5 easy eco swaps
As we all strive to be greener, guilty habits are hard to break. Shamed into action, Lindsay Calder tries to mend her ways
Get greener with simple changes
During a windy night, my recycling bin tipped over, emptying its contents on to the street. As I cleared it up, a woman jogged past. She looked and frowned. A Greta Thunberg frown. It wasn’t the wine bottles that were shameful (though there were a few), it was plastic water bottles – lots of them. I like to think I’m an ardent recycler (I check recycling codes and soak fish tins), but I’ve been in denial about two un-green vices: bottled water and plastic coffee pods. ‘Pellets used to make plastic products leak into rivers and end up in fish and otters,’ says Greenpeace adviser and campaigner against ocean plastic Sam Chetan-welsh. I realised it’s time to change. Here are my easy eco swaps…
1 THE BOTTLED HAND SOAP SWAP
Ditch plastic dispensers for eco refills. I only buy liquid hand soap (it’s more hygienic and there’s less sink mess), but the bottles are usually plastic. Wearth sells ‘zero waste’ homewares, including a 10-litre box of liquid hand soap, so you can fill your own dispenser. The box is cardboard with a recyclable inner liner. The soap (fig leaf or unscented) is £39, which may sound like a lot but it works out at around £2 for 500ml which is about the same as highstreet brands
– and delivery is free. wearth london.com
2 THE FACIAL WIPES SWAP
Ditch throwaway packets for washable pads.
Most packets of face wipes are non-recyclable and end up in landfill. Cheeky Wipes pads, which are made of bamboo towelling, can be washed and reused. I tried them with the coconut cleanser and was impressed by the thorough clean, which left my skin feeling smooth. 10 pads, £9.95; coconut oil, £2.95, both cheekywipes.com
3 THE FIZZY WATER SWAP
Ditch plastic bottles for home carbonators.
One Sodastream bottle saves up to 3,000 plastic bottles from being used each year, according to the company. It’s relatively quick to make fizzy water and each machine comes with a refillable CO2 cylinder, which makes up to 60 litres. After returning an empty cylinder at a Collectplus store, you can get £10 off the £22.99 replacement.
It’s an expensive initial outlay, but if I persevere, it will cut my fizz bills by half. Sodastream Spirit Classic
Gold Edition Starter Pack (with bottle and cylinder), £109.99, sodastream.co.uk. The Aarke Carbonator II (the Swedish take on the Sodastream) has a minimalist Scandi look and is compatible with the same gas cylinder. It’s sturdy, simple to use and easily wins the carbonator beauty contest. The pack includes a bottle, but not a cylinder.
From £154.76, Amazon
4 THE CLINGFILM SWAP
Ditch plastic wrap and storage bags for Bee’s Wrap. Clingfilm, introduced in the 1950s, is not recyclable. These natural alternatives are made from organic cotton, beeswax, jojoba oil and tree resin. They are hand-washable, last up to a year, then can be composted in your garden waste. It’s expensive if you have lots to wrap, but three pieces may be enough to avoid using clingfilm. Pack of three in assorted sizes, £19.99, lakeland.co.uk
5 THE COFFEE SWAP
Ditch plastic pods for compostable pods.
With three types of compostable pods, including the organic Ethiopian and Colombian blend, these are made from corn starch, so may go in your food waste caddy (check with your local authority). They take 90 days to break down through industrial composting, but can’t be placed in garden waste. Indian Monsoon, box of 10, £2.90, dualit.com. The Dualit Ecopress Aluminium Capsule Recycler is a neat device that extracts coffee from used aluminium pods, so you can spread the grains on flowerbeds and put the empty capsules in the recycling bin. I loved this device – you simply pop a pod in, press down and it turns the pod inside out, emptying the coffee into a pot underneath. It’s compatible with all aluminium coffee pods, too.
£12.49, dualit.com