Tuesday 25 November 2014

Disgusting plastic

Wow,

I don't know what's happened to me but this Lyra is becoming an eco-Lyra. 

Maybe I've been working in a shop for too long and seen how much rubbish we produce and how many unnecessary things we try to sell to consumers. Or maybe I'm just getting increasingly disgusted with plastic. This plastic-disgust-thing has been going on for a few years now and I've tried to replace all of my plastic kitchen tools with silicone. It hasn't really happened yet apart from my spatula, stirring spoon and rolling pin though. I'm skint and always have been.

You maybe read in my last blog post that I was going to order a bamboo toothbrush. Well, I did order it and can't wait for it to arrive. Apparently toothbrushes are a really big waste problem and can't be recycled and last in landfills for about a 1,000 years. I haven't researched this info, but in my plastic-disgust I believe it to be true enough to invest in an beautiful wooden toothbrush.

The picture will take you to their online store.

It wasn't even a big investment, because many plastic toothbrushes are even more expensive than these ones, and hopefully my teeth will appreciate this. My student budget has normally encouraged me to buy a £1 pack of 5 toothbrushes, but I guess it's okay to feel like I'm saving the planet while brushing my teeth.

Scotland also recently passed a law where all the shops have to charge 5p for every plastic bag and give that money to charity. I can't believe how many people have moaned about that law. They say that the plastic bags are not worth the money and that it's ridiculous to make people to save the plastic bags and that it will just allow stores to charge more for things. I think they are missing the point. I feel that it will encourage the stores to give more money to charity and to make people think about the environment by bringing their own reusable bags. The shop where I work is actually exempt from this law, so we don't charge for the bags but I can see the difference in my customers. So many people say 'no, thanks' when I ask them if they need a bag and they happily pack their purchases in their backpack or reusable shopping bag. It makes me so happy! Most of the time those plastic bags are so unnecessary, you only use it for a number of minutes and then you throw it in the bin.

Picture from Zero Waste Europe -website. Click to visit!
I prefer to carry my shopping home in a canvas bag anyway, because they fit my body better and are easier to carry. Maybe stronger people haven't had this problem, but I really appreciate my own bags. Of course people with cars don't have to carry their shopping very far anyway, so for them it's maybe even better that there is that 5p encouragement fee. Have you guys noticed a change in your behaviour after this fee was introduced?



I'm basically still discovering how I could reduce my ecological footprint. All of this is very new to me. I'll try and keep you posted about my experiences. 
I tried to make my own deodorant today. I'll tell you know how this experiment went once I have evaluated my smelliness levels.

P.S. My birthday and Christmas are approaching and if you're one of those few people who tend to buy me presents, here's some ideas for you! Maybe try and avoid small plastic things or synthetic sponges and stuff like that. These days I'm more into homemade things and "natural products".

For instance, Life Without Plastic -Website has many cool things that I wish I had. I mean, I don't want anyone to order this stuff from America, but please feel free to be inspired by these things!

2 comments:

  1. Oh very good! This world needs more eco-Lyras! It's so nice and isnpiring to read posts like this.
    I'm definietly going to find myself toothbrush like that :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for your comment! I'm so happy if it inspired you to find one of these more ecological toothbrushes!

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