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I'm trying to save our planet

(168 Posts)
nanasam Wed 09-Oct-19 12:50:51

It's really scary, the thought of our planet in danger of dying and feeling helpless.

I have therefore tried to 'do my bit' and they say if everyone does their bit it will eventually build up to a big help.

So, starting this week I have bought bio-degradable kitchen wipes, face wipes and botty wipes. I've also decided not to use cling film or food plastic bags any more, instead I've bought some silicone food covers and am re-using takeaway containers for the freezer. (yes, I know we shouldn't buy takeaways in containers but there's no other option - YET)

I'm also buying as many loose vegetables as possible, not using the bags they provide.

It may not be much but I do hope if lots of others do a bit then it will eventually make a difference.

Has anyone else got any good ideas?

Lazigirl Sun 13-Oct-19 14:42:10

I don't buy large compostable rubbish bin liners because they still end up together with the rubbish they hold, in the incinerator at our Veolia waste disposable plant.

I use compostable small bags for food waste because that goes into the green bin which is collected for compost.

The same dilemma for dog poo compostable bags. If they are disposed of in general rubbish, most of it is incinerated, land fill these days is too expensive for most councils.

M0nica Sun 13-Oct-19 14:51:27

We are already growing enough food to feed 9 billion, but one third of all food goes to waste, mostly between grower and end consumer. www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/ so a concrated effort to reduce food waste between grower and market can make a difference.

How fast population figures will fall is anyone's guess. We are talking about events 75 years plus in the future. Lets face it, Beeching is being castigated for closing railways in the 1950/60s, and not realising that 50 plus years later we would need them, so I am certainly not even going to hazard a guess, beyond that I think population will gradually fall and that we are now close to peak population.

yogagran Sun 13-Oct-19 15:59:33

Instead of the non biodegradable toilet wipes you could try toilet paper gel. A Google search for Toilet paper gel will come up with several places selling this gel including a small Cornish company

NfkDumpling Sun 13-Oct-19 16:05:56

Incinerators have to run full time on full power in order to work. Not much of an incentive to recycle.

Eglantine21 Sun 13-Oct-19 17:13:20

Sorry yogagran but those gels contain chemicals which go into the water system. Even the Cornish one.

Phenoxyathanol is the vaccine preservative that causes the allergic “bump” and soreness that some people get after a vaccination. If ingested it can cause an acute allergic reaction and depress breathing.

Not a good thing to put on your tender parts and not good for the planet.

Culag Sun 13-Oct-19 17:34:50

Surely another thing to factor into the population problem is that if sea level rises to predicted levels, there will be a lot less land area to accommodate everyone, and to produce crops. Sorry I don't have figures or links at hand, but I once found an interactive sea level rise map which amazed me.

Paddington1914 Sun 13-Oct-19 20:31:46

Gillybob - excellent! Why/ who uses wipes? D in L did 15 years ago and clogged up our septic tank!

Hetty58 Sun 13-Oct-19 20:50:35

Culag, there is and will be plenty of land to feed everyone without further deforestation. Land wastage mainly involves growing cereal crops for meat production. Most is fed to animals that don't even have cereal in their natural diet - especially for 'finishing' beef. The aim is purely commercial, in that they put on weight quickly. The diet would kill them long term, but who cares? They are to be slaughtered anyway so that some people can eat their (unnatural) flesh!

KatyK Mon 14-Oct-19 14:06:35

I've just bought toilet rolls in Aldi wrapped in paper packaging rather than plastic.

Alexa Mon 14-Oct-19 17:49:44

I recommend keeping a small plastic bidet, where there isn't already a plumbed in bidet. Washing the botty in nice warm water is more effective than wiping and I don't need any wiper cloth just a small botty towel to dry with.

Daisymae Mon 14-Oct-19 20:42:06

Looks like the most impact in reducing carbon emissions can be achieved by cutting down on meat and dairy. I wonder how have reduced consumption for environmental reasons?

Alexa Mon 14-Oct-19 23:27:19

Daisymae, I buy only the flesh of fish. Have omitted cow milk for months now use nothing but Oatly. Oatly is easy to prefer to cow milk. I almost never think about eating the flesh of mammals now. It's easy for me as I live alone and only my dog eats dog meat. I know keeping a companion dog is a luxury and the time might be coming when there will be no companion dogs except for the very rich.

Daisymae Tue 15-Oct-19 08:10:13

I watched the panorama program last night, they analysed a families carbon emissions and that was their conclusion. It's one major footprint that we can most easily reduce. Will people choose to do something that impacts on their lives? I am not sure they will.

Alexa Tue 15-Oct-19 13:23:17

Certainly many wont bother or even understand the danger we are in. But others will do something helpful. Every huge social shift has small beginnings. Already we see great initiatives such as the heat conserving council houses; the cost of such will come down as efficient production improves.

Gonegirl Tue 15-Oct-19 14:17:14

It is possible to wet up a wedge of toilet paper instead of using botty wipes.

(If Alexa can be graphic, so can I) wink for Alexa.

Lisagran Tue 15-Oct-19 14:52:03

The Global Warming Policy Foundation - are they to be trusted, as it were? Trying to read around this whole subject, but I am a bear of small brain.....

www.thegwpf.org/uk-climate-trends-plus-ca-change/

www.thegwpf.org/who-we-are/

Alexa Tue 15-Oct-19 16:16:31

Grammaretto, I think you might tell their employer about that if you know who employs them.They have not been properly trained.