact, it’s not really that gross, we could do it, or you can when you’re home alone.
It has only been in the last year that I have really taken
stock of my own behaviours and how I can as recycling initiatives all over this
hot rock go, “reduce, reuse, recycle” .
A few different ways I have tried to minimize my waste are listed below:
1.) Use a bamboo toothbrush. I've been brushing with a LivePlus Ultra Bamboo toothbrush to be specific for about 5 weeks now, I think it's great and there is no going back for me. According to their website there are 167 million toothbrushes purchased annually across the United States alone. This horrified me, the image of them sleeping soundly for all eternity on the ocean bed, uninvited by its natural inhabitants made me sad. The LivePlus Ultra bamboo toothbrush is 90% biodegradable, 100% organic and anti–microbial and can be composted, and it’s cruelty free. A winner for me. The nylon bristles and metal staples are not however biodegradable. With this, they recommend snapping off the head and throwing in the bin or contacting your local recycling plant to see what the options are.
2.) Cloth Napkins instead of paper ones. If they're good enough for silver service they're good enough for me. This one I love. You don’t have to wash them every day and it significantly reduces the waste. We bought 8 so we have plenty to recycle through the weeks. Wink Wink.
3.) Turning off the tap when washing your hands. Most will turn off the tap whilst brushing their teeth, you can do the same while washing your hands with soap and by cutting down on your shower time. You might be aware of it for the first few times but sooner rather than later it will become automatic. I'm all for a shorter shower initiative.
4.) Buying renewable, sustainable products. Bambeco is one of my favourite finds. I love this company and
what they stand for. They produce high quality household goods. My favorite to date being their picture frames, made from reclaimed wood or bamboo and the Bambeco glassware is fantastic and 100% recycled, made from old soda bottles.
5.) Ecotools brushes are made from renewable bamboo and recycled aluminium. Paint your kind face with pleasure.
6.) Use a bar of soap instead of buying a bottle of shower gel.
7.) Reuse cutlery and tableware instead of disposables at work or when on the move.
6.) Use a bar of soap instead of buying a bottle of shower gel.
7.) Reuse cutlery and tableware instead of disposables at work or when on the move.
8.) Drink your coffee with confidence, use a coffee eco-fill instead of pods if you have a coffee machine to eliminate the waste of the awful little plastic pods and use a biodegradable cup or bring your reusable coffee cup from home.
9.) Here come the girls, recycle your tights and nylons. There are companies that will take your old tights and recycle them for you. No nonsense is a great company, the tights are really good quality too and they have a tights recycling program with the aim of respecting the planet.
10.) And finally, another one for the girls: Reusable cloth sanitary towels. Now before you turn your nose up and inside out at the grotesque thought, note that the majority of the well known sanitary napkins are not
biodegradable. A woman will dispose of upward of 12000 sanitary towels or tampons in her lifetime and they end up in the local landfill. The horror. Reusable options are much healthier for you, gentler on your pocket and kinder on the environment. I did a little research of my own last year with different cruelty and chemical free disposable feminine care products which you can read here.
To cut to the chase, these reusable cloth ST's are in my book a definite winner. I can't believe it has taken me this long to even try them out.
Lets get down and dirty with the facts. I was fortunate enough for the visitors to sojourn over a weekend to put them to the test. They are made from you guessed it bamboo and have charcoal inside them for absorbency. I bought the Heartfelt Bamboo-Charcoal pads on Amazon, 5 towels for $32. My concern about leakage and moving was completely unfounded and I was very surprised at how much they held and how comfortable they were. You don't even know if they are full or not and there was no scent left lingering. It just sort of disappears underneath the grey layer, they are that absorbent.
For the first change, I unclasped the pad and changed it for a new one as normal, as you do with a disposable. All very uneventful. Easy as that, and then rinsed the used one in the sink. Even during day two I was left unscathed. You will have to get used to the rinsing, which I must admit that during my first rinse I did gasp loudly. It was more like a shriek. I was both intrigued and terrified at the red sea that was appearing before my eyes, how was I still alive? I got over it and was at the time after all wearing my big girl pants. I thought to myself these pads are magic they hold a lot and as I'm a sharer I was tempted to call my husband in to inspect them with me and bare witness to this very feminine moment. Feeling at one with mother nature and protecting the planet at the same time. Wouldn't he be as fascinated as me? I did manage to restrain myself, for the good of our marriage.
In the likely event that you have to change in a public toilet they fold tight and neatly into a little package. You can store it away until you get home to rinse it out and then throw it in the washing machine or hand wash, whatever takes your fancy. The beauty being that you don't need gallons of water to wash them. I hand-washed mine and after the first go realized there was no need to waste water whilst doing so. If you really want to go all out you can collect excess water in a basin from the shower and wash in that. It's possible. Just a thought. I have to confess though that I'm still no where near using the cup. I've picked it up and inspected it on many an occasion in the shops but have yet to part ways with hard earned cash for it. The Soft cup, Diva cup or Moon cup may well be something I read about as opposed to test out. It is though another very eco friendly solution to our monthly occurrence and I know users who love it. Give it a try and let me know. For now I'm sticking with the washables.
9.) Here come the girls, recycle your tights and nylons. There are companies that will take your old tights and recycle them for you. No nonsense is a great company, the tights are really good quality too and they have a tights recycling program with the aim of respecting the planet.
10.) And finally, another one for the girls: Reusable cloth sanitary towels. Now before you turn your nose up and inside out at the grotesque thought, note that the majority of the well known sanitary napkins are not
biodegradable. A woman will dispose of upward of 12000 sanitary towels or tampons in her lifetime and they end up in the local landfill. The horror. Reusable options are much healthier for you, gentler on your pocket and kinder on the environment. I did a little research of my own last year with different cruelty and chemical free disposable feminine care products which you can read here. To cut to the chase, these reusable cloth ST's are in my book a definite winner. I can't believe it has taken me this long to even try them out.
Lets get down and dirty with the facts. I was fortunate enough for the visitors to sojourn over a weekend to put them to the test. They are made from you guessed it bamboo and have charcoal inside them for absorbency. I bought the Heartfelt Bamboo-Charcoal pads on Amazon, 5 towels for $32. My concern about leakage and moving was completely unfounded and I was very surprised at how much they held and how comfortable they were. You don't even know if they are full or not and there was no scent left lingering. It just sort of disappears underneath the grey layer, they are that absorbent.
For the first change, I unclasped the pad and changed it for a new one as normal, as you do with a disposable. All very uneventful. Easy as that, and then rinsed the used one in the sink. Even during day two I was left unscathed. You will have to get used to the rinsing, which I must admit that during my first rinse I did gasp loudly. It was more like a shriek. I was both intrigued and terrified at the red sea that was appearing before my eyes, how was I still alive? I got over it and was at the time after all wearing my big girl pants. I thought to myself these pads are magic they hold a lot and as I'm a sharer I was tempted to call my husband in to inspect them with me and bare witness to this very feminine moment. Feeling at one with mother nature and protecting the planet at the same time. Wouldn't he be as fascinated as me? I did manage to restrain myself, for the good of our marriage.
In the likely event that you have to change in a public toilet they fold tight and neatly into a little package. You can store it away until you get home to rinse it out and then throw it in the washing machine or hand wash, whatever takes your fancy. The beauty being that you don't need gallons of water to wash them. I hand-washed mine and after the first go realized there was no need to waste water whilst doing so. If you really want to go all out you can collect excess water in a basin from the shower and wash in that. It's possible. Just a thought. I have to confess though that I'm still no where near using the cup. I've picked it up and inspected it on many an occasion in the shops but have yet to part ways with hard earned cash for it. The Soft cup, Diva cup or Moon cup may well be something I read about as opposed to test out. It is though another very eco friendly solution to our monthly occurrence and I know users who love it. Give it a try and let me know. For now I'm sticking with the washables.
No comments:
Post a Comment