I know this may seem a little late to some but I wanted to take the time to talk about my new years resolutions.
I am worried and horrified by the amount of 'stuff' we send to landfill, I can't even begin to get my head around where it must all go, surely there isn't enough space! I think the way in which we just throw away is not only ridiculous but also grossly irresponsible.
I have always been aware of this and keen to do my bit but this year I have decided to take it a step further...
Sustenance on the run
Everyday we buy, use and throw away thousands of takeaway cups and plastic bottles. It is all too easy though to buy a new bottle of water or sugary drink when dashing around on a busy day, equally so with takeaway hot drinks. I have always tried to be a bit conscious and have several reusable cups and bottles.The problem hasn't generally sourcing a reusable bottle or cup or even using it really, the problem I've had in the past is the bit that follows using my cup/bottle i.e. taking it into the house to wash and remembering to put it back in the car.
Resolution No.1 - No takeaway cups or bottles of drink.
Plastic bags
This has become slightly less of an issue since the 5p bag charge, however remembering to carry bags around is something I haven't entirely mastered yet. That said I am determined not to buy a bag unless it is seriously unavoidable.
Resolution No.2 - No takeaway, disposable plastic bags.
Plastics in beauty products - Microbeads
Firstly I'm not entirely sure why this is necessary - do we really need to fill the ocean with tiny pods of plastic? I'm really not sure what they add to a beauty/household product. By beauty products I'm talking about shower gels/washes and body scrubs. If you want more of a 'scrubby' product surely grains of sand will suffice. Do we really need to add more plastic to the natural environment?
Resolutions No.3 - No beauty/household products containing microbeads.
Women's stuff - Sanitary wear - contains discussion about menstruation and sanitary products.
So it occurred to me that actually thousands of female sanitary products are sent to landfill everyday. I did some research and found various facts about how many periods a woman has in her lifetime - around 350 according to one website (divided by 12 gives a figure of 29.67 years) another website gave a figure of 40 years of menstruation which = 480 periods - theses are quite different figures. So I did a bit of calculating, these are purely averages: at say an average of 20 pads per month that comes out as between 7,000 and 9,600 sanitary towels (or tampons) per woman in her lifetime. That's a lot of landfill!!!
I know the nappy debate has been going for a few years disposable v reusable terry towels. So I began looking for more Eco-friendly sanitary options. I came across a couple of options.
Washable/Reusable - Essential a terry towel option with washable sanitary towels - however I didn't think my family would cope with this option. If I had been living by myself I may have given this a go, but whilst living with my family I didn't feel this was a practical option.
Menstrual Cups - There are a number of brands on the market, they come in various sizes, colours, differing shapes, made with different silicone products etc. This alone made it quite a daunting area to research - however I came across a wonderful video on YouTube by the fabulous Bryony on her channel Precious Star Pads. She explains the different types of cups available and how to choose the best one for you. I was amazed at the knowledge and confidence she shows, if only I could have been confident enough to talk about being a woman at her age.
Anyways - long story short I decided that being able to use one of these would not only save lots of disposable products going to landfill but also prove more cost effective. A menstrual cup costs any where between £10 and £30 and they last for years. I've decided to give it a go and see if I can get alone with it, if I can't get along with it I'm no further back than not trying at all.
Resolution No.4 - To explore more environmentally friendly, reusable products and try to limit the amount of disposable products I send to landfill.
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