Wipes are 84% plastic - doesn't tell you on the pack, why not?

[WomenUnited]

Because we are all trying to use less plastic and this is maddening. I know there are a lot of plastic use reduce conversations going on but this fact from War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita really stuck out for me, I had no idea.

This is such a big problem and why aren't companies reducing plastic use? Johnson and Johnson have just rejigged all of their packaging recently and to me the bottle caps they have introduced seem to use loads more plastic than the old style, and they are hard to open and can't be removed to top up with water or re use.

Why aren't legislators forcing honest labelling?

No more wipes in this house.

Yes, English, some things are a lot more painful than others! It has to be done though, the planet is in such a worrying state.

Well they are "some sort of fabric".

Just like cheap polyester and acrylic. Plastic.

I think I was fooled by them being fluffy, rather than shiny/smooth, Donkey.

@UnalliterativeGeorge how nice of you!

@Tolleshunt a gift is a gift and mn knows you need it when times are hard. I don't know how bad budget is so this may or may not help but John Lewis clearance starts wed eve online, thur instore and I have in the past picked up tins of loose leaf tea for much cheapness. There is certainly some unopened in the cupboard you can have.

As far as i am aware no biodegradable wipes exist.

They do. Waitrose sell them. Put them in a jar of water and they disintegrate.

For wiping around the loo seat I don't use wipes ever or a cloth but just some loo roll which then gets flushed away and loo roll is the only thing that you should flush I believe?

Do they disintegrate into microplastics?

I feel flummoxed.

Oh Women now you are being so very kind too! It's so sweet of you. I'm very touched. I will check out the JL sale, I can stretch to something suitable, I'm sure. I'm just feeling a bit sorry for myself this evening. Need to snap out of it!

Well I pm'd you anyway.

Jackson’s of Piccadilly are plastic free tea bags.

We use about 120 antibacterial wipes a week - they go in the bin and aren't flushed but I didn't realise they were so bad for the environment. Ecover do what they call 'fully biodegradeable' anti- bac wipes. We're just so used to using them in the kitchen - it takes some thinking about to get out of a habit of using something you rely on. Have a feeling DH would refuse to make a change.

The Brew Tea Company do 100% plastic free tea bags. They are quite pricey but I use their loose leaf tea and it's delicious. I have a T2 tea maker which is really great and I would highly recommend!

Thank-you WomenUnited, I pm'd you back!

www.ikea.com › coffee-tea-makers
IDEALISK Tea infuser Stainless steel - ...

Dh just started using loose leaf tea because of the plastic as he's the only one who drinks tea he got some of these from IKEA.

This for a £1

Tolleshunt I have a lovely one person stainless steel teapot with a removable infuser inside. I got it from M&S last Christmas but I just looked on their website and it doesn't appear they sell it anymore

@Magicpaintbrush you don't need any anti bac in your kitchen. It's contributing to antibiotic resistance so your wipes are doubly bad.

Argos do an infuser teapot for about a tenner.

I confess to having “waterwipes” for my children when out and about but I am horrified by the number of people who use wipes for domestic cleaning! What’s wrong with a cloth?!

I've invested in reusable "cheeky wipes" for when my baby arrives, other people have bought some disposable ones for me so they will get used when out and about while I get used to it (even more wasteful to throw them away unused!).
They come with a "mucky box" to store before washing, which is lined with a net bag so the whole lot just pops in the machine. I'm sure it could all be done cheaper using flannels or dishcloths for cleaning, and using one of the net bags you wash bras in, but looking at the website to see how they do it might be useful!

This is like another world to me
What’s wrong with coffee in a cafetiere? What happened to tea strainers? And 120 wipes for a kitchen? How big is the kitchen?

I’ve only ever used cloths, sometimes made from old clothes. My parents were quite green though. Well mum still is, though dad will be turning in his grave at some of this info.

I did try and tell him the council didn’t really recycle properly but he thought I was being mad.

For people who thought they were made of cotton or fabric - that wouldn't be any better would it? As growing cotton is an environmental disaster.

We compost most of our food waste and sometimes put other stuff in that should decompose, like cardboard tubes. Things that don't break down include wipes when they occasionally get in by mistake, tea bags and even worse some of the 'paper' packets that individual teabags come in, which seem to have a plastic lining (eg Twinings).
On another note one of my bugbears at the moment is vagifem which has a large solid plastic applicator for every single pessary.

buttered agree, but as I said, I only used them when dad was in hospice. I don’t have an issue with plastics for medical use either.

Bluntly I think the issue is consumerism and I can’t see any government wanting to tackle that. I only weighed in initially because I honestly thought wipes were fabric and thought the problem was general waste, not plastic. I’m glad OP started the thread.

However, if I’m in hospital again I will def be asking someone to bring me some wet wipes, sorry.

corona this is something I can understand

Coffee machines with pods, general consumer culture of buying everything to throw it away soon, that I don’t get.