[beardy56]

I was reading an online article, probably BBC website, that raised the point that a lot of the alternatives to plastic are less eco friendly. A lot of the recycleable plastics need extra energy to produce the reusable product. Paper while fully recyclable needs to be shipped and the processed as does glass. Forgetting the landfill and other problems with plastic the total C02 usage is a lot less that a lot of the alternatives.

So are we court between a rock and a hard place with plastic usage?

 

[dvd3500]

You could try to avoid plastic all together as much as possible...

For most things there are bio-degradable or reusable alternatives.

Bamboo based cutlery, re-usable cloth bags. Packaging that just uses less waste.

I get the feeling Aldi and Lidl actually use less packaging in a lot of their stuff....

Anyway, the first R is Reduce.

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

 

[RikoRocket]

[caught] I'm getting OCD again...

So re-use is all the rage. At work they just gave us all a plastic cup and got rid of all the paper cups in the café. Really? All the pollutants in making the plastic cup, is that so much better than using biodegradeable paper? Eco - evangelists that don't have a scoobies about the total lifecycle...

 

[mickey thumbs]

This stuff is so complex and at times totally illogical. What seems to make sense for the near term is often at odds with the forever aspect of life on spaceship earth. Until recently the mixed recyclables (cardboard,paper,plastic ) in the US were bundled and shipped to China for sorting and then recycling or disposal. The economics apparently made sense even though the long term benefits for the planet were dubious. Now the Chinese have closed their market as have other S.E. Asian countries. The stuff is now all wrapped up with nowhere to go. So do we all continue to separate “recyclables” from our trash or just let it all go to the landfill or incinerator? No seems to be able to provide useful guidance. One of our “green” exports is wood pellets we ship to Europe for burning for heat and power. Huh?! I guess our trees are grown without fertilizer, pesticides or selective herbicides and transported on sailing ships. I get that they have absorbed CO2 before returning it during combustion, but what about the particulates and other byproducts created? It’s enough to trigger my vertigo, so I’ll move on to my next rant.

 

[dvd3500]

Really RikoRocket?

We have always had porcelain and glass... seems to make more sense... the pre-rinse cycle is done with filtered rain water.

Wash and post-rinse with "potable" water.... I can't think of a more environmentally safe way to do it..

BTW: There are 15000 employees in this location alone.

 

[Trisha]

She Who Can't Be Ignored is currently on a mission to reduce plastic in our house, and to reduce our carbon footprint.

To this end I now have to use a wooden toothbrush, which has a truly 'orrible texture, and she...

... has booked herself a flight to Cyprus next month...

Now let us all practise spelling 'hypocrisy '...

 

[gus3049]

Oh how I hate growing old

Ronnie and I go for a walk most days but I find it a bit slow in spite of the great scenery round here. Every day, we pass the council tennis courts and the practice wall looked kind of enticing.

This would mean that she would go off round her usual circuit and I could bash a few balls. One small problem is that I didn't have a racquet!! However, someone in the village has donated a suitable item and this morning, orf I jollywelled.

Hand...seemed Ok. Eye...no problem. Brain....never been that great. Muscles....total and utter crap. Ye gods I am unfit and the lungs weren't too pleased with it all either. The bits that get used playing sport are not ones that I use so much. They are going to have to be honed a little huge amount.

Half an hour every day should do it so long as I'm still standing. I reckon about three months should see me ready to take on the kind donor of the racquet.

 

[Trisha]

Gordon

I discovered the same painful realisation several years ago, and took to cycling each day, which I still manage. As you predict, it took three months of daily, and sometimes harsh exertion, before I ceased to feel like a toxic corpse.

Hope you fare better than I.

 

[gus3049]

Thanks.

I sold my bike recently. Sadly, the roads around here are not billiard table smooth and the pounding is just too much for my back. I have always been a sprinter rather than a distance runner so, in theory, tennis should suit me better.

Forty years ago, when I last played, it did. Now? Remains to be seen.

 

[GregK]

Since when has baked beans been part of a Full-English Breakfast, or even Hash-Browns come to think of it? ......... Harumph!

 

[Trisha]

Greg

Harumph and spotty dog indeed! A trad breakfast from whence I hail comprises devilled kidney, heart of palm with cider sauce, three slices of beef with grated horseradish soaked in white wine vinegar, mashed parsnip daubed in unpasteurized butter and still cider at cellar temperature.

Toast and three-fruit marmalade to follow, obviously!

And, when Gramps was alive, woe betide anyone sufficiently foolish to tut or moan. A 12-hour day spent stacking bales usually changed their vapid demeanour...

 

[RikoRocket]

Parsnip? You were lucky... When I was young we had a handful of hot gravel

 

[mickey thumbs]

Why do seatbelt warning bells ring as soon as the engine is started? I’ve been using the lady equestrian’s pickup truck to ferry some heavy items from the lower level garage to the main level one. Involves ascending a steep drive and traveling 100ft. on a private road before pulling into to the upper drive. Every time I restarted, “ding, ding ding”! Had to turn the hearing aids off then endure the lady’s glare when her questions went unanswered. Can’t they set the bells and flashing lights to start when 10 mph is reached? Also a nuisance when leaving it unbuckled while backing out of a tight space. Please allow me to reach a decent forward speed before scolding me!

 

[Trisha]

MT

Agree with you entirely. Why do we need 'ding, ding, ding' for anything?

Drivers who rely on dings as a reminder to don a seatbelt probably shouldn't be driving.

Do the same kind of folk rely on dings as a command to unfasten their belt at the end of a trip, I wonder? Of course not. Dings have been invented, so dings we've got.

They're a distracting, unnecessary irritation, and should be banished to the annals of automotive history.

 

[gus3049]

Why do they need to be so loud? Even this deaf old git can hear them.

Cars will have smart assistants soon of course but at least you will be able to tell it to shut up!

 

[Trisha]

As Russia's in the news today, it seems like an opportune moment to knock on the Kremlin door and ask: "Is Len in?"

 

[munter]

Good moaning, everyone.

 

[gus3049]

'ello 'ello.........should be gid moaning i think.

 

[PETER GUNN]

Thought of the day perhaps , while the world's media focuses on the exploits of a couple called Megan and Harry, let's not forget about those friends, relations who live in a place called OZ, instead of a couple of privilaged people who jet between Canada and the UK, at everyone elses expense. .

Let us not forget about real people around the world , last night i spoke to a friend down under and even though the worlds media has moved on they are still in serious bother , still loosing lives, many parts people are having trouble breathing with the smoke , it,s not only fire that kills, loosing homes, livings, habitat, and their wildlife

So i raised a glass of the amber liquid last night to them all in their continuing fight to save all that they hold dear to their lives.

 

[Ecurie Martini]

Thought of the day perhaps , while the world's media focuses on the exploits of a couple called Megan and Harry, let's not forget about those friends, relations who live in a place called OZ, instead of a couple of privilaged people who jet between Canada and the UK, at everyone elses expense. .

Let us not forget about real people around the world , last night I spoke to a friend down under and even though the worlds media has moved on they are still in serious bother , still loosing lives, many parts people are having trouble breathing with the smoke , it,s not only fire that kills, loosing homes, livings, habitat, and their wildlife

So I raised a glass of the amber liquid last night to them all in their continuing fight to save all that they hold dear to their lives.

I'll second that been there a number of times (business) and have correspondence (slot car related) friends as well. I've seen more than my share of airports and nowhere did I find myself more quickly "at home" and comfortable than in Australia.

EM