Eco Friendly House And Garden

There are many great eco friendly reasons to buy a stainless steel kitchen sink!

Especially if the new sink has a small drainer to the side or is a double sink – as this also makes the process of washing up even more eco friendly – twice the eco credentials!

So, what makes them so eco friendly – and why should you consider changing your current sink to a stainless steel kitchen sink?

Why Are They Eco Friendly?
Well, after writing my article on how you could design your new bathroom to be eco friendly with a bit of forward planning, I was starting to look into how to update your kitchen to do the same.

Needless to say, I spent some time investigating kitchen sinks, and found out that stainless steel was actually a very eco friendly material and had extra eco friendly benefits too!

1) Low Carbon:
The production of stainless steel creates very little carbon, and so therefore each product made impacts very minimally on your homes carbon footprint!

2) Very Recyclable:
Steel is very highly prized in the recycling market as it is so easy to melt down a reuse.  Therefore all the old stainless steel kitchen sinks – as well as cars and other electricals – can be melted down a reused, therefore limiting virgin materials being mined elsewhere.

3) Long Life:
As it is so difficult to damage stainless steel products, they have a very long shelf life so to speak – and therefore the initial purchase of your sink could be a long-term investment in terms of expended energy, fitting and money-saving!

4) Hygienic Materials:
As stainless steel is not damaged by kitchen knives and others scrapes and bangs, there is nowhere on it’s surface to harbour germs.  As a result, you see this material used throughout hospitals, large kitchens and fast-food joints – so you know it’s good stuff!

5) Easy To Keep Clean:
Not only is it hygienic in the first place, it is very difficult to stain, burn or otherwise make stainless steel unclean.  All stains can be easily be removed with warm soapy water, club soda or olive oil, and white vinegar will give it a nice polish too.  As a result there is no need to use harsh chemical cleaners which flush straight into your local water works or burn your skin!

6) Can Save Water:
This one only counts if you buy a double sink or use a washing up bowl as it will make washing the dishes more eco friendly.  You can use the other sink to throw your dirty food and liquid into rather than letting all the dirty food waste into the water you are using for cleaning!  The clean water then lasts longer and can clean more for less!

How Do I Get Started?
Well, I’m not suggesting you get a new sink just for the fun of it, but it isn’t a bad idea to start looking for a new kitchen sink before you actually need one – otherwise you could end up buying the first sink you see in an ‘emergency’ rather than searching for the best one for your needs.

I’m sure that if your old sink suddenly broke or cracked, you wouldn’t take your time browsing for a suitable replacement – you’d want one right then and there.  So why not find a preferred dealer with same day delivery and keep them saved in your bookmarks for when you do need them!

The one I found that fits the bill on all counts is the rather simply named Mr Direct, who not only offers a huge range of suitable sinks, but was one of the only ones I found that offers that same day delivery promise that so many other suppliers avoid.

They also have great images on their website of their double and treble sinks – both left and right-sided options – that I think they have every kitchen covered! 

And with their collection of stainless steel faucets added on, your can even be more eco friendly with the delivery: all your products from the same supplier and on the same van!

I bet you never thought your choice of sink could have such an eco friendly impact!

Trying To Be Seasonal – But Don’t Know What’s What?

We are so used to seeing certain fruit and vegetables on our supermarket shelves that we are not sure now which ones are in season and which ones are being shipped in from the other side of the world!

If you have your own allotment or back yard veggie patch, then you will be more than aware of which crops are available when, but there is still the question of food miles for everything else that we still buy from chain stores.

All packaged fruit and veg in stores is labelled with where it is from – but then you have the question of ‘should we be buying all that packaging in the first place’, however, those loose fruit and veg usually have no identification or use by dates.  You just pick the individual pieces you like the look of, and eat them before they look too rotten!

Obviously, buying from a local pick-your-own farm store or independent food store will usually only be selling those items that they have pulled from the surrounding fields, but even they and many larger organic home-delivery veggie-boxes contain ‘foreign foods’ like pineapples and bananas. 

They may well be in season, and they may well be organic – but they are from plantations on the other side of the planet!

Is all this right?

Well, here are a few definitions to help you make up your own mind about your shopping habits:

Seasonal:
This means that the fruit or vegetables are being grown naturally where the weather is right for their germination and subsequent growth.

This works in exactly the same way as wild flowers like daffodils.  They are waiting for the right environmental circumstances (heat/light/moisture) to burst from the ground and into flower. 

Plants grown in season are growing ‘naturally’ and so need less chemicals and fertilisers.  As they are growing in their natural climate and at the right time of year they should be healthy and easier to grow.

Non-Seasonal:
These are plants that are forced to grow in an artificial environment and therefore will use many more resources (heating/bright lights/pumped water) to flourish.  Using the same example as above – this is like trying to grow daffodils in Antarctica. 

This also highlights that non-seasonal goods can be grown almost anywhere – and this is usually in developing countries with cheaper resources. 

It is rare to find an organic product that is grown ‘out of season’ due to the articicial resources needed, which is why we move to different farmers around the globe to keep supplies of certain foods ‘in season’ – adding to air miles.

Locally Grown:
Ideally this should define foods that are grown within 12 miles (20km) of where you purchase them (which should ideally be where you live).  However, they may contain any number of chemicals and be grown out of season.

Many farm stores grown their produce around the back of their own buildings, but they do bring some further distances as and when. 

Make sure your farm store doesn’t start to morph into an independent supermarket though, and starts stocking out-of-season veg or foods from overseas to meet demand!  If enough people expect their local farm store to stock bananas – they soon will, and this surely defeats the whole point of their initial ‘local’ ethics.

Locally grown food can however, have better eco credentials than overseas organic food due to the distance imported food has to travel in the air or by road to get to the supermarkets.

See Should We Buy Seasonal Food Even If It’s Not Organic?  Part 2 for details on Organic & Fair Trade Options.