Tag: Alternatives

On the road…to Sicily

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With the November cold creeping in, it’s nice to remember the (late) summer trips that we made in October…it’s hard to believe that only a few weeks ago we were enjoying the sun and swimming in the sea!
First we went on a family trip to Sicily…I tried to keep as zero waste as possible but when you go somewhere for a short period of time, you might not get the chance to find all the alternatives you’d like. Also, being a part of a large group calls for some compromises…but I did my best and touched on how to be a zero waste Sicilian!
Here are a few pictures from our trip showing my attempts…
Sicily (and Italy in general) is famous for its cuisine and we opted for an apartment accommodation so that we could eat out in local eateries, enjoying local food and not international hotel cuisine. It turned out to be a good call!! I was pleasantly surprised when ordering beverages for a large group (we were 10 adults and 3 kiddies), as they offered a bulk bottle rather than a lot of small ones. As a bonus, these often are glass bottles!

We didn’t eat out every night and sometimes cooked our own meals in the apartment. The traditional base of Italian cuisine, bread and pasta, were easy enough to find packageless or in recyclable packaging. Pasta in cardboard boxes, ready-made tomato sauces in glass jars, lovely fresh bread and pastries in paper bags. It was a bit more difficult with meat as the few times we tried, the meat counter was closed. Oh, you lazy siesta culture!! Fruit and veg were also pretty easy to find in bulk in small stalls throughout the village and the owners were happy for me to use my own cloth bags.

Coke in glass…
Spices anyone?
Cardboard rocks..
Gluten-free anyone?

What I saw for the first time and was really impressed with was a glass ‘cork’ in a wine bottle. When the owner of the shop told me it was from glass, I first thought I hadn’t understood. But I actually had! Of course, I took it home not only as a souvenir but as a lovely wine bottle topper! (Mental note: the local wine Nero D’Avola is pretty tasty.)

Yep. Glass cork.
Really!

During the trip, I found the Sicilian ‘relationship with waste’ quite peculiar. First of all, there weren’t many recycling bins around. I know it was a small village but still, it had all the other infrastructure so I would expect at least some responsible public waste services. Instead, I saw a lot (and I mean a lot) of waste bags hanging from balconies. Yes, you read it right (see the pics below if you don’t believe me!).

Hmmm….
What the heck?
Explanation anyone?
….
…anyone?

Now, I am not entirely sure what it’s all about because I didn’t ask (people nor google) but my wild guess is that they hang it out so that it doesn’t smell inside…but then I cannot guess if these will be collected by a someone to dispose of or the residents will take them somewhere next time they’re out. If anyone knows, please enlighten me!
Despite the fact that the supermarkets replaced normal plastic bags with the biodegradable sort (yay!), I again didn’t see many organic bins. There were a few though and I did use them for our apartment food waste even though it meant going for a walk :)). I also made the point of bringing the recyclables with us when we went for a trip and found some recycling bins (probably belonging to some residents but hey, it wasn’t much!) and sorted the carton, glass and plastic packaging which we couldn’t avoid.
What also struck me was that despite the country and scenery being so picturesque, the public effort against littering was very lukewarm. During a walk on top of a cliff, I couldn’t believe the rubbish that hemmed the footpath. I mean, it’s not really a very touristy place but still. Pick it up and put it in a bin!!

Litter with a view…

But it wasn’t all bad! There were a few more green things to be seen. Even in the small village of Balestrate, you could rent a bike – an electric one which is understandable with all the hills – but the user guide was only in Italian so I couldn’t tell you the deal…They looked nice though!

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On the right track…

In Palermo, on a short stretch of a road, we passed at least 3 libraries or used book shops which were cool. Also, a book about veganism had a prominent place in one of the bookshop windows!

Used books shop…
Vegan cookbook if you fancy.

Upcycling seemed to be getting a bit of traction here and there…

Old pallets put to a good use.
Handmade!
Natural cosmetics…
I think tins might be my new obsession after jars.
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Make and mend. 

I guess it’s about someone starting a debate…leading by example and not being afraid to change things. I am already looking forward to going back in a couple of years to see if it has changed…because the potential is there.

Next week, I’ll tell you about a trip that followed this one…to Barcelona!

Raise the bar a bit more

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Last week, I wrote about how I switched to a simpler body-cleaning regime. This not only saved some plastic bottles from ending up in landfill (or at best at the recycling factory) but also saved me time and money. Here are some more suggestions on how to green your beauty routine.

Lotions

I read about some people who stopped using all types of lotions and moisturisers and their skin recovered to the point where the natural oils are enough and they don’t have a need for any creams and lotions. I do get it as my boyfriend has never used any lotions and his skin is perfectly happy. I do think, however, that girls’ skin has a different structure which can benefit from lotion and let’s be honest, the cosmetics ads have this down – it feels pretty damn good, to massage a blob of nice smelly stuff into your skin after a shower! In the future, I might consider trying to go without any lotions but for now, I keep at it…

lotions

My hand cream and moisturiser

 I have some The Handmade Soap Company body lotion I bought last year but even though it smells and moisturises really nicely, it is packed in a plastic bottle which I’d rather avoid once I use this one up. I got two ‘massage cubes’ from Ponio which look like a really promising replacement. (I spoke about Ponio in my previous post.) These cubes are solid blends of shea and cocoa butters that will melt once warmed up in your hands. They can be used as a lotion for your face, body and all limbs. Basically, imagine slathering some chocolate over your body. Yep. That good.

Massage cubes…chocolate and vanilla
…seriously, I just want to lick it…

The Burt’s Bees hand cream I got recently as a gift and I am happy that it’s in a metal tube which is recyclable. A little goes a long way here and it’s made from natural ingredients. I tend to have dry skin which is sensitive to too much water, so having a good hand cream is important. To be perfectly honest though, I am not too mad on the smell. Maybe I am weird. But I do find it a bit overpowering. Once I use this one up (or find someone to give it to?!), I will experiment with other alternatives and making my own hand cream concoction…if I don’t decide to go without in the meantime!

With winter coming soon, a lip balm is also essential, even though I found out that when properly hydrated from inside my lips get chapped much less. I got an artisan beeswax balm in my hive-share pack from the Brookfield Farm earlier this year. It’s packed in the cutest little tin and smells amazing. Hopefully it will work too!

Tools – brushes, razors & co.

The two worst landfill offenders from the bathroom are toothbrushes and disposable razors.

There are a lot of problems with plastic toothbrushes and this infographic says it all…

MYSA_Infographic

The best solution to date are toothbrushes made from a sustainable resource like bamboo. Bamboo happened to be the fastest growing plant on earth. It also contains naturally-occurring antimicrobial agents hence there is no need for using fertilizers or pesticides during its cultivation. It’s a tree so the toothbrush handle is biodegradable. As for the bristles, Nylon 4 (a synthetic polymer) is believed to be biodegradable in about 3-4 months in an active compost. There are brushes with Nylon 4 infused with bamboo fibre which are also said to be compostable. Other sources say that the only option for the bristles to be natural and biodegradable is boar hair which is a questionable source. I suppose the the next best thing is a plant-based material that can be recycled. There are a good few companies that produce bamboo toothbrushes so it comes down to what is available where you live. I got some WooBamboo toothbrushes some time back as they were the only brand I could find to be sold close to Ireland (in the UK) so the transportation costs would be minimised. What I didn’t like about these brushes was that they were single-packed in a PET blister with a cardboard back. They actually answer the question why plastic packaging on their website. I mean I do get their point but still, the next time, I will buy ones that are packed in compostable packaging, probably from Brush with Bamboo.  

tools

The tools. 

Statistics say that, in the United States alone, 2 billion disposable razors are thrown out every year. Now, that’s a lot.

Thankfully, there are alternatives. You can either go total badass and master the use of a straight razor but if you, like me, prefer not to bleed to death every time you shave, a ‘closed-combed reusable razor’ is a much better option. The blades are from metal which is recyclable, however, you would need to find a local recycler who accepts them. They do exist though so have a look around your area… (Mental note: look for one around Dublin!) Once you buy the handle though this will, with proper care, last you a lifetime, may I say. I actually got mine at my parents’ house, which my grandma bought for my grandpa years ago but he never got to use it. That’s why mine has added emotional value for me as I always remember him when looking at it!

The collection of tools is completed by a nail clipper, scissors, tweezers (have these for ages) and a pumice stone I got last year in an amazing shop in Belgium last year. Seriously, if you ever close to any Dille & Kamille shop, do pay them a visit. It’s like in heaven.

To complete the full list, I need to add a hair brush, plastic but very durable, a blow-drying-brush which I got about 5 years ago in Barcelona (memories!) and a small hairdryer. I got it as a gift for travelling but it’s so small and handy it became my ‘main one’. Even though since I swapped to the solid shampoo bar, I don’t even need to blow dry my hair as it actually looks respectable just air-dried. In my case having short hair means also much less maintenance…happy days.

My favourite razor…
Pumice stone…
The brushes & co.

In summary, I have to say immodestly that I am pretty happy with myself and the fact that I eliminated almost two thirds of cosmetics products once I used and swapped the ones I was using for better and greener alternatives.

Did you take the plunge and tackle your beauty routine? What was the easiest and the hardest?  Let me know in the comments!

Raise the bar

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Before I embarked on my Zero Waste journey, my cosmetics arsenal would have included on average 20 beauty products and I’m not counting the likes of samples, hotel souvenirs and free-with-purchase miniatures that were mostly collecting dust in my bathroom anyway. My beauty routine involved lotions, tonics, creams, gels, pastes, mousses, sprays and more lotions. All to make me feel cleaner, softer and, as advertised, possibly even younger!

The catch is that all conventional beauty products have a few basic flaws. Firstly, from the plastic-free and zero-waste point of view, they all come in plastic bottles (with the exception of some more luxury creams that come in glass)…but mostly, cheap plastic is the go-to packaging. Secondly, the conventional cosmetic products contain some rather questionable ingredients that may negatively affect our health, like petroleum-based ethoxylated surfactants, optical brighteners and so on. There are numerous articles pro and contra synthetic ingredients in personal care cosmetics but I like the simple method of determining if I should get a product or not – if I can’t pronounce the ingredients on the back of the bottle, it’s probably not worth it!

This video from The Story of Stuff may be a bit outdated as there has been progress in raising awareness about the issue but still, European laws are (thankfully) still much more strict and protect consumers.

There is a great project called Skin Deep of the US Environmental Working Group (EWG) (http://www.ewg.org/skindeep) that contains a database of the vast majority of chemicals and their safety ratings. So, if you are unsure about an ingredient in your shampoo/conditioner/moisturiser, you can easily find about its properties.

Myself, in the pursuit of a simpler solution, eager to find alternatives and equipped with Bea Johnson’s book, I gradually made a switch to fewer products which are versatile and also nicely natural.

 

Facial routine

The main part of my plan was to reduce the number of products used daily. Using the first ‘R’ – refuse – I simply stopped using face cleansing lotion, toner or serums. Pure water and a bit of bar soap do the cleaning job perfectly (surprise!). I swapped my well-known-brand moisturiser for a local Irish product that uses only natural ingredients and, most importantly, does a great job and smells even better. I am not only feeding my skin the best food but also supporting a small local business (Bia Beauty) which is a nice bonus. The moisturiser is packed in a glass jar and I’m planning to contact them to see if I could send them my empty containers to be refilled and sent back packaging-free… Even if not, the containers are recyclable or would make a great candleholders 🙂 I experimented a bit with my own moisturiser concoction but it was still a bit too rough for my face so I’ll leave it to professionals!

beauty-routine

Beauty regime streamlined somewhat…

Dental routine

Toothpaste is something I still have to persuade myself to make at home. I tried a few versions with clay and baking soda but haven’t been impressed yet. In the meantime, I picked a natural brand with no petroleum-based ingredients in it and it’s doing pretty well. Yes, it is packaged in plastic but at least it’s recyclable… I saw a video recently about the ingredients in toothpastes – it’s interesting to watch! Especially when you know that a mixture of baking soda and coconut oil can (allegedly :)) do the same thing…

I swapped the alcohol-laden conventional mouthwash for a much simpler homemade version. This might need to be made more often as the essential oils used in it change the taste slightly with time but, since it takes all 2 minutes to mix together, I really don’t mind. Find the recipe here.

Hair-care routine

The change I was most happy with was swapping a traditional liquid shampoo for a solid shampoo bar. I tried one that was soap-based along with some Dr. Organic conditioner (instead of the apple cider vinegar rinse which I still find a bit messy in the bathroom) and it was ok but I wasn’t blown away. My hair was a bit dull and without any volume. I then found shampoo bars that were not soap-based (they contain other plant-based surfactants than soap) and didn’t need any acidic rinse. They were made by a small Slovakian company called Ponio which makes small batches of homemade soap bars, shampoo bars, solid deodorants and ‘massage cubes’. All their products are packed in minimal paper/cardboard packaging and they have great customer service. I ordered some products when I was visiting my parents in Slovakia to minimise unnecessary transport costs! The shampoo bars (I got Sugar Peony and Orient Chai ones) smell amazing and last me a good while which is always a plus.

ponio-shampoo-bar

Solid shampoo bar from Ponio

Shower routine

From the same folks at Ponio, I also got the Shea Mild Soap which is an unscented soap that lasts ages and effortlessly replaced my shower gel, face cleanser and shaving foam all at once. Streamlining where and when you can. Love it.

Anti-sweat routine

Another item on my cosmetics shelf is a deodorant. I tried a few natural brands like Alverde or Green People which don’t contain any aluminium salts and parabens (some researchers linked these to cancer, some not but sure why risk it !) or alcohol and some of these deodorants are packed in glass. Once I use them up though, I’d like to try making my own with coconut oil, soda and essential oils. (Goals!)

Next week, I will continue with some more tips and tricks for a streamlined beauty regime!