I'm trying to save our planet

We compost, sort rubbish into recyclable and kitchen rubbish, use old newspapers instead of kitchen towels of paper, never use disposable cloths of any kind and hand anything we don't want that is still useful into a charity shop.

Clothes that are too worn to be given to charity have the buttons cut off for re-use before being made into polishing cloths or dolls' clothes.

I sometimes wonder though whether disposable cloths are as bad as all that. After all, we use water, soap and electricity to wash items of cloth.

Nanasam
I am sure we are all doing our bit in preventing destruction of the planet. How ever In view of the millions of years it took, not overnight, which resulted in the elimination of many forms of life should we not put more of our efforts into prevention of that which can destroy our planet, and in terms of minutes not centuries , all life as we know it.?

Have been using shampoo bars for a few months, very pleased with results

I use vinegar for cleaning surfaces (and also the toilet pan) instead of chemicals. Works a treat - even for cleaning mirrors. Dilute if necessary.

If you are trying to get rid of calcified deposits on your tap - it does wonders: use a ball of cotton wool soaked in vinegar and position it around the faucets. Or use a small cloth soaked in vinegar and place around faucets. Leave overnight. The crust will come off easily the next day.

Have bought a few bars of hair shampoo and will start making my own soap bars again and even try shampoo bars...

Nice to hear about how people are doing things in order to help the planet. Keep it up!

I bought two dozen terry nappies for our first baby, and another half dozen when we had the second. I then re-sold the best six when I had finished with them. (This was in the 1970’s)

DS, one of those babies, goes on about the water, soap powder, electricity etc. that was needed to wash them, to make a case for how much better disposables are. I don’t agree. It’s down to convenience, and goodness knows how much money could be saved if we went back to terries. But of course back then I was a full time mum and housewife, not dashing off to work . Horses for courses I suppose.

I do all of the things mentioned but I do drive my fifteen year old car as our bus service us abysmal.
Haven't flown anywhere since 2011 though, and don't intend to.
Been vegetarian for 72 years.
Always looking for other ways to live more sustainably.

I have no idea why people use face cloths? What’s wrong with soap on your hands, a rub and a rinse in the shower?
Bamboo loo roll, kitchen roll and wipes are 100% biodegradable, and sustainable.

I think countries such as China and India need to be made to clean up their acts. The sea pollution is mainly from these countries dumping instead of recycling and being responsible for their own waste.
Ban all cheap plastic toys and imports from these countries.

Since I learned that wipes have plastic in them I looked around for alternatives. Cheeky wipes have re-usable hand wipes, which are soaked in solution for fresh and a ‘mucky’ box for those waiting to be washed. They’re little square flannels, with a choice of fabric.
Aimed at babies but just as good for adults. You can also get re-usable make-up remover pads and treat in the same way. Loads of pretty ones on Etsy. Amazon do them too. I’m not ready to do re-usable botty wipes tho!

A flannel is reusable too.

I bought some good reusable mesh bags for supermarket fruit and veg from Amazon.
Carrinet Veggio Reusable Fruit... www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0788RYND7?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share&tag=gransnetforum-21
I really like them. Though if you are really green you buy from farm shops not supermarkets to reduce the air miles/road miles involved. (I know one person who does.)

Also, compostable biodegradable bin bags for wastepaper bins and small kitchen bins.
Greener Walker 100% Compostable Biodegradable 10L-150Bags Caddy Bin Liners Food Kitchen Waste Bags www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07QS51KQJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_xDYNDbF3ZPS1T?tag=gransnetforum-21

I am planning to use a plastic liner for my wheelie bin because sometimes the bags develop holes while in there. But that seems better than lots of small plastic bags. I don’t think it will need changing every week.

Apologies if these have already been mentioned - I haven’t read the whole thread.

Of course the best thing we could do is stop breeding.

Fewer people, less pollution, less consumption, moe space for other species, a better environmental balance.

It really is the only long term solution.

Well, I stopped all that malarkey years ago.

Hellsbelles - what is a hot composter and how does it work? Our council has been promising compost buckets for years, but they’ve failed to materialise and I know the bin men hate them as they often stink. We compost veg stuff but fish and meat waste has to go to the incinerator / landfill bin.

Our eldest daughter (eco worrier!) won’t have children for that very reason - she’s 41y now and isn’t going to change her mind. I’m so grateful her younger sister has had 2 children - they add so much joy to our lives. Selfish but true.
?

Synthetic microfibres still shed when washed so old fashioned linen cloths (durable), bamboo (sustainable) or old clothes (recycling) are preferable. I now make a point of buying clothes made with linen, cotton, wool etc. They are more expensive so choosing well, looking after and buying fewer items helps

Me too. I meant the human race in general.

We are a plague upon the face of the earth?

We came back from the Rutland Bird Fair this year with lots of contact details for wildlife holidays abroad. I left email details with a Brazilian chap as the Pantanal looked wonderful and he later contacted me to see if we were seriously interested and I replied no, all the fires etc and the attitude of his president had rather put us off and we felt perhaps it was time to stop long haul flights. His answer was that if we want to save the rainforest we need to flood it with tourists wanting to see the wildlife. Support it. Make it necessary. Otherwise there’ll be no reason for big greedy companies not to chop it all down for palm oil, soya farms and intensive beef and chickens.

Food for thought?

The man from Dyno rod told me the big culprit in most sewer blockages is the wet wipes, botty wipes, bathroom cleaner wipes family that often get flushed & contrary to advertising do not degrade. We don't use them. We bought a garden composter and two slim line water butts with a connector via our local council - delivered to our house and cheaper than most, the butts fill from a single garage roof. Choice of size & style. We follow the instructions and have been pleasantly surprised what we can put in there. I've put two raised Vege growing beds into a sunny corner of the back garden and put crushed eggshells on the surface with a stone chip surround & the snails tend to avoid so I don't use any pesticides at all. I had lots of garden peas, french & runner beans, Tom's, spring onions, small variety carrots, lettuce this year. I grow herbs in pots & in the flower bed too & grew tasty spuds in fold away bags (you don't need a garden if you use containers). I've made dried lavender & rose petal pot pourri & home made lavender bags to put off moths in stored things by reusing little see through bags that once held gifts. We re use gift bags etc. Use newspaper to polish windows, wash & re use zip lock bags, I've always recycled & my three kids now do so. I recently bought some sheepswool balls to put in the dryer, apparently they have same effect as the sheets but I try and hang clothes out weather permitting. I know I can do more but I do what I can now. thanks for your good ideas.

Nanasam
Well done for the rethink.?

Nana Sam, why not give up ‘wipes’ completely. They all contain substances which don’t help our skin or our planet. What’s wrong with a flannel / cloth and hot, soapy water?

I sort of feel it's all pointless until China gets the message. Google the WEF map of the most polluted rivers.
I do my best on the home front . I have always used loads of face flannels and have a fresh one each use . Never use the washing machine ,dishwasher unless for a full load. There are plenty of places where you can pay to balance your carbon footprint by planting trees and I prefer buying a tree to mark a grandchild's birth or birthday than a load of plastic tat. I make cloth bags for a hospital shop to sell. But until China stops chucking plastic into the Yangtze what is the point?

My pet gripe is the blister packs that all medications come in....even over the counter ones! None of them are recyclable.
What can’t you buy paracetamol in a little glass bottle? Between my husband and myself we take at least eight lots of tablets - all in blister packs.

The old lady down the road has carers coming in. They invariably put the clinical waste in her paper & plastic recycle bucket.

Stansgran China may be the worst polluter but it's also well ahead on renewables.

A report earlier this year:

The continuing growth in renewable energy around the world is set to boost the power of China while undermining the influence of major oil exporters such as Russia and Middle East states like Saudi Arabia, according to a new report on the geopolitical implications of the changing energy landscape.

With a leading position in renewable energy output as well as in related technologies such as electric vehicles, Beijing now finds itself in an influential position which other countries may struggle to counter.

“No country has put itself in a better position to become the world’s renewable energy superpower than China,” says the report, which was issued by the Global Commission on the Geopolitics of Energy Transformation – a group chaired by a former president of Iceland, Olafur Grimsson.

White wine vinegar is a good weed killer. Spray on the leaves in dry weather.

Agree about the blister packs.