Reflections and actions during COP26 and going on
15th June 2023
Refill stores offer more than just refills of detergents. At the Source I regularly take jars and bottles to fill up with peanut butter, tahini, maple syrup, soy sauce, and olive oil. (I’m still hoping that this will extend to yeast extract!) And as previously mentioned, I can now buy coffee beans from a refill point at the local Artisan café.
Refilling reduces the cost – financial and ecological – of packaging. It is interesting to reflect in why we need packaging.
14th June 2023
Milk and More are supply “Fill” laundry and washing liquids in return and refill bottles. There are an increasing number of shops that offer a refill service for soapy liquids for laundry, dishes and bodies – just take along an empty bottle to fill. Locally we have Apple and Bees in Sheen Lane and the Source Store in Richmond. And if it’s bikes you are cleaning, the London Cycle Workshop has a refill point for bike wash detergent.
Why not find out where or what are your local refill options?
14th June 2023
Milk and More are supply “Fill” laundry and washing liquids in return and refill bottles. There are an increasing number of shops that offer a refill service for soapy liquids for laundry, dishes and bodies – just take along an empty bottle to fill. Locally we have Apple and Bees in Sheen Lane and the Source Store in Richmond. And if it’s bikes you are cleaning, the London Cycle Workshop has a refill point for bike wash detergent.
Why not find out where your local refill outlets are?
13th June 2023
From the Guardian – “Plastic bottled water is a scar on our society,” said David Hall, the UK managing director of Brita. “Plastic bottled water takes about five seconds to make, five minutes to use, and a staggering 500 years to break down in landfill. It’s one of the main culprits of the worldwide plastic pollution crisis.”
Using refilled glass bottles has to be a better solution. The delivery service, Milk and More, includes in its range of products still and sparkling bottled water in bottles that you return to be refilled. They also provide Belvour Farm ginger beer and non alcoholic peach Bellini, and Coca Cola Zero sugar, in return and refill bottles.
12th June 2023
Compostable plates, cups and cutlery is a convenient option for parties, church events etc but disposal is a problem. They don’t go in the paper recycling – although they are similar to paper -but need to be composted at a commercial site where high, controlled temperatures can be maintained. Our garden compost heaps do not get hot enough for long enough.
For small scale applications, waste companies do offer a collection service eg First Mile provided bags and boxes for four separate (precooked) collections for £140 (say £35 per event) – https://www.thefirstmile.co.uk/online-waste-services/business-waste-and-recycling/return-and-recycle-bin-pack
11th June 2023
Now and then something will make us stop and marvel.
On the window sill in the spare room we have a growing number of cacti, all the offspring of a large cactus that belonged to my grandmother.
As I walked past the door a waft of strongly perfumed scent alerted me that they were blooming. The larger ones may produce one or two blooms a year. They are short lived flowers but make up for that by their vibrancy of the pink petal, their elongated neck, and their overwhelming perfume.
10th June 2023
Carry a keep-cup or re-usable coffee (or tea) cup and guard against the waste of single use cups. Whilst many cafes do serve their drinks in reusable, ceramic cups or glasses, others offs single use cups instead.
A typical single use cup requires 0.58 litres of water to produce and has a carbon footprint equivalent to up to 60.9 grammes of carbon dioxide ( https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/26/why-britains-25-billion-paper-coffee-cups-are-an-eco-disaster) and as few as 1 in 400 are actually recycled with most ending up,in landfill sites.
NB cups etc labelled as ‘compostable’ will not rot down in a garden compost bin – they need to be recycled via an industrial composting site.
Items labelled as biodegradable will break down but the process may take years and may leave a residue of harmful chemicals. (https://www.biffa.co.uk/biffablog/2021/january/recyclable-compostable-and-biodegradable-what-do-these-mean-for-our-planet)
9th June 2023
Next Friday, 16th June, is World Refill Day – ‘a global day of action to prevent plastic pollution and help people live with less waste. Together with our partners and supporters around the world, we’re building a global movement, inspiring action and demonstrating that the world is ready for a refill and reuse revolution.’
There are simple ways we can all get involved.
Use a refillable water bottle. The trick is to remember to take it with you!
Why pay for water? Tap water in the UK is safe to drink and largely free – there are water refill points at all mainline railway stations, there are refill points in the streets provided by local authorities (eg Bath, London), and most cafes will happily refill your bottle.
Why pay for a plastic bottle that will be used once and may not be recycled? (About 40% of these bottles are not recycled).
8th June 2023
How well is the United Kingdom doing vis a vis climate action?
The Climate Action Tracker prepares reports on just this thing, nation by nation. With reference to the UK their report (in summary) says: “The UK’s climate action is not consistent with the Paris Agreement. While the UK’s NDC and long-term targets are broadly aligned with cost-effective domestic pathways, they do not represent a fair share of the global effort to address climate change. The UK’s current approach is therefore incompatible with the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities which are central to the Paris Agreement.
“In addition, while the UK government has adopted many new policies in the past two years, critical policy gaps remain in a range of areas such as energy efficiency in buildings, heat pump uptake and agricultural decarbonisation. Without increasing the ambition of the UK’s domestic climate targets, implementing policy to achieve these goals, and providing sufficient climate finance to support emissions reductions in less wealthy countries, the UK cannot be seen as compliant with the Paris Agreement. At the moment, under 40% of the emissions reductions required to meet the UK’s NDC are supported by policies with proven delivery mechanisms and sufficient funding.”
To read more see – https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/uk/
7th June 2023
A paper published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Invertebrate Biodiversity Continues to Decline in Cropland, reported that insect numbers are still in decline. In particular this is most noticeable in areas of arable farming where pesticides are still widely used.
Is this a reminder to us of the importance of opting for organic produce where we have the choice, as well as campaigning for stricter controls on the use of pesticides.
The Green Tau 