1000 Flowers for the Planet - #83 Buy Second-Hand Furniture

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #83 Buy Second-Hand Furniture

Personally I’d love to take this suggestion to the extreme and buy only antique furniture. I’m quite a fan of Victorian and Edwardian styles, but the budget can be restrictive. Many people are quite attracted to ‘Mid Century’ or ‘Retro’ furniture these days and it is more affordable than pieces over a hundred years and more old. The fact that a piece of second-hand furniture is available for purchase may well be testament to its quality or it wouldn’t still be around. Quality and period style – two good considerations when furnishing your home. Have a look at your local auction houses, trading sites on the Internet or maybe even free from a friend or relative.

By purchasing second-hand furniture you are following the third ‘R’ – reuse. No new resources have to be used in the creation of your furniture – no timber, cloth, water, electricity, oils, plastics, steel, varnishes, paint etc. All of this helps the planet.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #82 Plan Plantings for the Future

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #82 Plan Plantings for the Future

My local area has seen a lot of development over the past decade. I’ve lived in my current home for 23 years and have noticed a massive decline in the amount of trees in the neighbourhood to the tune of fifty percent, maybe more. The skyline has been altered forever. As the great Australian dream becomes the new Australian nightmare, houses are bulldozed to make way for three or four units to be built on that one block. The consequences are that every plant and tree, no matter how old or how large, is bulldozed too. Then the land that once had a house and garden is covered in bricks and concrete, with little or no room for a garden. By law they have to plant trees, but these plantings are so inappropriately conducted that the future of urban flora and fauna looks grim. Trees have been planted so close to fences that there is no room for trunks to expand as the tree ages – nowhere to grow.

Whilst I acknowledge that population growth demands the expansion of housing, and ‘up’ is better than ‘out’ in terms of land use, there has to be a common sense approach to the needs of humans AND insects, animals and plantlife. The knock-on effect of covering land with concrete is the extinction of species. Ultimately we endanger our existence by ignoring this. So plan for the future – build for the future AND plant for the future, ensuring trees have room to grow for decades, bees have plants to visit, insects and wildlife have places to live.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #81 Buy From Bulk Bins

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #81 Buy From Bulk Bins

Buying from bulk bins is a good way to save money while at the same time reducing your shopping trips and time spent gathering food, and reduces or eliminates plastic packaging. You’ll have to be a lot more organised to handle the extra storage issues, and getting the product home from the shop, but your efforts will be worth it. Once you’re in a routine it all becomes quite easy.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #80 Buy Laundry Powder in a Box

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #80 Buy Laundry Powder in a Box

It’s all well and good to recycle whenever you can, and buying laundry liquid in a plastic bottle seems okay if you pop it into the recycling bin in the end, but the false economy comes in buying the refills which try to make you feel better by advertising that they produce less landfill.

The aim is to not produce landfill at all, so when I looked into buying phosphate-free detergent for my laundry (per Flower #61) I found a product that came in a cardboard box. When it’s empty I can put it in the recycling without worrying whether or not it can actually be recycled at my local plant.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #79 Use Highlighter Pencils

 1000 Flowers for the Planet - #79 Use Highlighter Pencils

Since highlighters came into our lives we’ve found lots of wonderful excuses for using them. I think my Year 12 English teacher would have loved them back in 1980 – we did so much underlining that year! Firstly I would query if they are necessary at all. They are definitely fun, but probably unnecessary. So when I stumbled on highlighter pencils I was delighted. Here you get your fluoro fun in a wooden pencil, which means no plastic landfill when you’re done.

I imagine they last longer too.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #78 Use a Mechanical Pencil

 1000 Flowers for the Planet - #78 Use a Mechanical Pencil

A mechanical or propelling pencil consists of a metal casing, much the same as a pen, into which you put a thin stick of lead (not actually lead, pencils are made from graphite and clay). The lead is extended through the tip ready for writing, and can be extended on wear by the click of the button at the end of the casing. They tend to be much more consistent in thickness as they wear, use a higher percentage of the lead than wooden pencils tend to, and the lead is replaceable.

Like a personal fountain pen, your own mechanical pencil is more likely to be better cared for, not lost easily and will make you feel stylish.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #77 Use a Metal Fountain Pen

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #77 Use a Metal Fountain Pen

I have no idea where most of the pens in my house have come from. I don’t even remember the last time I went into a shop and actually purchased a pen. They seem to come into our lives for free (and from now on need to be kept out under the first of the 5 ‘Rs’ – refuse). But they are not free for the planet. Most pens are made of plastic, or at least have plastic components, which will find their way into landfill in the end.

Make a special purchase and buy yourself a metal fountain pen. Beautiful pen shops are easy enough to find when you go looking for them, and will take the time to find the right pen for you, particularly if you’re left handed. Ink for refilling can be bought in a glass bottle (unfortunately with a plastic lid, but sadly the world is not perfect).

Making a special purchase like this will make you think very carefully about how well you care for your possession – your fountain pen. Having cost you a lot more money than a plastic ball point, you will be sure to look after it, keep it safe and never lose it. You will probably find that your writing is much better when you use a fountain pen because you will take more pride in how you write.

If you want to add style to your life (and remove plastic from your life), buy a fountain pen, and enjoy it.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #76 Buy a Lunch Box

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #76 Buy a Lunch Box

Tupperware do lunchboxes very well indeed. They have quite a variety of shapes and sizes that can be utilised for your personalised lunch requirements. But once you get one, don’t be a dropkick and wrap your sandwich in plastic wrap before you put it in your plastic lunch container – it’s completely unnecessary and wasteful.

You can also buy stainless steel or aluminium lunch containers that would obviously last a lifetime, if cared for properly.

Taking your own packed lunch to work/school saves a lot of money too.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #75 Give up Chewing Gum

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #75 Give up Chewing Gum

I’m not even going to attempt to debate the health benefits/concerns of chewing gum. I can give you several other reasons why you should give it up though: it comes in plastic wrappers that end up in landfill or waterways; the chewed item is often not disposed of correctly and ends up in socially inappropriate places such as under tables, on footpaths, under hand rails etc; because of its adhesive nature when cold, it becomes extremely difficult and expensive to clean up; even when disposed of correctly, it is yet another non-biodegradable item that will remain in landfill for years.

This product is made from gum base, and can contain polyvinyl acetate, which is toxic. Furthermore, exactly what the ingredients in the gum base are, no one is compelled to disclose, and the providers of gum base to the manufacturers won’t provide complete information about the ingredients. So, not being able to determine exactly what is in this product, why would you chew it?

And I’ll harp yet again about the likelihood of tossed chewing gum ending up in waterways where it can be ingested by marine and bird life and cause illness/death.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #74 Use Matches

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #74 Use Matches

Next time your plastic lighter runs out (and you’ve tossed it into the bin i.e. landfill), buy a box of matches and use them instead. They work just as well and at least they are made from renewable resources and will decompose. It’s another way of keeping plastic out of your life.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #73 Refuse Straws

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #73 Refuse Straws

Straws are single use plastic products that are quite unnecessary. I don’t know about you, but I learned how to drink out of a cup when I was a toddler, and I haven’t yet forgotten how to do it. Apart from the facts that these items are made of plastic, are used once, are then thrown into landfill (or end up blowing into gutters and make their way into water systems etc.), have a think about how they are handled – people pick them up and put them into a dispensing container, often tapping them down nicely with their hand. How hygienic is that?! Who knows how many hands have touched the straw before it goes to your mouth? It’s not something that appeals to me.

If you really, really love straws and have to use one, you can purchase glass straws. I would query how safe they are and how well you could actually clean them, but it is an option.

Otherwise, make sure you ask for your cocktails/drinks at the bar to come without a straw, and refuse them whenever possible.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #72 Use Plastic-Free Tape

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #72 Use Plastic-Free Tape

It’s probably not something you think about as being plastic, but that’s what your sticky tape is made from. We use it willy-nilly without considering that it ends up in landfill, or waterways, where it will clog up the system, kill marine and bird life and take 1000 years to break down.

There is an alternative and it is made from paper. It has a gum on one side that is activated with water – use a sponge to wipe over the surface and you’re ready to stick. A second alternative that is plastic free is made from cellulose. I found these products at www.lifewithoutplastic.com but you can search the internet for your own supplier.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #71 Purchase Unpackaged Goods

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #71 Purchase Unpackaged Goods

This idea is becoming harder and harder to do as the world goes crazy wrapping everything in plastic, including all our vegetables. Refuse to buy vegies in plastic – buy the loose ones, and don’t worry about the shape and size of your fruit and vege. Don’t you know that nature produces all kinds of different shapes in fruit and vege, just like us humans?

I’m finding it really hard to think of products that actually come without packaging of some type. If you can make suggestions, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Meanwhile ...

If you can buy clothes off a hanger instead of in a packet, do so. If you can buy a pencil from the newsagent instead of a plastic packet with more than you want, do so. If there is a choice between a product in a fancy plastic package and the same thing unpackaged, buy the unpackaged one. This single use plastic wrapping frenzy needs to be tamed. Do what you can to reverse the packaging trend.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #70 Use Tupperware

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #70 Use Tupperware

I know, I know ... I just told you to take plastic out of your life. And that will definitely be a good thing. But we can use plastic for good things. What I like about Tupperware is that the company gives a lifetime guarantee on most of its products. If a guaranteed product splits or fails in any way, the company will replace it free of charge. This means that you buy the product once (saving money in the long term), and if you use it properly it should last a lifetime. Tupperware sends the returned products to be recycled. Read more about their policies on their website.

I’m not being paid by anyone to write this stuff. I’m just saying how I see it. I’ve used Tupperware for thirty years and recommend it for storing all your pantry items. The containers keep foodstuffs fresh and dry, and away from any pesky mice that might find their way into the cupboard. The containers also come in handy for storing leftovers in the fridge, negating any need for using cling wrap – a single use plastic. Large Tupperware containers enable you to purchase some foodstuffs in bulk, saving money and keeping the product fresh for a long time. It will save you money, prevent food waste, and keep single use plastic out of landfill.

Check which Tupperware products have the lifetime guarantee and are recycled, then give them a go. Your pantry will never be so organised!

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #69 Use Plastic-Free Kitchen Utensils

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #69 Use Plastic-Free Kitchen Utensils

Do you have a drawer full of plastic kitchen utensils? Most households generally have a drawer dedicated to all those kitchen gadgets we felt we couldn’t do without. They’re supposed to make life easier. Most of them are made of plastic.

My suggestion is that you replace these plastic utensils only when they are no longer able to perform their function. If they still do their job it would be counter-productive to put them into landfill. But when you need a new tool, buy one that is made from metal / bamboo / wood or a combination of these things. A tool made from these resources will last you a lifetime. ‘Ecology‘ is a company that makes such kitchen products, and furthermore considers it’s environmental impact in their manufacturing processes. An even better bonus is that their packaging is mostly recycled and recyclable products, making the whole experience a jolly good one.

All you need to do is put a bit of thought into your requirements. Do you really need that utensil in the first place or are you simply being a gadget freak? Can you find a replacement tool that isn’t made of plastic? How can you do things differently to make an impact on improving our planet?

I bet you can.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #68 Ask for a Metal Speculum

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #68 Ask for a Metal Speculum

Ladies, let’s unite on this front. The metal speculum has been replaced by a disposable plastic speculum in many surgeries and hospitals. Perhaps the reason for this is money (as usual) because there is an expense involved in sterilising the metal speculum after every use. Maybe it’s considered more hygienic - I don't know. However, using a disposable plastic speculum means a lot more stuff being added to landfill, stuff that doesn’t break down for 1000 years. Has any research been done on the health impact of using plastic internally?

Ladies, we need to say we’re not okay with this practice. Next time you book your annual or biennial check-up (and I hope you do!), request a metal speculum.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #67 Use Soap Nuts

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #67 Use Soap Nuts

Soap nuts are an amazing gift from nature.

“They are the seed pod of a macadamia-sized berry from the Sapindus Mukorossi  or Soap Nut tree, which is cracked open and dried in the sun, producing a sticky, dark golden shell. These shells (known as 'soapnuts') can be placed into your washing machine instead of detergent and fabric softener, and will leave your clothes clean, soft and without scent. They can also be boiled into a liquid concentrate and used as a general purpose cleaner, shampoo, hand soap …” (source: http://www.gogreenathome.com.au/whatare.html)

This is a terrific website for all sorts of environmentally friendly products and you can learn even more about soap nuts here. They are extremely easy to use and really good value for money.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #66 Take Tongs to the Butcher

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #66 Take Tongs to the Butcher

Also take your own freezer containers.

Meat is a huge user of plastics. If you buy it at the supermarket it comes with polystyrene trays, those soppy tings that soak up the blood and is wrapped in soft plastic. If you go to the butcher you still get the meat in a plastic bag before it’s wrapped in paper.

A while ago I tried to get plastic free meat from the butcher by asking him to put the meat directly into my own freezer containers that I took along. To my horror I noticed that he used a plastic bag to pick up the meat before putting it into the container, and worse, he used a new bag for each different type of meat I requested. It completely defeated the purpose.

The trick to this is to take your own tongs along to the butcher and ask him to use those to put all your meat purchases into their respective freezer containers. Job done – plastic free.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #65 Use a Metal Water Bottle

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #65 Use a Metal Water Bottle

Let’s take drinking water to a new level – let’s not buy water in disposable plastic bottles, and let’s not replace that habit with using a plastic refillable water bottle. Let’s use aluminium water bottles such as produced by SIGG. This allows us to be plastic free, save the planet’s resources, have an item that will last a lifetime if looked after properly, which reduces landfill and saves lots of money, and is good for your health.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #64 Avoid Single Use Plastic

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #64 Avoid Single Use Plastic

Okay, so living entirely plastic free sounds like an impossible task. The journey of 1,000 miles starts with just one step. If you can’t do everything, just do something. It takes a lot of guts and determination to live plastic free so try something a little easier. Avoid single use plastic. Doesn’t it seem ridiculous to buy a product to use only once, but which is made out of a material that will last forever? Can’t we be done with being stupid?

If you’re a bit of a commitment-phobic, try it for just one month. It will require some brain cells to help you through the process, but it will be worth it. Think of all the single-use plastic that comes into your life, invited and uninvited: coffee cups, straws, carry bags, packaging, food containers (both from the supermarket and fast food), water bottles, milk containers, chip packets, plastic cling-film – the list is long. All of these things can be replaced with alternatives or taken out of your life (often with incredible health benefits – you know I’m right). The following week of Flowers will help you on your way.

Take up the challenge, give it a try and be amazed at how well you do – then give yourself a pat on the back, and keep going.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #63 Live Without Plastic

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #63 Live Without Plastic

This week will be ‘plastic week’ and I’m starting with a really major suggestion – Live Without Plastic. If you think this idea is huge, you’re right. But there are people out there actually doing it – living their lives plastic free. It takes a huge commitment to a huge idea and I have to say I admire these people for doing it, because there are so many little things that have to be resolved along the way. Please do an Internet search for living a plastic free life and read some of the blogs that are inspiring, thought provoking, provocative and challenging. See what ideas resonate with you and try them out for yourself. Understand why these people are going to such extreme lengths to avoid plastic.

You may also like to research how harmful plastics can be to the human body – how they can cause health problems in many people. Plastic waste also clogs up the waterways, kills marine and bird life, adds to landfill, and causes health issues for many living creatures.

It fascinates me that we’ve had a few ‘oil crises’ over the last few decades, that there is concern about oil running out and that we desperately need to find more oil to take out of the earth, to run our cars etc. Walk into your local shopping centre/mall and take a look around – you will see plastic everywhere. And the next time you’re at the supermarket, try to find food that doesn’t come with plastic – you’ll find this a very hard task. Plastic is made from oil, but there doesn’t seem to be any outcry that we need to produce less plastic to save our oil reserves. This doesn’t make sense.

The world has produced as much plastic in this past decade as it did for the entire 20^th century. So live without plastic, or live with less plastic, and save not only the planet, but yourself.

P.S. I don’t agree with everything the plastic free proponents put on their blogs. I particularly disagree with purging plastic from one’s home in order to replace it with plastic-free products. I do understand they are concerned about their health, but the down side is that perfectly useful product is being tossed into landfill, or given to charity shops where someone else can buy it and have their health affected. I suggest replacing plastic items after they have completely worn out or become useless. There are more arguments for being plastic-free than health, including but not limited to saving the planet’s resources, preventing landfill, saving money and reducing consumerism.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #62 Bring Clothes Pegs Inside

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #62 Bring Clothes Pegs Inside

This probably seems like a strange suggestion, but I’ve always done this because it lengthens the life of my pegs. If I leave them outside, the rain rusts the metal hinge and the sun deteriorates the plastic, shortening the productive life of the peg. It means a long useful life for your tools, hence less need to replace them so often, which saves you money and the planet’s valuable resources. There’s an even better choice for your pegs, but I think you’ll be able to work that one out for yourself (or look out for another Flower suggestion coming soon).

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #61 Use Phosphate-Free Detergent

 

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #61 Use Phosphate-Free Detergent

Phosphates become detrimental when they over fertilize aquatic plants and cause stepped up eutrophication. Eutrophication is the natural aging process of a body of water such as a bay or lake. This process results from the increase of nutrients within the body of water which, in turn, create plant growth. The plants die more quickly than they can be decomposed. This dead plant matter builds up and together with sediment entering the water, fills in the bed of the bay or lake making it more shallow. Normally this process takes thousands of years. (source: http://www.water-research.net/Watershed/phosphates.htm)

So in turn, this causes the death of fish and other marine animals because the oxygen in the water is depleted. In Australia, think of our beautiful and unusual platypus – every time you wash your clothes, are you causing the death of our platypus?

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #60 Wash in Cold Water

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #60 Wash in Cold Water

Washing clothes has become so much easier with modern technology. We no longer need to boil water and use a mangle, a very physical, exhausting process that took our ancestors a whole day to attend to. Now we can chuck our clothes into a machine, push a few buttons and walk away while the machine does the work for us. How wonderful!

Let’s put a bit of thought into what we do, though. Try washing with cold water. The laundry detergents are designed to wash modern materials in cold water, so we can still get good results.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #59 Keep Balloons Indoors

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #59 Keep Balloons Indoors

Did you know that one balloon can kill a whale? (http://www.savethewhales.org/balloon.html) In fact, balloons are dangerous to a multitude of sea creatures and bird life. These animals ingest balloons thinking they are food. The plastic can block their stomach and prevent the passage of real food. They die unpleasant deaths.

There are other things we can do to enhance our celebrations: light candles; dance; plant a tree; sing; throw rose petals; all hold hands; decorate with a little greenery from the garden (and compost it later); or simply bask in the glory of doing the right thing by our planet.

If you really, really have to have balloons at your party, ensure they stay indoors, and dispose of them responsibly.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #58 Compost Garden Clippings

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #58 Compost Garden Clippings

If you attend to your garden regularly you can manage the waste produced from weeding and clipping by putting it into your compost. If you do not have a compost, or have too much garden waste to deal with, many areas have green waste recycling centres where you can take your garden waste to be composted en masse. They’ll probably have some guidelines pertaining to what can and cannot be accepted so follow these carefully to ensure their system works correctly. Likewise, if you can’t be bothered travelling to a waste centre, start up your own compost. Here’s a site to help you on your way: http://eartheasy.com/grow_compost.html

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #57 Care for River Systems

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #57 Care for River Systems

There are so many reasons why we should care for river systems I cannot possibly relay them all here. Our rivers are like the blood in our veins. They provide us with life. Without them, we do not exist. When they are polluted they make us ill. We must care for river systems.

How do we do this? I’ve already mentioned them several times in previous Flowers. Reduce waste to landfill which often ends up in waterways; prevent urban run-off; don’t litter the streets; lobby corporations who allow poor manufacturing processes that poison rivers systems; don’t build in certain areas; plan logging carefully to avoid soil erosion. The list goes on.

Sadly, most of what we do affects our river systems in a negative way. We need to think about what we’re doing, and use our intelligence to shift our habits and invent better ways to exist.

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #56 Start a Community Vege Garden

1000 Flowers for the Planet - #56 Start a Community Vege Garden

Many people do not have gardens where they can plant some vegetables or fruit trees to enjoy the freshness of home grown produce. By being part of, or starting, a community garden you can have your veges and eat them too. One website to help you on your way to becoming a self-sufficient city farmer is at: http://communitygarden.org.au

Here you will find a multitude of ideas and support links to help you get started and be successful in your venture.