BBC war on plastics ?

[dragonflyflew]

Anyone watching? Waddaya think? Any ideas how to easily incorporate it into daily living?

I'm watching.
I'm shocked about the wet wipes . No idea what j really thought they were made of but it didn't occur to me it was plastic.

I have tried the bar shampoo and it didn't suit but I am going to give it another go.

We already do a lot but it's not enough.

Scary stuff !

I cant stand Hugh Fernley whatshisface so whatever the message Im not watching.

It is scary stuff when you don’t break it down. I see so many more people now with their own lidded cups when out and about. I’ve changed a lot of habits at home including stopping wipes maybe a year ago, trialled loads different environmentally cleaning products and am now going for bulk buys of apparently more sustainable products. I have parched and coloured greying curly hair so I can’t imagine a shampoo bar helping me. I’ve tried so many different products for hair but sadly, the ones filled with crap still give me the best results.
Still struggling with washing products but my green and black bin contents have definitely decreased since I started trying to make a difference.

I don’t mind Hugh fw !

I like Hugh - good for him I say, actually getting out there and trying to solve the problem.

I like the idea put forward that if manufacturers are made to be 100% responsible for the cost of dealing with the waste of their packaging then they will have to look at making their packaging recyclable or biodegradable. I think most people will find it almost impossible to cut out enough plastic to make a difference until the manufacturers, who put plastic in everything in the first place, make changes to their products and packaging - and they must still be affordable for people to buy.

Magicpaintbrush , agreed.

How utterly depressing that a post about how we can reduce plastic pollution and save our planet has 7 replies. And one about rain has over 50. We should be talking about this, people should be made to feel uncomfortable!

cakesandphotos , spot on. We are, sadly, a nation well known for burying its head in the sand in the face of obvious threat and danger.
It seems like the only time we really care is when we feel that someone’s getting something we can’t access.
The eco crisis we’re in isn’t showing enough impact on individuals and so many people don’t want to make simple changes because it’s effot.
Even yesterday my so-called friends ‘joked’ that I’m a ‘self righteous cunt’ and I’ve heard this before and people rolling their eyes at me about my bin system in my own house! I’m very basic level too when it comes to living sustainably.

I'm just catching up on it & am horrified that there is so much plastic in wipes 😱

We use the toilet wipes & an occasional pack of floor wipes for pet mess

I'm going to see if I can find my reusable baby wipe set & order a few replacement bits

I use shampoo bars but still use bottle conditioner- haven't found a bar that's similar yet

@cakesandphotos you must have missed these threads.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/3614869-Reducing-single-throwaway-use-plastic-ideas-please?msgid=88005186

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3615268-plastic-alternatives?msgid=87956780

Just watching this programme now. So simplistic and patronising. The issues haven't been considered in depth at all so I cannot take it seriously. They do the usual trick of bullying the press person at a big company while at the same time ignoring the reasons why things are happening - the female presenter wouldn't acknowledge the issue of food waste in transit at all, for example. And sorry but I'm not sure what people thought that wipes are made of if not mostly plastic?

This is the dumbest programme I have seen in a long time and it does a disservice to a very serious issue.

Knowledge is power - head to the ethical living topic here or read the Zero Waste Home book. There is so much that we can do as consumers!

The programme doesn't need to provide all the answers it just needs to raise awareness.

I agree. It’s scary and although I try and reduce it as much as possible, until there are viable alternatives available from supermarkets not much is going to happen.
I will never buy wipes again though.

I haven't seen the programme but am getting really worried about the articles I am only just reading that say there is plastic in our tap water.

I use makeup remover wipes and kitchen wipes. Once I have finished what I have I will not buy any more.

Most days I don't even wear makeup so soap and water will do me and on the days I do wear makeup I will go back to cotton wool and some sort of cleanser although they all seem to come in plastic containers so may have to look into it.

I use wipes on my kitchen surfaces every day, often a couple of times a day. Not sure what I will replace them with but maybe cloths that I can wash regularly?

A plant nursery near me has started selling fruit and veg in no plastic wrapping. As much as they can it is local produce. I have been buying from them and whilst some items are a bit dearer than supermarkets quite a few are not.

They are also selling loose items like rice, lentils, muesli, flour etc which you help yourself to. You can take your own containers or they have glass jars there you can use. They only have a small range at present but are intending to increase it as it has proved very popular.

There used to be weigh and save shops almost everywhere but they all closed. Maybe now they will reopen?

I watched a few minutes, so Hugh and a production team had gone to Malaysia to film a segment , way to reduce carbon emissions, why not get a local crew to film and do post production and voice over without plane flights etc?

They then rolled out a huge carpet (probably plastic backed and made from nylon fibres) for the residents to put their platic containers on. bet that went to landfill after filming.

I have a no packaging store (weigh it yourself) quite near where I live and a green grocers and butchers but they charge ridiculously high prices and have queues on a Saturday when working parents shop (although I'd rather spend that time with DC). they are upmarket and trendy and priced accordingly. it is time consuming and very expensive to be green.

I also doubt how much good I'm doing when I see the pallets of goods arrive swathed in strong plastic and the trolleys wrapped in layers of cling film type plastic. All to be unpacked and then sold as unpackaged goods. I do think it will take the manufacturers to change their ways for a significant change to be made.

mydogisthebest I wear make up (need to work on this!) everyday, just soap and a face cloth does the job! Or you can make your own cleanser, there are few recipes online with cococut oil etc, but I would still use a face cloth over cotton wool.

Kitchen wise, I brought bamboo kitchen roll which is washable up to 80 times or something like that, I just use that with a spray I've made.

SapatSea I completely agree they could have just used a local production team. Our local fruit and veg man on the market seems much better for using less plastic than the fancy shop down the road!

I've just had a freebie trial pack of these through the door today: www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Dettol-Biodegradable-Surface-Cleanser-Wipes/459093011?&ULP_CAMPAIGN_ID=104&gclid=CjwKCAjwr8zoBRA0EiwANmvpYKgKz2YsBOHl5T7zZByZG_HOkmAecN79LaF3K5pJ27b2m3voXPluxxoCGMgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Dettol biodegrable wipes, in a thick plastic pack made from bamboo fibres. They still can't be put down the toilet and are compostible under certain "municipal" conditions (??)
I don't use wipes, I have "eco" microfibre cloths (made from synthetic material so not very eco) that I use for most tasks. I do wonder if all the products being made form bamboo fibres will have some bad knock on ecosystem effect, like the rush to plant corn for oil or grow more avocados has had or

Sorry the wipes are made from bamaboo fibres not the packaging.

I use the re-usable make up pads from Amazon. They are brilliant. Get about 16 in a pack with wash bag - just bung them in the wash with your clothes

I LOVE HFW .he may be posh but his heart is definitely in the right place! I didn't see the first of this series but the trailer was saying they were suggesting drinking tap water, I agree about not using all the plastic water bottles BUT I'm allergic to chlorine and I can SMELL it in the tap water!! We use a filter jug, with replaceable filters.

@ppeatfruit but has the recent issue of Microplastics in our tap water been addressed?

Summer By the programme? It was a bad omission if it wasn't. I don't know if our filters filter it out or not.

Ok so I guess it wasn't on the programme.
It is from a recent study. Sky news were announcing it by saying we potentially ingest a credit card worth of plastic each week from tap water and fish.
The study showed Microplastics are def in U.K. drinking water. I googled to see if our filtration systems filter it out and they don't.
Hoping someone comes along to tell me I'm completely wrong.

@Summersunshine2, have you git a link for the reusable pads please?