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| Nappy libraries and glass milk bottles: past ideas for a plastic-free future | Nappy libraries and glass milk bottles: past ideas for a plastic-free future |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Plastic is firmly out of fashion, with everyone from the government to supermarkets pledging to reduce use and fight pollution. But turning the tide will require a herculean effort. The US shale gas boom means that the price of feedstock for the plastic industry has plummeted. Major chemical corporations have invested $180bn in new production facilities to come on stream in the next 10 years, increasing global output by 40%. If we don’t want it to flow our way, we need to stand firm. | Plastic is firmly out of fashion, with everyone from the government to supermarkets pledging to reduce use and fight pollution. But turning the tide will require a herculean effort. The US shale gas boom means that the price of feedstock for the plastic industry has plummeted. Major chemical corporations have invested $180bn in new production facilities to come on stream in the next 10 years, increasing global output by 40%. If we don’t want it to flow our way, we need to stand firm. |
| I’ve just returned from Penzance, designated the UK’s first plastic-free town by Surfers Against Sewage. This weekend it hosted residents from Aberporth, west Wales, with aspirations to follow suit; shop and cafe owners discussed the best solutions for denting the UK’s annual 3.7m-tonne plastic habit (2.2m of that being packaging). It was an impressive display of what we might refer to as the Dunkirk spirit. | I’ve just returned from Penzance, designated the UK’s first plastic-free town by Surfers Against Sewage. This weekend it hosted residents from Aberporth, west Wales, with aspirations to follow suit; shop and cafe owners discussed the best solutions for denting the UK’s annual 3.7m-tonne plastic habit (2.2m of that being packaging). It was an impressive display of what we might refer to as the Dunkirk spirit. |
| Certainly some of the solutions now on the table are redolent of wartime frugality. Some date back even further. By the end of the year, we may be taking our energy drinks in amphoras. For now, here are some of the nostalgia-tinted front-runners in the charge to go plastic-free. | Certainly some of the solutions now on the table are redolent of wartime frugality. Some date back even further. By the end of the year, we may be taking our energy drinks in amphoras. For now, here are some of the nostalgia-tinted front-runners in the charge to go plastic-free. |
| Glass milk bottles | Glass milk bottles |
| The first deliveries of milk in glass bottles took place at the end of the 19th century, driven by a rather literal desire for transparency: the customer could see straight away that their milk contained no flotsam or jetsam. But even now we take that as a given, there is plenty to love eco-wise about glass milk bottles. Once rinsed and returned to the doorstep by the consumer, they are collected as part of the morning delivery, taken to a local bottling plant and sanitised, ready to go again. Each glass bottle is used an average of 13 times before being recycled. | The first deliveries of milk in glass bottles took place at the end of the 19th century, driven by a rather literal desire for transparency: the customer could see straight away that their milk contained no flotsam or jetsam. But even now we take that as a given, there is plenty to love eco-wise about glass milk bottles. Once rinsed and returned to the doorstep by the consumer, they are collected as part of the morning delivery, taken to a local bottling plant and sanitised, ready to go again. Each glass bottle is used an average of 13 times before being recycled. |
| The triumph here is in the speed of the turnaround. The plastics industry might argue that PET and HDPE – common types of plastic for milk containers – can be collected and successfully recycled into food-grade material. But in practice plastic recycling often falls short. Since China’s new recycling laws came into effect at the start of the year, much foreign waste is being refused. In the UK, domestic capacity for recycling is tiny. | The triumph here is in the speed of the turnaround. The plastics industry might argue that PET and HDPE – common types of plastic for milk containers – can be collected and successfully recycled into food-grade material. But in practice plastic recycling often falls short. Since China’s new recycling laws came into effect at the start of the year, much foreign waste is being refused. In the UK, domestic capacity for recycling is tiny. |
| According to Diary UK, doorstep deliveries have risen to near to a million a day, up from 800,000 two years ago. This could be the biggest comeback since Lazarus. | According to Diary UK, doorstep deliveries have risen to near to a million a day, up from 800,000 two years ago. This could be the biggest comeback since Lazarus. |
| Laundry soap | Laundry soap |
| The last time laundry soap was hot was in the 1920s. Popped into the script of serial radio dramas, it would be liberally referenced by a character (female of course), and lo, the soap opera was born. | The last time laundry soap was hot was in the 1920s. Popped into the script of serial radio dramas, it would be liberally referenced by a character (female of course), and lo, the soap opera was born. |
| A revival would spell the end for the moulded mixed-plastic bottles and tubs that laundry detergent relies on. As Rinso is more likely to be found in a museum than a supermarket, try Sapindus soap nuts, produced by a shrub related to the lychee. The real enthusiast can buy a 5kg sack, which should keep you going for a while. | A revival would spell the end for the moulded mixed-plastic bottles and tubs that laundry detergent relies on. As Rinso is more likely to be found in a museum than a supermarket, try Sapindus soap nuts, produced by a shrub related to the lychee. The real enthusiast can buy a 5kg sack, which should keep you going for a while. |
| Copper surfaces | Copper surfaces |
| In the war against plastic, we’ll soon have picked the low-hanging fruits. But when it comes to the serious stuff, like hospital apparatus and infrastructure, we may need a total material shift. So here’s one that was prized by the Aztecs: copper. Medical researchers working on infection reduction report copper to be hugely effective at killing superbugs. In one study, six items in hospital wards, including surfaces and fittings, were swapped from plastic to copper. There was a 58% reduction in hospital-acquired infections. | In the war against plastic, we’ll soon have picked the low-hanging fruits. But when it comes to the serious stuff, like hospital apparatus and infrastructure, we may need a total material shift. So here’s one that was prized by the Aztecs: copper. Medical researchers working on infection reduction report copper to be hugely effective at killing superbugs. In one study, six items in hospital wards, including surfaces and fittings, were swapped from plastic to copper. There was a 58% reduction in hospital-acquired infections. |
| Water fountains | Water fountains |
| Michael Gove and Sadiq Khan have been among those to signal their commitment to water fountains in the fight against single-use plastic water bottles (Britons use 7.7bn a year, and fewer than half are recycled). | Michael Gove and Sadiq Khan have been among those to signal their commitment to water fountains in the fight against single-use plastic water bottles (Britons use 7.7bn a year, and fewer than half are recycled). |
| They are an old idea, but don’t necessarily expect them to be in Victorian repro style when they finally arrive. The next-generation water fountains are hands-free bottle-filling stations, ergonomically fashioned to fit water bottles and with sensors that automatically stop the flow of water when the bottle is full. Can’t wait! | They are an old idea, but don’t necessarily expect them to be in Victorian repro style when they finally arrive. The next-generation water fountains are hands-free bottle-filling stations, ergonomically fashioned to fit water bottles and with sensors that automatically stop the flow of water when the bottle is full. Can’t wait! |
| Cloth nappies | Cloth nappies |
| Every day, 8m disposable nappies are shovelled into the UK’s landfill. That is where – whatever it says on the pack – they will fester for hundreds of years. Some claim to be biodegradable – but that requires oxygen, and there’s not much of that under the ground. | Every day, 8m disposable nappies are shovelled into the UK’s landfill. That is where – whatever it says on the pack – they will fester for hundreds of years. Some claim to be biodegradable – but that requires oxygen, and there’s not much of that under the ground. |
| The words “cloth nappy” conjure visions of terry squares and oversized pins. But today’s nappy systems offer an assortment of washable and reusable options, made from materials such as bamboo and hemp. There are also “nappy libraries”, which save you the initial outlay, and collection services. About 2.7kg of raw materials are used in a full-time set of reusable nappies, as opposed to 120kg if a child is in disposables. To explore the options, go to Go Real. | The words “cloth nappy” conjure visions of terry squares and oversized pins. But today’s nappy systems offer an assortment of washable and reusable options, made from materials such as bamboo and hemp. There are also “nappy libraries”, which save you the initial outlay, and collection services. About 2.7kg of raw materials are used in a full-time set of reusable nappies, as opposed to 120kg if a child is in disposables. To explore the options, go to Go Real. |
| • Lucy Siegle is the Observer’s ethical living columnist | • Lucy Siegle is the Observer’s ethical living columnist |
| Plastics | Plastics |
| Opinion | Opinion |
| History of science | History of science |
| Parents and parenting | Parents and parenting |
| Waste | Waste |
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