Moving Away From Plastics: Episode 3 - "Biodegradable Plastics". A Larger Look.

  I find it amazing that people with a global, earth friendly view, are buying "organic" goods that are packaged in plastic.  What is wrong with these companies?  I don't necessarily blame the people, I blame the company. 

Since the invention of plastic, plastic manufacturer's have always known since THE BEGINNING, that it is too expensive to recycle plastic, so it is not going to be done.  But seeing as how there was money to be made, they still went ahead with it.  Hence we have oceans full of the stuff. 

 But the manufacturer's of plastic have pacified us all, by chanting the mantra, "Recycle your plastic".  Who?  Who I ask you is actually doing the recycling?  

MYTH - Creating new objects.  Other than decking and fabricated lumber there really isn't much actual creating of new things going on on a large scale. Not all plastic is being re-man'd into new items. It takes a massive amount of energy (green house gasses on the rise) to render old plastic into soemthing new.    It is VERY costly so almost no one is doing it.  

Biodegradable plastics?  No.  They only break down into microplastics. So they still don't go away, but remain in our environment.  I am sure you have heard the news stories about fish genetically having microplastics throughout their systems.  And there was a news story about healthy pregnant women and their babies having microplastics in their little bodies, genetically passed on.  (I don't have a link for that one, but you can look it up - just don't look at some fly-by-night "news" site.  Use one of the actual NAB approved broadcast journalism sites. They are held to standards).

Some things are going to get a little bit more expensive if we start stepping away from plastics.  But other things may become cheaper.  Hopefully this journey will balance out in the long run, and ultimately benefit our planet.

Moving Away From Plastics : Episode 2 - "Biodegradable" Plastics. Not.

 Learning more about biodegradable plastics.

Unfortunately - they dissolve into microplastics.

Well poop.

And literally, what shall I do to use to pick up my dogs poop now!

Guess I better either invest in one of those little shovel/scoop contraptions (which is unwieldily on a walk) or maybe use a small sturdy paper bag.

I am also trying to use paper bags for the trash instead of plastic garbage bags.  Of course this means I need to empty the trash daily.  But hey!  I think that is ok, because it is a small thing when you think about how many trash bags we put in the landfill.  I little effort on my part is fine. 

Moving Away From Plastics: Episode 1

 I really hate plastics.  I hate what they are doing to our world.  I know a lot of you feel the same, but hey! No matter where you turn, or what you purchase, it comes with some form of plastic as part of it's packaging.

Undaunted, I have embarked on a journey toward scaling down my plastic footprint.

I started by looking at what people used to clean with "In The Olden Days" before the advent of soaps, and cleansers that we now take for granted.  Having done some living history on my own as a hobby (Living History is when you pick an era in time and gather together with others who are just a history nerdy, and you attempt to live for an entire weekend living as closely as possible to the original era.  This goes for clothing, and washing and eating and everything a person might do in a regular day).

Washing dishes and laundry : Boiling Boiling Boiling.

Any soaps that were available were mostly soap flakes/washing soda. While baking soda is somewhat different than Washing sodas, there is some similarity.  Back in the day, they used a spare amount of washing soda on any actual stains.  There were also many natural stain removers including milk, for certain types of stains. (If you have any chemistry skills they would suit you here). So they would treat each spot/stain uniquely and then bring the boiler pans up to boiling and drop the clothes in there while hand aggitating them with a long stick with knobs or tines on the end.  This was back breaking work but it got the job done.

What I am Trying :

I am only buying soaps without plastic packaging.  This so far includes, dishwasher soap in a box, laundry soap in a box, baking soda, salt, white vinegar in a glass bottle instead of plastic jug and bar soap without plastic wrap around it.

LAUNDRY SOAP - This is use in the laundry, but remember to add it FIRST before putting in the clothes.  I also use it to hand wash delicates if I need to.

DISHWASHER DETERGENT - In the dishwasher of course, but I also have many dishes that can't go in a dishwasher so I must hand wash them.  I use a concoction of Baking soda, salt, DW detergent and keep it in a shakeable cannister by the sink. I shake some into the soaking water and let the dishes soak for a little bit. 

BAR SOAP - Believe it or not, you can use bar soap to do A LOT! You can even wash your hair with a bar of Ivory (although the hair is VERY squeaky clean, I'm not sure this is a good thing for it.  It also leaves your hair with a weird texture). But it DOES clean your hair.  I just get my hands really wet and twilr the bar around in my hands until there is lots of frothy suds, then I wash my scalp really well, adding more if needed.  Make sure to rinse VERY well.

Bar soap also works nicely for the dishes that have been soaking in the detergent brine.  Just beware that  when you handle the dishes they are way more slippery than you might expect and you have to rinse a little bit better.  I try to hit them with a final almost-boiling-but-not-quite water.  If you are handwashing melamine, skip this step.  Boiling water will destroy your collectable melamine dishware. The way I use bar soap when hand washing dishes is to hold that bar in one hand while rubbing a wet washcloth back and forth over the top of it until it is nice a sudsy.  Then I just wash the dish as I would with a soapy dishcloth.  I also have gravitated away from the sponges we buy in the store.  The ones with the skritchy side...that is plastic.  So I buy those little crocheted "Missionary Dishcloths" and at the end of each day just pitch in in the washing machine.  This also helps with keeping things sanitary in the kitchen.

And surprisingly...bar soap lasts kind of a long time!

VINEGAR - Whether Apple Cider or White, both work well for cleaning.  White Vinegar can be put in a spray bottle to sanitize surfaces.  Apple Cider vinegar can also be used as a hair rinse after you've washed your hair with that bar of Ivory.  

BAKING SODA AND VINEGAR CHEMISTRY IN THE HOUSEHOLD - Got kids that hate to clean? Here is something that may interest them.  If you have a slow drain or garbage disposal, throw a 1/4 cup of baking soda down the drain.  Add a 1/4 cup of vinegar and maybe try to plug it up with the basket. Odds are great that it will want to bubble up like lava which is normal and means it is doing it's job.  Let this sit for about 20-30 min. Int he mean time, put that kettle on to boil.  After time is up, remove the plug form the sink and pour that boiling water down there.  For stubborn drains your might have to treat it twice.  If this doesn't clue you in to the fact that you don't need hazardous chemicals that come from plastic containers to get things done, then I don't know what will.

SALT - is also a wonderful cleaning tool.  It is a mild abrasive.  I have used it to scrub my cast iron pans. 

What to try next?

I hope to invest in some of those little shampoo / conditioner soap bars to see if they actually work.  Cost is also a thing. Some of them are SO  expensive and I am just not there.  I think the personal hygiene journey will be the next step to shed plastics in my life.