Plastic-free and eco-sustainability: What are YOU fucking doing about it EH?

[The Mollusk]

Love a bit of this don't we eh, got my own metal straw in my bag, save the seahorses, love going out for a mocha and cleaning out my straw with an individual pipe cleaner which I then blow out like a pea shooter, straight into the river off the bank of Putney, launch it right down the dick hole of the nearest fish, wipe the cunts out, love it

So what the fuck are YOU doing to try and save the planet, like cutting a hole in the bottom of a runaway train and trying to use your feet to apply braking before it inevitably hurls off the cliff?

I was looking into those compostable plastic-free dish sponges yesterday. £8 for four, are you having a fucking laugh? Saw someone else on here recently saying they use old rags and stuff. Does that work? How effective is RAGS in scrubbing burnt-on oil and potato bits from an oven tray when I've made my own chips and forgot to turn them when they were cooking?

Anyway I wanted to write more but I've got to go to work now so this shitty post is all you're getting to kick off what will hopefully be a much more helpful and informative discussion. Cheers.

[bgmnts]

I've been shitting in a bucket for weeks.

[RetroRobot]

Grans a big fan of plastic straws so I've just tossed her in a wood chipper. Reckon I've saved approximately 16 turtles doing that.

[Butchers Blind]

I've been shitting in a bucket for weeks.

Get you a dog that will eat it and wipe your arse.

[shiftwork2]

My worst daily thing is to rely on those one-use plastic coffee filters that sits on the top of your cup.  They come in a packet of ten and last me, at work, around three days.  Then it's more single use plastic into landfill.

I did feel a bit bad (they're so convenient and clean!) but problem apparently solved as they've switched to some compostable material.  Up about 10% in cost but, you know, I don't have to examine my behaviour so that's fancy dandy.

[Paul Calf]

Recycling, taking bags to the supermarket, all the usual religious ritual stuff that makes us feel better but which ultimately won't do dick to help when set against the wider industrial abuse of the environment.

[Sebastian Cobb]

I have several reusable cups that were gifted or won but I've never used them because I basically never get takeaway coffee. In fact it's probably environmentally worse to have made these things based on my non-existent use of single use cups.

[thenoise]

I've selflessly made exceptionally poor career choices which has led to the possibility of me earning even as much as the so-called living wage at any point in my life approximately zero. This prices me out of such things as air travel, new cars, holidays, throw-away fashion, new phones and gadgets, etc.

[Sebastian Cobb]

My worst daily thing is to rely on those one-use plastic coffee filters that sits on the top of your cup.  They come in a packet of ten and last me, at work, around three days.  Then it's more single use plastic into landfill.

I did feel a bit bad (they're so convenient and clean!) but problem apparently solved as they've switched to some compostable material.  Up about 10% in cost but, you know, I don't have to examine my behaviour so that's fancy dandy.

Is there any reason you can't get a v60 and some paper filters? It'd work out cheaper and be less to lug around.

I use aeropresses at home and work. I bought a reusable cap with a valve for the one I use the most but still used paper filters for the one I was using at home (so just weekends), I understand the paper isn't an environmental problem in the grand scheme of things since it composts and the equivalent of one newspaper can make loads; I just begrudged paying £6 for 350 of them every 6 months or so.

[bgmnts]

I've selflessly made exceptionally poor career choices which has led to the possibility of me earning even as much as the so-called living wage at any point in my life approximately zero. This prices me out of such things as air travel, new cars, holidays, throw-away fashion, new phones and gadgets, etc.

Yeah same basically.

I dont want to equate myself to Jesus or anything...

[thenoise]

Of course I've undone all that now by making an exceptionally poor contraceptive decision having a kid, but at least we use washable nappies.

[shiftwork2]

Is there any reason you can't get a v60 and some paper filters? It'd work out cheaper and be less to lug around.

Yes, rank laziness.  And I do have an aversion to loose coffee grounds in the shared kitchen at work as there's always a mess, however careful you are.  Aeropress might be a good compromise as I seem to be able to keep that clean.

edit: oh you added aeropress to your reply!

[Captain Z]

What I don't get, right, is when it says "container: widely recycled, film lid: not currently recycled". But there's always a bit of film lid that just can't be peeled off the container. I mean obviously it goes in the recycling, but what do they actually do with it on the other end.

[Thomas]

Stopped eating meat a couple of years ago, and finally caught up on the fish front this last month. Don't drive (scared + no money). No longer catch the bus to the beach to scour for beached porpoises to kick. Last week I stopped ramming McDonald's straws up turtle's faces.

[Gurke and Hare]

What I don't get, right, is when it says "container: widely recycled, film lid: not currently recycled". But there's always a bit of film lid that just can't be peeled off the container. I mean obviously it goes in the recycling, but what do they actually do with it on the other end.

Your mum's widely recycled. Is that thing that twats say about how most of the stuff you put in the recycling bin ends up in landfill anyway actually true?

[holyzombiejesus]

I was looking into those compostable plastic-free dish sponges yesterday. £8 for four, are you having a fucking laugh? Saw someone else on here recently saying they use old rags and stuff. Does that work? How effective is RAGS in scrubbing burnt-on oil and potato bits from an oven tray when I've made my own chips and forgot to turn them when they were cooking?

Someone on Gardeners World grows their own loofahs and slices them up in to mini scourers. Monty thought it was a good idea but I'm not so sure.

I don't drive, very rarely fly, don't eat meat, try to buy locally (or at least UK) grown vegetables and recycle as much as local services allow.

On the negative side of things, use too much single use plastic. Worst things, although probably not the most damaging, are the little 4 packs of innocent smoothies we get (small tetrapacks, plastic straws wrapped in plastic), plastic sachets of cat food and buying records. The only thing that generally goes in my non-recyclable waste bin in 'my' room, is the shrinkwrap from albums, and the kitchen bin is generally just the cat food packs and the plastic wrap and bags from food. Oh, and we've spawned.

Used to feel really pleased thinking about all the decent green waste that we leave out for the collections every Thursday but found out last week that the local authority just burn it all.

[Buelligan]

That straw thing's weird.  Went to the big shop last week.  Man who takes me was given a prize ticket with his shopping, went to the info box to find out what - a little branded drawstring bag containing three stick things, he gave them to me, chopsticks he thought.  Had a look when I got home, two reusable straws and a tiny metal and plastic pipe cleaner.  Week before the prize was a tiny plastic pot supposed to contain radish seeds.

Somewhere there are factories turning out this fucking shite, this is the sanity of capitalism.  This is the logic of the Market.

[Paul Calf]

Your mum's widely recycled. Is that thing that twats say about how most of the stuff you put in the recycling bin ends up in landfill anyway actually true?

I don't know. I know we export a lot of trash to developing countries but I suppose it depends on your local authority.

[Huxleys Babkins]

Is there any bigger functional downgrade than the paper straw? No structural rigidity, always goes soggy before you can finish your drink.

My boy had a Capri Sun when we were out last week and, of course, the straw is paper and, of course, he'd completely destroyed it with his attempts to pierce the hole. Had to cut open a corner for him to drink it like some sort of deluxe metallic Jubbly.

[Clatty McCutcheon]

The non-plastic straws thing seems like a bit of a corporate PR exercise when you consider that the quantity of plastic in the oceans from lost and abandoned fishing nets is many, many times greater. I still eat fish, though, so I'm a total hypocrite.

It seems the next big thing is going to be deep-sea mining for the rare earth elements needed for electric vehicles and other techie products. The technology for mining in the deep sea beyond coastal shelves is only just emerging, and of course big corporations are trying to manipulate developing countries to get a piece of the action. Volvo, BMW and some other companies announced recently that they support a moratorium on it, but the minerals will still need to be mined on land if they are serious about switching to electric vehicles.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56607700

However, I still drive a petrol-powered vehicle, so, once again, I'm a bit of a hypocrite.

I think we all know that total changes in society and human behaviour are needed, not just substituting slightly less harmful products for the current ones, but can't say I'm optimistic that it'll happen.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

I don't drive or take taxis, don't order takeaways, have no children, don't smoke, utilities supplier is supposedly all 100% renewable. I do easy stuff, eg. reducing meat and dairy intake, bars of soap instead of shower gel, buying in bulk where possible to reduce packaging, turning shit off after using it. I click and pay for the carbon offset option when travelling (even though it probably is going to fuck all use). I make regular donations to causes which either directly address carbon reduction or have that as one of their aims. Again, it's a badly regulated sector so not sure about the accountability there.

I just got into the WWF footprint app which prompts various steps you can take to help, some new ideas I hadn't thought of.

Bit gutted that my internet supplier is now Shell (Post Office divested their broadband services mid contract).

The point made above is correct, that middle class guilt and individual steps are nothing in comparison to the main drivers of carbon emission (which stays in the atmosphere far longer than methane) and we are basically pissing into the wind while developing countries burn carbon to jump up to Western standards of living, and piss takers like the US and Australia aren't brought into line.

[The Mollusk]

That straw thing's weird.  Went to the big shop last week.  Man who takes me was given a prize ticket with his shopping, went to the info box to find out what - a little branded drawstring bag containing three stick things, he gave them to me, chopsticks he thought.  Had a look when I got home, two reusable straws and a tiny metal and plastic pipe cleaner.  Week before the prize was a tiny plastic pot supposed to contain radish seeds.

Somewhere there are factories turning out this fucking shite, this is the sanity of capitalism.  This is the logic of the Market.

Wow I was joking about the pipe cleaner in the OP, as if that's actually a thing hahaha

[shiftwork2]

piss takers like the US and Australia aren't brought into line.

In my Canada days the energy consumption came as quite a shock.  But a fair proportion of it is domestic heating and aircon, which is essential.  It's easier for us in a temperate climate.

[Sebastian Cobb]

Is there any bigger functional downgrade than the paper straw? No structural rigidity, always goes soggy before you can finish your drink.

I can do without straws most of the time, an unnecessary faff on most drinks meant for adults, however they're kind of necessary for shakes and this is where the paper ones really become mulch.

I don't drink enough shakes or possess the organisation to buy a reusable straw though.

[Sebastian Cobb]

In my Canada days the energy consumption came as quite a shock.  But a fair proportion of it is domestic heating and aircon, which is essential.  It's easier for us in a temperate climate.

As technology connections recently pointed out it's ridiculous they use different isolated systems for heating and aircon since a nice efficient heat pump is pretty much an air con unit with some extra gubbins to reverse the flow of the refrigerant in the system.

Or maybe it was a bad idea to colonise somewhere inhospitable then try and fix the problem to begin with.

[Dex Sawash]

Metal straws fill me with terror. One small accident/misadventure and it is through your skull/up your urethra.

[peanutbutter]

A lot of my stuff is just to do with a kind of thriftiness that's outright irrational in the modern era. Tend to fix _everything_ even though it's slowly becoming near impossible with most electronics, usually buy broken too. Have a tendency to keep anything around that I feel like might have a use for at least a few weeks before I dump it and have a huge aversion towards buying big things unless I'm fairly confident I'll be able to give them away to someone else who'll get use out of them.

- a roll of toilet paper lasts me literally months
- realised old baby wipes are very good at wiping up oil and... yeah that's became a thing (not that I use baby wipes very often)
- have a flask right beside my kettle to hold any excess boiled water so I won't have to boil again later (this is just a solid timesaver though, tbf)
- the kind of psycho who only turns the hear on when it's below zero outside

Quite annoyed my water isn't metered, would like evidence of my water usage being disgustingly low



Biggest ways I'm a cunt:
- crypto
- travelling home is quite environmentally taxing; best option for the env involves a very long train and ferry journey followed up by a pretty long bus journey and a long walk, so it's pretty hard to justify on a short visit
- ocassionally eat meat
- crypto
- buy a lot of small cheap electrical parts from china
- crypto

[holyzombiejesus]

I know this is really shitty and wrong of me, and I'm only posting really so I can hear views that contradict my own and help me to reassess, but whenever I see a family with lots of children, I think 'you stupid selfish fucking idiots'. I imagine how those 6 (or however many children) will also have more children and the waste and damage that they'll do.

[Inspector Norse]

turning shit off after using it

I follow my partner and kids around the house and turn off all the lights they leave on. I have calculated that I save around 40,000 years of the Earth's lifespan every week by doing this.

Also I don't use a straw, who the fuck drinks through a straw once their age is in double figures?

[Dex Sawash]

Also I don't use a straw, who the fuck drinks through a straw once their age is in double figures?

People who want it up