to ask what you're doing to reduce your use of plastics?

[k2p2k2tog]

Lots of coverage on the BBC yesterday about how we used to ship loads of plastics for recycling to China, and China have said they aren't taking it any more.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42455378

Of course recycling is a good thing. But that should come third after reduce and reuse.

Plastics are an environmental nightmare - we can't avoid all plastics but we can certainly reduce what we're using. I've just ordered reusable sandwich wraps for the kids to take to school rather than wrapping in cling film. Little steps. If everyone does a little bit, we can reduce the total amount of plastics.

So what are you doing???

Thank you, Mrs H :)

Pragmatically speaking, we do have alkenes and we can’t put them back. Using them to make useful products which enhance life is a good thing. IMO.

Of course, our demand for oil-based energy should be reduced (and it will happen sooner or later).

But it is a fuel demand that drives hydrocarbon cracking rather than raw materials for polymers. That is why fuels are expensive and polymers are cheap.

Why take this off-board? Can’t the halo-polishers cope? :)

Only off board if it was too much of a tangent with only two of us involved. But now that someone else has been drawn in ...

I think it's an important part of the conversation. The OP challenges us to use "less plastic" which is almost certainly a good idea, but thinking about what the actual plastic problem might be will help us to make good choices of "less plastic" even if that's looking at using plastic A which takes less energy to produce rather than plastic B, or A because there's a current surplus rather than which is actually endangered.

So I'm glad you've asked us to think more deeply than just "less".

sparechange, it's easy to make your own yoghurt, if you use a live starter. ie a bit from a live pot, added to milk . Here's a link, looks like a faff, but is easy once you've done it a few times.
www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jan/18/how-to-make-yoghurt-make-your-own

I only use paper plates and cups to cut down on the plastic from the washing up bottles.

Instead of walking to Asda I drive for 20 miles to buy loose veg.

We don’t use shower gel anymore we just all have three showers a day.

I buy a new reusable cup every time I go to Starbucks, thereby saving myself 25p and I don’t have to throw it away!

Only messing

We recycle as much as we can but the reality for us and a lot of other people I suspect is that convenience and cost are the main detractors from more ‘green’ options.

The thing about making yoghurt is that it requires milk (unless you have your own MN-issue goat )... which comes in a plastic bottle. By the time you've made your yoghurt and strained it, you've probably used as much plastic from the milk bottle as would be used in a large yoghurt tub.

I've thought about getting a milk delivery in glass bottles, but we live in a house where the front door opens directly onto the street, so easily nickable to passers-by. Any solutions to that dilemma?

argh... just realised my parenthesis should have come after the words plastic bottle

Bahhummbygge, when I used to make yoghurt, I used dried milk as I was living in a country where fresh was v expensive. No doubt there are probs with that as well, but the transport problem at least is reduced. I made yoghurt because it was very expensive to buy, rather than because it was eco friendly, but a side effect was that I didn't need to buy loads of plastic pots, just the cardboard boxes the powdered milk was packaged in.

Ha Ha - I just told DH that there were people on Mumsnet going back to soap. He had to have me repeat it three times, he just didn’t comprehend.

CraftyGin haha

Aw bless him @crafty! Well, tbf, he doesn’t need to comprehend. Neither do you. If you don’t get it, you just don’t get it .

I send fruit and veg loose down the conveyor belt and then pile it into my bag for life.
Some good ideas here.

Same here silverthorn no need for a plastic bag if its corralled properly to stop it rolling off. Don't get why people are so perturbed by bar soap if that bothers you can make your own diy shower gels easily enough that are cheaper and nicer than shop bought
I follow a lady in America called Wellness Mama who has amazing ideas for homemade gels and detergents etc

If you're going to do refillable shower gel/hand wash apparently better to use inserts as can harbour bacteria repeatedly pouring it in (just something I read.)

This thread is very interesting and I DO care. I remember when we had deposits on bottles, maybe time to bring it back?
I've got a big packet of plastic straws in the cupboard so I suppose we should use them but buy no more.
I've always hated bottled water on principle so always drink water from the tap but I really like fizzy water so the soda stream is invaluable. Maybe I'll be told that there is something not great about it but it's got to be better than all those 1000s of plastic bottles of water flying all over the world when we've got perfectly good tap water?

CraftyGin - why so judgemental about people using soap? Good for you for 'knowing far more about soap than people on the soap thread'. Why is it so amusing to you? And your DH?

For me I was planning on switching anyway before I came across the soap thread as I wanted to reduce the amount of plastic bottles in my bathroom. I buy nice good quality soaps. My skin is not dry - in fact it feels much softer then when I used shower gel. I also feel fresher.

Regarding what we do with the byproducts of the oil industry- plastic will always have a use in the world. It's primarily single use plastic that we are all trying to reduce. The carrier bags and bottles from drinks, coffee cups, straws etc. We can't continue to treat the world we live in as one giant garbage dump.

DH knows even more about soap than me! But let’s not worry too much about facts. That really does tarnish the halo.

Judgmental seems to be the culture of this thread.

As for the single use plastics you mention - don’t use straws (seriously, these are frivolous), don’t use disposable coffee cups, don’t use carrier bags.

Plastics are not evil. They just need to be disposed of properly. Very little of what pollutes the oceans originates in this country. Take your concerns to India.

Judgmental seems to be the culture of this thread.

and you're doing a fair bit of it

I don’t really think I am.

It’s typical to accuse someone who goes against the culture of a thread to accused of being judgmental when they make sensible points and think critically.

“Let’s all agree with the OP” would be most dull.

I know far more about soap than anyone on the soap thread, ffs.
Ha Ha - I just told DH that there were people on Mumsnet going back to soap. He had to have me repeat it three times, he just didn’t comprehend.
Can’t the halo-polishers cope? smile
That really does tarnish the halo.

I'm not accusing you of being judgemental just because you're arguing a different view point, I'm saying it because you're being a dick in the way you go about it, hth.

If you don’t mind your own period blood I highly recommend these. So absorbent, and you can’t feel them when in. Prefer this to a mooncup. www.amazon.co.uk/IntimateCare-Sea-Sponges-Mediterranean-Biodegradable/dp/B01N1V9DMV?tag=mumsnetforum-21

I refill a pampered chef soap pump but always wash it out thoroughly between refills. Should be ok?

On the subject of cotton buds I've just realised that our cheap Sainsbury's ones are actually paper stemmed and advertised as zero plastic. Pretty sure they weren't recently so retailers are making baby steps (too little too late though)

Very little of what pollutes the oceans originates in this country. Take your concerns to India

How much of what we buy originated in India? Etc? Quite a lot I suspect eg cheap clothing, so we need to take responsibility.

As for soap, I don’t understand the big deal. People didn’t switch to soap wholesale because it was deemed a health risk.

People didn’t switch to soap wholesale because it was deemed a health risk

I mean people didn’t switch away from soap because it was deemed a health risk.

It was just a marketing con to get us using shower gel.

The vast majority of shower gels are not ph neutral and nurturing - they are packed full of harsh fragrances, lurid colourings, SLS/sodium benzoates and other things that irritate my eczema. There may be nurturing and wonderful shower gels out there but I bet they're very expensive and they certainly aren't the ones packing the shelves at Boots that most people are using.

I'm actually really surprised that so many people use shower gels as a matter of course; it may sound naive (and showing my age - early 50s) but I somehow still think of them as slightly gimmicky products that you might buy for teenagers or take to the gym for convenience, but you wouldn't use as your main method of washing. We have unscented soap but use hand soap dispensers in the kitchen and downstairs loo.