Life before plastic

As we have recently discovered in Australia all those items we have conscientiously been putting in our recycle bins have just been shipped overseas for alleged recycling in China and other countries until they finally said no more. And now we have a big problem!!! To use a good old Aussie phrase, we are up shit creek without a paddle.

Basically we have been dumping our rubbish in someone else's backyard. To our very great shame we do not have a functional recycling system, a recycling industry or governmental policies to minimise waste and support and encourage recycling industries.

I hate bar soap. It is apparently unhygienic as all the germs from your hands transfer on to it, and collect underneath in that slimy bit. When you have used about half, it is cracked and the cracks appear black and nasty looking, Then it breaks up into little bits and is unusable and wasteful. I use antibacterial liquid soap in a plastic bottle which is much more hygienic, and you can add a little water to it from time to time to make it go further. You can use it down to very last drop.
By the way don't ever burn plastic of any sort It liberates nasty chemicals into the atmosphere.

Some eco shops stock cleaning products in bulk containers and you can go and refill your own individual containers.

We had the 'message' bag for all grocery type stuff and the 'potato' bag for any vegetables whatsoever. I lovingly remember my Granny telling me to 'mind the bag' every time I was sent to the shops. Think a loaf was wrapped in tissue, butter in greaseproof(?) and sugar was weighed into brown paper bags.

I remember being sent to the greengrocer with a string bag and a list. Zero packaging, for all veg. I also used to take an empty bottle to be filled with vinegar from a barrel. On the rare occasion that I was allowed a comic or Mum bought a magazine they were never in a plastic bag, but most of them are now, because they usually have half a dozen bits of advertising inside. Does anyone read these? What a waste of trees!

Global warming didn't start with plastics , the first time man chopped down a tree and burnt it the rot set in .... just saying

Morrison’s have stopped wrapping their cucumbers Terribull . They seem to be taking this whole “excess packaging /plastic thing” quite seriously, which is good.

The worst! plastic wrap around cucumber, very hard to get off, I tend to have sliced cucumber in a sandwich, so buy them quite often. Not sure why it's considered necessary, courgettes aren't wrapped, and they have pretty similar skins. All fruit and veg should be loose, I never put broccoli or carrots in the little plastic bags supplied in supermarkets I find them quite superfluous,. Although I know cashiers don't like the little particles that break off broccoli on the conveyor belt, so I plonk that on top of something else till they get to the weighing machine.

PS it might be worth people checking out about milk deliveries as this is coming back again. I have a choice of two operating in my area. One run by the Müller Family - they of yoghurt fame.

Not all recyclable plastics actually get recycled in this country even if your council ‘recycles’ it. This doesn’t necessarily mean they do it themselves but ship if off to eg China or India where it lies in huge mountains.

My niece recently visited one of these heaps in China as part of her Uni degree and sent me back photos. There, clearly shown (among other rubbish) was one of the Pedigree chum treat packets I buy fondly thinking they are being responsibly recycled in the UK. And much of this blows around into neighbouring streets turning this little Chinese town into a litter bin.

So, great, if your council genuinely recycles it’s own waste, but do check first.

And re soap...good using bars soap but check if it contains palm oil. Most sold in supermarket do.

Lovely to read so many trying to do their bit on here.

I agree! that life was very amazing and happy with zero toxicity and global warming. Then also, I and my husband are trying our level best for reducing and replacing plastic as much possible.

We had a little cage on a stick and you put the ends of soaps in that and swished it around with a bit of soda or Epsom Salts to wash up.

Maybe they're realised the worries about hygiene were unfounded?

I've had reusable bags for many years. When I first started with them in the early 2000's, shops would often refuse to allow me to use my own bags, goods had to be sold in the stores own bags. M&S wouldn't allow me to use the collect by car service if I had my own bags. I'm glad that attitude had changed.

I still have and use the very first reusable bag I bought, an Onya bag. Goodness knows how many times it must have been used over the years!

When we all went 'eco' back in the eighties, people tried to get their meat, cheese and cold cuts in containers they had brought with them but were refused for reasons of hygiene. (That was here in Germany) How is that problem dealt with now. Surely hygiene rules have got even stricter over the decades?

Thank you for that link, Maggiemaybe. I'm sitting on my hands here trying not to order the entire collection of soap!

Thanks Maggiemaybe - I love the smell of lavender and geranium combined.

And they're SLS free as well.

Friendly shampoo bars are a fraction of the price of Lush and just as good, imho. £2.62 a bar and they last for ages.

www.friendlysoap.co.uk/product/lavender-geranium-shampoo-bar/

Thank you

You can get them online. Lush sell them, and online shopping has the advantage of not having to brave the pong in the shops! If you Google you'll probably find small producers, too.

uk.lush.com/article/mighty-shampoo-bar

I will look for some (but where? we have very limited shops here)

I've been using the shampoo bars for a couple of years now and really like them. I use a bar conditioner, too, which I was dubious about, but it works well.

They're really handy for going on holiday as they weigh very little compared to bottles and aren't liquid so you can take them in hand luggage.

Oh, those awful plastic flowers, yes, I remember them!!

Remember when plastic first came out though? We thought it was wonderful. With packets of wash powder plastic tulips were given away. Sister and I arranged them in a vase. When DH and his brother were young they fought with them, pretending they were swords!
I've gone back to bars of soap now.

I even made my own 'perfume' from rose petals from the garden.
It stank.