Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on
16th February 2022
Lent is two weeks away. Lent is often seen as a season in which we can discipline/ train ourselves to live better lives, to live in closer harmony with God. Often it is a season when we forgo things that give us pleasure – or things that cause us harm – so that we can embrace the feeling of sacrifice and grow through it. Can we come into closer harmony with God through deepening our relationship with God’s creation? Can we live more simply so that others may simply live?
15th February 2022
Refilling cars with petrol at a service station is common practice.
What if it was the same with oils for cooking and eating? An olive oil pump? You may find that you can! Refill stores often stock different sorts of oil with which customers refill their bottles. As this grows in popularity, let’s also make a point of asking for organic and fairly traded oils.
14th February 2022
Remembering who and what we love is important, as is making sure we spend time with those we love. Getting about and about in nature is always easier when the sun is shining! Getting out and about regularly helps us see all the changes caused by the seasons as well as the weather.
The other day I noticed a tree full of glowing catkins.
13th February 2022
To “Show the Love” two hearts that were made yesterday are being dispatched, one to our local MP and one to our Local Councillor. The hearts are a reminder to those who make them and those who receive them of the importance of caring for creation and of what we loose if we do not.
Follow this link to take part https://www.theclimatecoalition.org/show-the-love
12th February 2022
An end to fracking in the UK! The Guardian reports that “Cuadrilla will permanently plug and abandon its two shale wells in Lancashire, drawing a line on Britain’s failed fracking industry.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/10/fracking-firm-cuadrilla-to-permanently-abandon-controversial-uk-sites
Protests and sound arguments again help protect the environment.
11th February 2022
Designated Boots stores have recycling points where you can deposit hard-to-recycle items such as mascara sticks, make-up palettes, compacts, lipsticks, toothpaste tubes, and lotion pumps. (Boots do ask that you don’t use these recycling bins for items that can be recycled via your kerbside recycling service). You do not need to be a Boots customer, but if you are you can earn reward points with your recycling.
10th February 2022
Putting plastic in the recycling bin is only part of the story. What happens to it next? Greenpeace has reported finding plastic sent from the UK to Turkey for recycling simply discarded in open dumps by roads and rivers.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57139474
In response Greenpeace has set up a petition asking the Government to fix the problems of the UK’s use and reuse of plastic.
9th February 2022
Just as paper handkerchiefs and kitchen towels cannot be recycled, so too is the same for paper napkins/ serviettes. Cafés routinely add a paper serviette to every order. Rather than throwing them straight away, you can use them as a base for growing mustard and cress before finally adding them to your compost heap.
Replace paper serviettes with washable, reusable cotton ones.
8th February 2022
Each time paper is recycled, the fibres become shorter and shorter and the potential for further recycling gets less. Paper towels are usually made from fibres that are already very short. For the paper towel recycling is no longer an option. Paper towels are likely to have absorbed grease, food or other substances, which again makes them unsuitable candidates for recycling. In small numbers they can be added to your compost bin.
Do we need paper towels in the kitchen? Why not use cloths that can be washed and reused to wipe up spills? Hand/ bath towels/ tea towels that become to worn for be serviceable, can be cut down and repurposed as cleaning clothes. And when they become too worn, they can go as rags for recycling – charity shops usually welcome bags of rags.
7th February 2022
Paper handkerchiefs cannot be recycled, even though they are made of paper. They can be composted and their plastic wrapper can be recycled with other soft plastics. But a better option is to use cotton handkerchiefs. These can be washed and reused and have a life time that can be multi generational. I am still using some fine lawn ones that belonged to my mother-in-law.
The Green Tau 