How can we get rid of plastic waste?

DD has milk delivered and sometimes the milkman doesn't turn up. There also never seems to be any milk in the fridge on the rare occasion that I babysit, so I always take some with me.

Oh golly Monica- this obsession with germs will kill us all- of allergies. Feacal contamination from spray from flushing toilet - really? Ah well- each to their own.

Tegan2 - got that- but what is the advantage of buying milk in plastic bottles instead of cartons?

But yes, the huge problem in UK is landfill. Here we buy in cartons which can't be recycled but at least they are incinerated. The UK must stop relying on landfill- which is an absolute disaster- and invest in proper modern super efficient incinerators- with super efficient filters- and make them part of an energy producing system.

petra- yes sorry missed your post about soap. Been out on a course till quite late.

Yes, bars of soaps are much better- with paper wrapping. But since I have dispensers, might as well use them until they fall apart.

I tend to refill soap dispensers with stuff like Sanex or Dove [sometimes Aveeno]. Find I use a very small amount. If I buy soap it's usually olive oil soap, because I'm prone to eczema. Have still got soap powder left over from when I bought some in bulk ages ago, but it sometimes seems to cause bleach spots in dark clothes. The plastic containers for washing up ball thingys are just the right shape to put paint in when I'm decorating. Tend to use all sorts of stuff for different things; soap powder for cleaning the kitchen floor etc etc.

You did make me curious though- so I did a bit of Googling and found a few articles saying this:

'If you put something ridden with bacteria in the washing machine you will simply be swishing the germs around - creating a ‘bacterial soup’ - unless you do something to kill them.

'I am very concerned about bacteria from soiled underwear transferring onto items such as tea towels which are then used to wipe dishes,” says Dr Ackerley.

Items that are most likely to be contaminated with pathogens are those which come into direct contact with the body - underwear, towels, facecloths, bedlinen and nappies.,

So again, common sense need to prevail. I only wash things at 30C which are basically t-shirts, trousers, normal day wear- but pants too, and pyjamas, nighties - and careful separate washing. All towels, facecloths, dishcloths, teatowels, etc- at 50C. WHICH magazine says if you wash everyday stuff at 30C - you need to do at least one wash a month at 50C or 60C to clear any residue from washing machine.

But nothing about germs jumping greedily from WC as you flush.

I always wash tea towels separately; in fact, I tend to separate most things; I couldn't put a tea towel in with undies. Also won't put tea towels outside on the line to dry because of birds perching on the washing line. I'm a bit ocd'ish I think..

Toilet flushing. www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/flush-toilet-diarrhea-bacteria-lidless-clostridium-difficile-_n_1181100

Thank you Sue for the reference. I read about it in the book The Big Necessity by Rose George, can be downloaded or bought from a variety of places.

I refuse to panic about this obsession with germs. Of course there is a risk if you have, let'ssay, explosive diarrhoea (sp?)
- but apart from that. I thought about this this morning when I went to the loo. Firm stool, down into the water, covered, flush - I had a long think - but really, I don't get it. Loo next to sink, so wipe x 2, get up, soap and wash hands thoroughly- done.

But if it really scares you wittless- CLOSE the lid - and get others in household to do the same.

I really won't bother for sure. This obsession with germs is everywhere, with all those awful adverts portraying them as monsters coming up the loo to bite you on the bum- poor kids.

Of course if you immunity is severely impaired for some reason- then it might be different.

But we digress- and will have to agree to disagree on this one. Did a 50C wash this morning, 1 large bath towel, 2 pillow cases, 2 face cloths, 3 dishcloths and 4 tea towels.

The human race has survived for thousands of years, most of them without flushing toilets at all, or even non-flushing ones, so I don't think we need to panic.

Another point - it is the germs that come from other people that could spread to us whatever lurgi they are suffering from. Any germs we do encounter in or from our underwear are ones which came from inside us, so we have the antibodies to them already and are coping fine dealing with them. If we are not coping and have diarrhoea then we should be taking measures not to spread it to anyone else, of course.

Re alternatives to plastic bags for supermarket vegetables. I tried making a bag from a spare bit of cotton fabric and a left-over bit of dress net. It was easy to make and worked very well for weighing and transporting the veg, but there were two problems
-1) if you are buying more than one type of veg you have to weigh them unconfined, and round potatoes and tomatoes tend to roll off the scales and splat on the floor.
2) the dress net was nylon, which lasts for ever, as long as the plastic bag it was replacing.

So I have ordered a set of three cotton net bags They should arrive in the middle of next week - I shall report back on them when I have tested them.

Don't forget the bad feng shui from an open toilet lid! It signifies your money disappearing into a gaping maw.

Just been watching a video from Norway where 96% of plaster bottles are recycled. There is a charge at source for a plastic bottle, depending on the size.

When you take it to the recycling units (often in car parks or supermarkets) you post them through a hole and the machine counts the number and issues you with a ticket to that value which you can redeem. Didn’t say where you could redeem it, but it must be easy if 96% are returned.

Here’s a LINK TO NORWAY’s take on recycling plastic bottles for those interested.

I believe members of the Scottish government have been across to see how it works.

It has occurred to me that one could make supermarket vegetable bags from old net curtains. They would be as transparent as the plastic bags they use at present. A loop of elastic sewn on the side, or a drawstring could be used to close them to stop the fruit/veg falling out.

I do not have any net curtains myself, but DGC may have some in their dressing up box, or I could ask at a charity shop, or advertise on freegle.

I had thought of that too - somewhere in this house are some old half height net curtains that were on the front windows when we moved in 50 years ago, They would be ideal, but I couldn't find them when I went to make the bag. They have been used to wrap round vulnerable plants in a frost, so they may be less than pristine, but a hot wash would bring them up OK. Or would that still leave them full of those germs that so worry everyone these days?

there are more germs in the ground although I suppose the veg have been washed these days.

I don't think anyone is going to eat the veg without washing it.

Germs, germs everywhere

but I haven't got any old net curtains

The net curtains on the net, and the fabric for making your own, is all polyester these days. I know that is so because I looked. You can get fancy cotton fabrics and curtains that cost an arm and a leg, but not simple cotton mesh.

I have netting produce bags made from recycled plastic bottles. They last forever.

If you want cotton you could crochet your own!

Our council has got its act together in recent years and we can recycle almost everything now, inc all plastics marked as recyclable. We don't have much in the way of landfill rubbish nowadays.

If you are recycling existing net curtains, it doesn't matter if they are not cotton, in fact you are doing just the right thing, recycling and re-using them so that they do not need to go to landfill.