Recent Comments

1. Stop Taking Plastic Bags From Shops - 30 Jun 2006

   I’ve also got into the habit of not automatically reaching for a plastic bag to stick my fruit/veg in. Most fruit and veg doesn’t really need to be bagged (apart from things like grapes) and I’ve only ever had one negative comment at the checkout. I started this least year when I realised I was still bringing home a lot of plastic bags even though I don’t take the shop’s plastic carriers. I remember that when my Mum went shopping the greengrocer just used to weigh things and pour it all straight into a shopping bag just kept for veg and fruit and we sorted it into the rack at home. It was only fragile things like peaches and soft fruits that got wrapped, in brown bags.

   An earlier poster commented that they do this better in Germany and I’d second this. Some supermarket chains have recycling bins just after the checkouts where you can leave unwanted packaging material, you can even sort it into paper & plastic. Maybe we should organise a campaign to get supermarkets here to do the same.

2. Shower More, Bath Less - 30 Jun 2006

   As an experiment, I’ve recently been keeping the plug in so I can scoop the water out and use it on our house/balcony plants. Nothing’s died yet and it shows you can recycle grey water even in a flat. When we move, I’m going to look into diverting it into a water butt.

3. Switch it off at the Plug. (Don't Stand By.) - 30 Jun 2006

   This was easy for me, as I’d never got into the habit of leaving things on stand-by. I know some people are strongly in favour of not switching things off at the plug, but I’ve yet to see convincing evidence that modern electrical equipment is damaged by powering up when it’s switched back on.