The Greening of Gavin

TGoG Podcast 094 – Local Food Equals Less Waste

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Local food equals less wasteWhen you grow your own food you are less inclined to waste it.  This is the basis of this weeks episode.  My belief is that organically grown local food equals less waste.

I talk about our failed 100 mile diet and how hard it was to stick to it, and the realisation I came to that most of our food is grown with the assistance of fossil fuels.  In the second half of the show, I give tips about how to prevent food waste.

I believe that growing your own food is one of the most radical acts that you can achieve in your own home.  You break that dependence on the industrial food system and become that little bit closer to be able to look after yourself.  Especially that most of our food is grown using oil.

Did you know that for every 1 calorie of food grown, it takes 10 calories of oil to grow it?  That is unsustainable considering that fossil fuels are a finite resource.  Something to think about when you tuck into your next meal.

It you liked the show, please click-through to iTunes using the button below the player, and leave a comment and a rating.  It helps push the show up the iTunes charts where it will reach others who may be thinking of beginning their own simple/sustainable journey.  Every little bit helps.

Also, if you have any questions or observations that you are burning to share, please leave a comment below.  I answer as many as I can and would love to hear from you.

Next week we have our Christmas Special where Kim and I share what we achieved this year, including the highs and lows.  I don’t know if we will be singing this year, but you never know.  I might even belt out a verse or two of a White Christmas, that old Bing favourite that gets a hammering around here at this time of year!

How to Move Away From Plastic

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Plastic is everywhere.

Just take a second to look around you and I bet you spot at least 10 objects that have plastic on or in them.  Case in point, I am typing this blog post on a plastic computer keyboard, pointing with my plastic mouse, and editing the words with my plastic computer monitor.

It is everywhere and that is not a particularly good thing.  There are many types of plastic, usually numbered from 1 to 7 to indicate the composition of the item made from it.

Plastic Recycling Codes

Plastic codes and common uses

Many petroleum-based plastics take many, many years to break down in the environment around them.  In truth, they don’t really break down, they just shatter into smaller pieces and persist in our soils, waterways, and oceans and killing wildlife when they ingest these pieces.  Compostable plastics are now entering the marketplace, but still in very low volumes.  These are usually made from plant starches and breakdown over a few years.

There are so many simple ways to make the move away from plastic easier.  Refusing to buy food in plastic containers is one of the easiest I can think of, which also includes disposable coffee cups; even the paper ones that are lined with plastic.  Ironically, I use a KeepCup.  Although it is made from plastic, it is better than using disposables, and can be used over and over and recycled at the end of its life.

Plastic shopping bags are easy to refuse.  Take along your own canvas or market bags to the shop.  We always have a bundle of canvas bags in the boot of our car for such a purpose.  If you do get given a plastic shopping bag, you can recycle them at our major supermarkets as well as other soft plastics.

If you do get stuck without an alternative to plastic, make sure you recycle the item.  So much recyclable plastic gets thrown into landfill.  Recycled plastic can be turned into things like ceiling insulation, park benches, thermal filler in jackets, and all sorts of useful things.  Curbside recycling is available in most suburbs in most cities in Australia, so there is no real reason not to recycle these items.  There are now even many recycling bins on our city streets.

By taking small steps to move away from plastic is an easy way to start, and poses less of an impact on the environment.  All I ask is take the time to think about the plastic you use in your daily lives, then consider an alternative solution.

Now as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so during my research for this post, I came across the infographic below.  Even though it has stats for the United States, much of it is similar for Australia and other western countries.  From what I can tell, the volumes are way higher than here in Oz, but the percentages are similar.   Check it out.  Some of the information will astound you!

Click to Enlarge Image

Put Down The Plastic

Put Down The Plastic
Infographic by CustomMade

KeepCup Revisited

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It has been a long time since I first wrote about KeepCups.  Way too long.

Back in November 2009, I wrote about this wonderful reusable coffee cup in the post titled My Coffee Guilt is Nearly Over.  I was waxing lyrically about my guilt of using disposable coffee cups and the way I got around it by taking my own to work every day.

Fast forward to today, and I am sad to say that my first KeepCup bit the dust after five years of week day use.  If I calculate correctly, I used that cup 1,320 times during its lifetime!

That is a lot of coffee, and it saved a lot of disposable cups from landfill, which is where the disposable ones  inevitably end up.  Just imagine if everyone used a reusable coffee cup, how much landfill we could avoid and resources we could save?

Here are a few fast facts about KeepCups and disposable coffee cups in general;

  • There is enough plastic in 20 disposable cups and lids to make a small KeepCup.
  • Over a year, use of a KeepCup reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 92% compared to disposable cups.
  • Most disposable cups are lined with polyethylene which makes them non recyclable.
  • Every minute over one million disposable cups are discarded to landfill.

Fascinating hey?

Once the lid split and the cup cracked, I placed it into the recycling bin so that it could live as something else.

So impressed was I with my old faithful, that replace it, I did.  We bought one each, and for visitors when we go on trips.

KeepCup

They certainly have change in funkyness since I first bought my original plain white cup.  The company is even making a glass cup with a cork band for a limited time only.  Check out the KeepCup site for details.  By the way, I am in no way affiliated with the company.  I just like their product.

Anyway, I am very happy that Kim bought me a replacement.  I dare it will last at least another five and a half years of solid use.

Oh, and I still get a 30 cent discount when I use it for my morning flat white at the Melton Railway Station Kiosk!  A big thanks goes out to Kate for supporting reusable KeepCups in her kiosk.

Who has one of these?  Do you use it often and do you like it?