Southampton Sustainability Forum

Christine Jeavens set herself the goal of living one month without buying any new plastic. Over the month of August she had to find alternatives to various products such as plastic bags, packaged food, nappies, toothbrushes, and deodorant. Her efforts saw a reduction in 80% of the amount of plastic waste she emitted.

The goal was not to discourage the use of plastic, but rather reduce the emission of plastic waste to as close to zero as possible. Although many plastics claim to be recyclable, the UK’s waste management infrastructure is not yet prepared to sort and process the many different types of plastic waste we produce.

Christine’s blog features various challenges and problems she encountered whilst trying to cut down the amount of plastic waste she produced. It contains many interesting tips, solutions and alternative products for those who wish to avoid using plastic.

Using plastic bags can be avoided at the supermarket by buying loose fruit and veg and of course bringing reusable shopping bags. Visits to local butchers for meat and curry houses with reusable containers also avoided further plastic packaging that would otherwise go straight to the bin.

Many products can actually be homemade. Bread is surprisingly easy to make, even more so with a bread maker. Homemade shampoo and conditioner (using bicarbonate soda for shampoo and a vinegar rinse for conditioner) has also encountered considerable success – not only does it avoid the use of haircare bottles but avoids exposure to potentially toxic chemicals often contained in such products.

On the other hand, Christine found that it was best to steer clear of homemade toothpaste recipes, and was not convinced by wooden toothbrushes.

Some small investments can help avoid plastic waste as well as cut significant costs. The purchase of a stainless steel water bottle refilled with tap water avoided having to buy plastic water bottles and avoided significant amounts of waste. Similiarly, menstrual cups or re-useable pads also save costs and drastically reduce plastic waste.

Christine reports her biggest challenge was using real nappies. She had to co-ordinate the laundry so that there is a constant supply – this can be tricky and sometimes she had to resort to disposable nappies for her toddler son. This composed most of the 116 items of plastic waste she had at the end of the month – compared with over 800 before starting the challenge.

Her blog Not My Bag explains the day-to-day challenges of living with minimum plastic usage.

The world’s leading cork maker has launched a campaign against the increasing use of screw caps and plastic stoppers in wine bottles, which it says is a threat to Portugal’s forests of cork oaks.

Portugal’s company Amorim Corticeira argues that using only cork stoppers would ensure the survival of the forests and sustain their unique ecosystems, home to several endangered animal species such as the Iberian lynx.

Portugal is the world’s largest cork producer. Amorim does not grow the trees itself but buys cork from producers.

Cork oaks are not cut down but their bark is harvested every nine years in a tree’s lifespan.

The campaign (www.savemiguel.com> followed a study by the WWF in June urging Portugal to expand its cork forests to prevent growing desertification caused by global warming.

The proportion of cork stoppers in wine bottles had fallen to 70 percent from 90 percent in 12 years.
It is important to sustain demand for cork to maintain the largest natural forest in Western Europe and therefore getting back to the 90-to-95-percent mark is unlikely because of stiff competition, particularly from screw caps.

Amorim’s campaign is aimed at all ages but particularly young users of popular websites such as Facebook and YouTube. It also blends pro-environment and sustainability ideas with the humour of American comedian Rob Schneider, the star of “The Animal” and “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo. In the campaign video, Schneider travels to Portugal on a mission to “save Miguel” -a cork oak tree in the heart of the cork-growing region.

Things you didn’t know:

• Harvesting cork bark assists in the absorption of CO2 a greenhouse gas that causes climate change.

• Harvested cork trees absorb 3-5 times more CO2 than non-harvested tree’s. Cork trees in Portugal alone help offset 4.8 million tons of carbon every year.

• Cork stoppers are made from the bark of a cork oak tree, not the tree itself. Bark is harvested from the tree every 9-12 years. Each time cork is harvested, cork bark regenerates itself (and in doing so absorbs CO2).

• Cork trees live between 100 and 300 years.

GO GREEN BAG COMPETITION – NOW CLOSED

(the group hope to run the competition in 2009)

MAke Your Very Own Bag Out Of Re-Used And Recycled Materials!

Open March 5th to May 12th 2008

We are asking schools, colleges and young peoples groups in Southampton to take part in this exciting competition. Go Green Bag is a project for children & young people aged between 3 and 20 years old.

Go Green Bag aims to raise awareness of the pollution caused by plastic bags and help us reduce our dependence on plastic bags. There are prizes to be won and if you are one of our winners your bag will be displayed in an exhibition open to the public and invited to a prize giving ceremony in the grand Mayor’s Parlour!

Taking part!

1. Register to take part, click here. Leaving your contact details, name of your school, college or young persons group.
2. Read through the Information pack below.
3. Begin to make your bag using re-used/recycled materials and then decorate it as you wish! You can make the bag out of anything you can find even old shirts! We would like to encourage re-use and recycling and ask that you don’t buy any new materials where possible.
4. Send your entry to: SSF, 14-15 Brunswick Place, Southampton, SO15 2AQ including your name, age, name of your school, college or young persons group.

All the best and good luck!

INFORMATION PACK

• Letter for schools, click here.
• Letter for colleges, click here.
• Letter for young people’s groups, click here.

• Rules for the competition, click here.
• Example bag template, click here.
• Poster, click here.
• Interesting facts & useful websites, click here.
• Dates & Deadlines: Entries in by the 12th May 2008 please.

‘Go Green Bag’ in association with, Southampton City Council, Vandanamu, Southampton University Students Union, The Co-operative, Karma Bags, Refuse…Start the Revolution & SSF.