horrors lurking under your sink

KITCHEN cleaning products such as washingup liquid, floor cleaner, bleach and polish can really add to your plastic inventory. But you can easily cut your plastic impact here by making a few simple changes...

SUPERSIZE YOUR SPRAYS AND BOTTLES

Buy cleaning products in bulk in the largest sizes you possibly can and decant them into your existing plastic containers.

Every time you refill a bottle you’re saving plastic and transforming your original container from single-use to multi-use.

For instance, you can keep 5l of washing-up liquid in your garden shed and slowly decant it into one plastic 500ml squeezy container.

By reusing the same small container you save eight bottles. Double or even triple that impact if your small bottle lasts long enough.

Ecover, the world’s largest producer of ecological detergents, allows customers to refill their household cleaners and washing-up liquids at many natural food stores across the country (see ecover.com). But it’s not the only eco range. Method offers refillable, eco-friendly products (methodproducts.co.uk).

Or give splosh.com a go. It delivers cleaning product refills in special pouches which you can send back to be refilled, creating zero waste. Alternatively, at refillable-packaging.

co.uk you can buy sachets of highly concentrated cleaning fluids that you drop into your existing bottles and dilute with water, for £1 per 750ml equivalent.

Try You kitchen, bathroom, or window cleaner (£2.99, ocado.com), which you can buy pod cleaner refills for, costing £1.99. Dilute the refills with 500ml water and reuse your original You spray bottle.

SWITCH YOUR SPONGE FOR AN E-CLOTH

STOP using single-use cloths or synthetic sponges. Go as natural as possible by using simple cotton cloths (cut up old sheets or clothing works fine) which can be cleaned in the washing machine and bleached if necessary. Super-absorbant chemical-free e-cloths are available at most supermarkets for around £3 for two.

DITCH DISHWASHER TABLETS

THE ultimate in dishwasher convenience is the individually wrapped tablet of detergent.

Break your plastic habit by switching to unwrapped tablets (where the detergent is in a self-dissolving rather than plastic casing) such as Finish All-In-1 Max tablets (£8 for 31, ocado.com).

These pods are made from a non-toxic synthetic polymer that dissolves in water, breaking down into carbon dioxide and water. It’s better if you can find a brand which comes in a cardboard box rather than a large plastic pouch or container, or ideally go back to using plain old dishwasher powder instead.

Look for brands, such as Sainsbury’s dishwasher powder (£3 for 1kg, sainsburys.co.uk) which come in a box rather than a plastic bottle.

In fact, a good general rule when it comes to cleaning detergent is that solids tend to be more readily available in plasticfree packaging than liquids. Liquids, unlike powdered solids, cannot be packaged in compostable materials like paper.

When doing your laundry, buy the biggest cardboard box of simple washing powder you can find — no plastic necessary. And remember: you remove the need for fabric conditioner if you use a two-in-one brand.

Adapted by Louise Atkinson from Life Without plastic: the practical Step-By-Step Guide to Avoiding plastic to Keep Your Family And the planet Healthy by Chantal plamondon and Jay Sinha, published by page Street publishing at £13.99 © Chantal plamondon and Jay Sinha 2018.