Counting On … – Page 106

Counting on …day 106

26th February 2022

Slowly we are seeing more products being made of recycled materials. Brabantia is one such producer. Their StepUp Pedal Bins are made from 91% recycled plastic consumer waste from Dutch households. The bins are also 99% recyclable. The Cradle-to-Cradle Products Innovation Institute assesses products on material quality, material reuse, the use of renewable energy and CO2 management, water management and fairness, and has awarded these bins a silver accreditation.

They are on sale in our local hardware shop – however only buy one if you need it. It is more ecological to stick with the bin you have.

Counting on…day 105

25th February 2022

This winter I have noticed more birds using the bird bath both for drinking and for washing. I make a point of changing the water frequently – and replacing ice with water! It’s new popularity maybe because I have resisted it so that it is in the middle of the lawn well away from plants and bushes where predators could hide.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/how-you-can-help-birds/how-to-make-a-bird-bath/

Counting on day 104

24th February 2022

Safe guarding scarce resources.

Helium is a naturally occurring gas. It is very light and once released it quickly escapes to the edges of the earth’s atmosphere. Where helium has become trapped in rock strata it can be Helium extracted for commercial use. It cannot be chemically manufactured and is therefore a limited finite resource. Helium is is a key component in the operating of MRI scanners.

It is surely irresponsible to use it to fill party balloons?

Counting on …day 103

23rd February 2022

As well as counting on ourselves to take action, we count on others too. Our local council, the Borough of Richmond upon Thames has recently review it progress vis a vis its climate emergency strategy. An independent assessment of all councils, ranked Richmond as eleventh overall, and third highest within the London Boroughs. Richmond scored particularly highly on ‘Community, engagement and communications’ and well above average on ‘Ecological emergency’. For full details see

https://www.richmond.gov.uk/news/february_2022/cllr_neden_watts_on_richmond_council_climate_emergency_action_plan_annual_update

Counting on …day 102

22nd February 202s

Another refill? Did you know that Lush make their black plastic pots from recycled plastic and that each one that is returned, goes to their own reprocessing facility to be remade into a new pot ready to be filled again. And for each one returned 50p is paid back! Lush calls this ‘packaging as a service’!

Sadly only about 15% of pots are returned. It sounds as if we consumers need to be more proactive participants of the circular economy.

Counting on …day 101

21st February 2022

Fancy a refill? Following on from last week’s Green Tau, reusable water bottles and coffee cups – keep cups – are excellent for refills, avoiding creating yet more single use paper/plastic items that require recycling/ disposal. (You do of course have to remember to take them with you!) My favourite is a small flask as it keeps cold drinks cold in the summer and hot ones hot in the winter.

Counting on… day 100

20th February 2022

The Guardian posts a daily note of global CO2 levels. They are a stark reminder of the seriousness of the crisis that we are facing.

“C02 weekly averages
6 February, 2022: 418.38ppm
This time last year: 417.04ppm
1 Year Change: 1.38ppm (0.32%)
10 years ago: 393.99ppm
Safe level: 350ppm”

Counting on ….day 99

19th February 2022

As we adapt to the climate changes which have already happened, we will get used to days when the weather is so extreme – whether through wind, heat, snow, rain – that we have to stay at home. We will accept that work and social plans will have to be flexible, that travel will not always be possible. We will by habit, keep phones charged, have torches that work, spare food in the pantry. The USA and Canada have ‘snow days’ when snow forecasts trigger planned school closures: we’ll have ‘extreme weather days’.

Counting on …day 98

18th February 2022

Crocuses and snowdrops and hellebores all provide food for bees and other early insects. Most spring bulbs are best planted in the autumn. However come the autumn you may have forgotten where the rest of your bulbs are planted and risk planting them to close together or too widely spread! Take a photo now so that you can check their whereabouts in the autumn.

Snowdrops are best planted now, ‘in the green’.

Counting on …day 97

17th February 2022

Tanker lorries transport goods other than petrol – even marmite!

Can we expect marmite pumps in our local refill store?

I suspect the tankers are transporting the yeast extract ‘waste’ – a byproduct of the brewing industry – en route to the factory where it is transformed into a spread. I equally suspect that the consistency of the spread doesn’t make it a ready candidate for refill stores. But could not the glass jars be returned and refilled as per milk bottles? Maybe write to your preferred yeast extract manufacturer?