Eco Friendly House And Garden

This might sound a bit strange - but I am opting for disposable plates for my party!

I never thought I would find a positive reason to buy a disposable product - but paper plates might just be the first!

I was thinking, I don’t have a dishwasher and I only have about 10 plates and even less bowls, so hosting an 4 day munchies feast with some friends would have caused me some serious problems in the kitchen department!

Now, there was no reason to buy more crockery for the occasion as it would just sit in the cupboard for ever more as I don’t need any more - and washing up several times a day just seemed a bit of an energy drain and a huge party-pooper:  ‘Lets have some more houmus and dips!’ says a friend after beating me at Mario Kart for the 4th time, ‘Yeah sounds great, but hang on while I just quickly wash up again…..’

In come the paper plates!
So, they are disposable and I couldn’t find any in my store that were FSC approved - but they can be composted with the remnants of food still on them or biodegrade very easily - and they won’t waste hot water and detergent.

But does that make them the better choice?

If I had a larger family and/or a dishwasher then the plates would be a much better option. 

Firstly, the crockery would be well used over the following year so well worth upping the stocks - and secondly, most dishwashers are now so energy and water efficient that they are less wasteful than washing up the old fashioned way!

But when you only have a hot water cylinder and live alone - then washing up doesn’t seem like the best option.  For a start, I would have to have the boiler on most of the day to make sure that everyone can have a bath and wash their hands through the day - let alone keep filling the sink.

Yes, I could boil the kettle for the washing up water - but this is really going out of the way - especially if my not-so-eco-friendly friend offers to do the dishes for me!

After The Party:
Well, my compost heap will have a fresh layer or tough materials to stoke it’s bacteria, and the water system will have less food waste flowing through it - that’s for sure.

But will it nag at my conscience? 

Did I do the right thing?

Here, we continue from yesterday, with the final 3 tips on making those small steps to running a healthy eco friendly house!

5) Don’t Do Disposable!  Try to reduce your consumption of disposable items - they are everywhere.  Pens, sticky note pads, razors, toothbrushes, cotton-buds, cotton wool balls, facial pads, tissues, baby wipes, hygiene wipes, even personal ‘lady’ items.

Try to find the longer lasting equivalent - it’s not less hygienic if you do it properly.  For example facecloths instead of wipes or cotton wool is perfectly clean and gets the job done - then gets washed - and does the job all over again!

Toothbrushes with changeable heads and razors with replaceable blades all go towards reducing waste - and reducing your consumption of new materials.

Feminine hygiene products now come unbleached, and in smaller sizes to help reduce waste and resources - but now even come in washable versions.  There is even the menstrual cup today (a small insertable item that will ‘contain’ rather than ‘absorb’) that does away with the need for cotton products altogether!

Similarly, the contraceptive device known as The Coil (an IUD) works perfectly well as a contraceptive device for most women - reducing the need for wasteful alternatives.

In sexually active individuals and couples, one Coil could reduce the need for a continual supply of ‘the Pill’ - filled with either/or both oestrogen and progesterone (which eventually leave our bodies and enter the water system and affecting animals and plants) and could stop the rising tide of used condoms filling landfills or floating down the beach!

6) Buy Big!  Make sure that you buy the largest pack size of your products that you can.  Not only does this reduce packaging per unit - it should also save you money and reduce your weekly trash pile! 

Therefore, not only will you need to shop less as a result, the container is more likely to be re-used for storage.  (You can keep a smaller bottle for decanting into if space is an issue).

Don’t be tempted by promotions or buy-one-get-one-free offers for the smaller products.  They usually work out the most expensive way to buy your products, weight more with the extra containers, use more ink and labels with their individual wrapping or information, take up more room in your house and create more waste.  Therefore their overall ‘cost’ is not actually any cheaper!

And Finally (7):
Try something new if it’s eco credentials impress you.  Remember that advertised brands in commercials and magazines, pay $$$$$$$’s to advertise - and it’s you who pays for it.

You pay for that model to walk along tropical beaches for an ice cream, or that famous person to fly a plane for some anti-aging cream, or a mountaineer to climb a high mountain for a washing powder.  That must mean that they are making a huge profit from you somewhere - and that means that their products are made a lot cheaper than the price you pay!

Unadvertised products usually put a lot more into their products as they sell by word of mouth saving advertising costs.  And, in all honesty - noone recommends a product that doesn’t work, taste good or fit properly. 

So trust a brand that has been recommended by people you know sometimes instead of just believing what you are told on the TV!

Let me know how you get on, or have any other tips…….