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The plastic we don’t see
Behind the scenes We’re now over a week into Plastic Free July. Whether this is your first time taking up the challenge, or you’ve participated in a Plastic Free challenge several times, you’ll know it’s definitely not easy! During the first challenge your eyes may be opened to just how much plastic is used to package products. There may be items you hadn’t considered before to be a problem, thinking it’s okay because at least those items are being recycled. Once you get further into the challenge and dig a little deeper into the issues surrounding plastic pollution, you’ll soon realise that recycling plastic is just putting a band-aid on the problem. We cannot recycle our way out of the plastic pollution problem. For most experienced challengers, Plastic Free July becomes a month where you try harder to reduce. You’re at a stage where your eyes have been opened and your consciousness has been awakened — there’s no turning back now! When you’ve reached this stage it’s likely you already have a list of the best places to shop where you can avoid plastic, and regularly visit those stores that’ll go out of their way to help you along the journey. And here’s where it gets interesting! A personal experience I recently visited my local bakery, a place where I purchase my weekly loaf of bread. I shop here because I know my bread will be placed in a paper bag (a bag which is then used in the kitchen to collect any waste that can’t be composted). They’ll even happily place my loaf of bread into your reusable bag if requested. I also occasionally like to grab a pie or spinach roll when I’m wanting a quick snack. These are also placed into paper bags. None of these products are served in single use bags so checks all the plastic free boxes, right? Out of sight, out of mind The saying out of sight, out of mind couldn’t describe more clearly what I was soon to learn. On this trip to the bakery I decided to grab a quick pie. Unfortunately, there were no veggies pies left. Sensing my disappointment, the wonderful shop keeper offered to provide me with a cold pie that I could heat up at home. Perfect I thought, that works for me. It wasn’t until I got into the car to look at my cold pie that the disappointment set in — the pie was wrapped in plastic! And there it was, after all these years of getting that quick snack at the bakery because I thought I was avoiding single use plastic — I’d actually been buying pies and veggie rolls that were wrapped in single use plastic! Lessons learned While I won’t stop shopping at my favourite bakery for a loaf of bread, I will have to skip the pies and rolls from now on. I don’t think the bakery are out to trick anyone into thinking their products are plastic free. It was just my assumption that the products were actually baked in-house. In the future I’ll be sure to check if the products I’m purchasing at bakeries and coffee shops are made in-house or if they are delivered pre-packaged. By doing this I’ll lessen my disappointment, it’ll create awareness with the store that people won’t buy if it’s packaged in plastic and I’ll feel better knowing that I’m not contributing to growing problem of single use plastic! Have you encountered any unexpected plastic during your plastic free journey? I love to hear about it . . . share your story below.
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5 Ways to Compost: Living in Small Spaces
Composting is a great way to reduce household waste, and it’s one of the first things we recommend to those getting started on their plastic free journey. Why start with composting? Because watching things breakdown and turn back into soil is not only fun but fascinating! When you start composting you quickly learn what does and doesn’t break down, and what items disappear back to nature quicker than others. Some of these items will be obvious, however some may surprise you — like when a skeleton of a tea bag is left behind in a worm farm. Why didn’t the worms eat the whole thing? One word. Plastic. By reducing the amount of waste you send to landfill every week, you'll be reducing greenhouse gas emissions. When organic material breaks down in an anaerobic landfill environment, methane gas is generated. In contrast the by-product of aerobic composting is carbon dioxide, which is not only less harmful to the atmosphere, it also helps to regenerate soil with healthy nutrients and reduces landfill costs. It’s a win-win. You’ll be helping regenerate the earth’s soil, plus those taxes you pay to council every year can go to a better use than garbage collection and landfill! What is the best way to compost? When people first begin their composting journey, they have so many questions. What’s the best composting system? How do I collect scraps? What can I add to compost? Do I need a lot of room? As many questions as there are surrounding composting, there are an equal amount of answers. Often the answer is “it depends”. Composting is very simple. Instead of asking “What’s the best way to compost?” the question should be “What’s the best composting method for where I live?” The truth is — there is always a way, it’s a matter of what’s going to work best for where you live and what’s going to fit best into your lifestyle. In this blog post we’ll look at the options available for those who are a little more restricted with their options: apartment living, no yard space or small outdoor areas. COMPOSTING USING A WORM FARM One of the best ways to compost when you have limited space is to use a worm compost, sometimes known as a worm farm. Worm farms are comprised of three tiered trays. Worms begin on the top tray working their way through the organic waste. They move down into the second tray where they rest, digest and poo. When the second tray is full of castings (worm poo) the trays are rotated. Once a worm farm is established the resulting compost from the bottom tray is removed and the tray is placed into the top position where the waste is placed. The first tray is moved down one row and the second tray, containing mostly castings will be moved to the bottom tray. The worms will make their way back up to the top and middle trays to eat rest and repeat. Once established the worm farm is on continual rotation. Bottom tray is where you collect your compost and top tray is where you add your food scraps. There is also a drip tray or tap at the bottom where you collect any excess liquid. The excess liquid can be safely discarded down your kitchen drain. Worm trays are relatively low maintenance and are great to use with kids — they are educational and the kids will love being “worm farmers.” Worm farms are not the most suitable method to use in hot, tropical climates. “Worms can eat their own weight in food every day! What can you place in your worm farm? Fruit & vegie scraps Bread & cheese Cooked vegetables, grains, pasta & rice – basically all vegetarian foods Coffee grounds & tea leaves (note most tea bags contain plastic, check first before adding). Egg shells — a great source of calcium, a mineral which worms require in their diet to stay healthy. (Finely crush prior to adding) Newspaper & thin unprinted cardboard – no glossy printed pages What items don’t work well in worm farms? Fish, meat, bones and meat-based sauces Large seeds (eg. avocado seeds) Citrus fruits, onions, garlic, and chili (acceptable in small amounts) Dairy, oils, or grease Dog or cat faeces (can be placed in dedicated pet waste only worm farms). Worm Farm pros: Fun and educational — great for teaching young children how to compost (they’ll also love handling the worms, so you don’t have to!) Worm farms are relatively maintenance free and fit well in small spaces. Worm farms produce beautiful nutrient rich soil that can easily be placed in potted plants or outside in existing garden beds. Know someone that loves to garden? Gift them some worm compost. Worm Farm cons: You’re limited to the amount of food your worms can eat. If you produce a lot of organic food waste your worms may not be able to keep up with consumption. In order to capture the compost you will may need to get dirty and touch some worms! Worm farms often attract fruit flies. Worms are mostly low maintenance and can survive on scraps left in the bin for several weeks. However, if leaving the home for lengthy periods of time you will need to ensure your leachate container (drip tray) is large enough to collect all liquids during this time. Not doing so will result in unpleasant smelling spillage on your kitchen floor! VERICOMPOSTING WITH SUBPOD Subpod is a three-in-one compost system: worm farm, garden seat, compost maker. Subpod works in tandem with nature, using worms and microbes to compost organic waste. It’s odour, vermin, mess and largely maintenance free! This brilliant Aussie composting invention is now being used in over 20,000 homes across the globe. Although it’s similar in function to a worm composting system, Subpod has the ability to process larger amounts of food waste and contains very little maintenance. “Subpod is a vermicomposting system – worms and microbes break down food waste and scraps and turn it into rich organic fertiliser. Unlike worm farms, once established you can add a variety of food waste to the system such as dairy and meats. Subpods can also be used in both hot and cold climates. As the system is buried into the soil, the worms are sheltered underground. For urban dwellers that have limited outdoor green space, this is a perfect system. Subpod is partly buried in the ground (typically in a raised garden bed). The lid of the composting system keeps vermin out — plus it can be used for seating. The buried section of the Supbod contains small holes in which the worms can move in and out of freely. What if you don’t have an outdoor garden space? If you have a small concrete patio area, you can construct a raised garden area on top of concrete. Subpod have a video showing exactly how to set-up your compost for this type of situation. The sleek design, ease of use and low maintenance required makes this a very attractive method of composting. What can you place in a Subpod? Once a Subpod is established you can place any compostable items into the system. Fruit and veggie scraps Fish, meat and bones Coffee grounds, tea leaves and crushed eggshells Spoiled plant-based milks Paper (non-glossy) and cardboard (ink free) Cooked grains, pasta & rice Meat and plant based sauces Coffee grounds & tea leaves (and plastic free tea bags) Paper and cardboard Natural fibres such as cotton wool balls, toilet paper cores Citrus fruits, onions, garlic, and chilli (acceptable in small amounts) Dairy, oils, or grease Dog or cat faeces (can be placed in dedicated pet waste only Subpod systems). What can’t you compost in a Subpod? Like all compost systems you cannot place non-organic materials into a Subpod. These include any form of plastic including plastic clothing, cigarettes, building waste, toxic waste, glass, or silicone. Subpod pros: Sleek design, easy to set up, great for small outdoor spaces Top of lid doubles as a seat Relatively maintenance free Once system is up and running you can add meats, oils and dairy and anything plant based Can be placed on an outdoor patio area No need to handle worms Can be used in hot and cold climates Can process large amounts of food waste Subpod cons: Not suitable for indoors Requires sufficient space and a raised garden bed to rest in. Requires purchase regular of worm mat (although alternative options may be used). BOKASHI COMPOSTING I’ll let you in on a little secret — Bokashi Composting is my preferred method of composting. Why? I call it the lazy gardeners composting method. The process requires very little work. Collect scraps, dig hole, bury waste, wash out bucket — repeat. That’s literally all that’s involved in Bokashi composting. While this is the perfect scenario for someone that likes low fuss composting, it does have its downsides. Because Bokashi composting requires digging a large hole in which to bury the waste it may not be ideal for people living in apartment buildings. There are however ways around this. Firstly, you can seek out friends, neighbours or community gardens in your neighbourhood that will allow you to add the Bokashi waste into their dirt. And secondly you can add your Bokashi waste and dirt to a large Rubbermaid container and allow it to compost inside that container (see details below). NOTE: The Bokashi bucket gets heavy when full, you’ll also need a hose nearby to rinse out the Bokashi bin as soon as possible! If carrying a large bucket to your intended burial destination is not your ideal way to compost, there is another way. Once the Bokashi bucket is full you can add the waste to a large Rubbermaid bucket half full of dirt. The waste materials get mixed in with the dirt and the lid goes on the Rubbermaid. Once the waste has turned to nutrient rich soil, half of the composted soil can be removed and placed into an outdoor garden space. Or perhaps you could make a little money on the side and sell your soil! Bokashi pros: Very low maintenance, Bokaski is basically a dedicated food waste bin Does not require a lot of room (bucket is size of small garbage bin) No restrictions to what can be placed in the bucket — both plant based and animal products acceptable Can add oils to fermented composting materials before burying No need to handle worms or to tend to compost Airtight lid, starving fly larvae of oxygen — no surprise maggots in the home! Dedicated pet waste Bokashi composting systems available Bokashi cons: Requires using a liquid spray or wheat bran mix that’s packaged in plastic. (You can also purchase Bokashi mix in a compostable hessian bag). Requires storage in well ventilated or outdoor area as bucket can give off an acidic, fermenting odour when opened. Bokashi is a pre-composting/fermentation stage. The food waste does not “compost” in the bucket. The waste needs to be placed it in soil where the composting takes place. Requires two buckets, one for extending fermentation process, other for initial waste collection. KITCHEN COMPOSTING CADDY One common question when starting to compost is: what should I store my food waste in? You can put your food scraps into any container — used ice cream bucket, mixing bowl, or a kitchen caddy, however the easiest and most stylish way to collect your food scraps is by using a metal composting bucket. Continue adding your food scraps to the bucket during the week, once full place the contents into your Subpod or Bokashi Bin. Composting buckets are not needed when using a worm farm as the food scraps can be placed directly into the farm. Additional options: Used plastic yoghurt container or anything with a tight fitting lid. Store your bucket in the fridge or freeze scraps (this will help them break down faster) SHAREWASTE.COM If you’re not interested in creating compost at home but want to reduce your waste and understand the importance of composting — then ShareWaste may be just what you’re looking for. ShareWaste.com is a website that aims to give your waste a second chance! The website has a map marked with locations across Australia that will accept your food scraps. It is for both those that would like to accept food scraps and those that would like to donate their scraps to willing participants. Simply search the map, find a location in your area, and register online. Once registered you’ll be provided with the host details and drop off location. Simply drop off your waste and your host will deal with the rest! Other options: Ask around your neighbourhood to see if anyone has a compost area they are happy to share Take your food scraps to your local community garden. They are everywhere —just search “community garden” in Google Maps. LOMI — ELECTRIC HOME COMPOSTING The final option on our small spaces, home composting list is probably the most simple and suitable system for small spaces. But it comes at a price — and it’s not yet available on the market. Lomi is a compost system that sits on your countertop. You add the food scraps (and home compostable bioplastics) click the button and wait for your compost to process. The Lomi composting system is the invention of Canadian company who created Pela — the world’s first compostable plastic phone case. Lomi pros: No actual composting required. Does not require a lot of room, can sit neatly on a kitchen counter. Can add home compostable plastic Lomi is a zero-waste system, should your Lomi break you can send it back to be recycled. Lomi cons: Not yet available, will cost almost $600 with shipping to Australia. Requires electricity. Restricted to what can be placed in the system (paper, cardboard products and bamboo not acceptable however small bones from chicken and fish are). Very small, would not be able to process large amounts of food waste. Requires frequent (daily or twice-weekly) cycles. Can take up to 20 hours to create compost. Not suitable for pet waste. WHAT’S THE BEST COMPOSTING SYSTEM FOR URBAN DWELLERS? As you can see there are many ways you can compost in small spaces — far too many to list in this blog post alone but the best method of composting is the one that suits your lifestyle. Worm farm: The perfect starter system for any composter. While you will be slightly restricted to what you can place in your system, they are small, relatively low maintenance and can process a good amount of scraps for a small family. Low cost to get started (under $200), no additional sprays or compost mixes required. Recommended for apartment living. Subpod: If you have a small garden area, or an outdoor patio area a Subpod is probably your best option. Subpod may be a little more on the expensive side for the initial purchase (up to $450 for full set-up), however you won’t need any additional supplies, and you won’t be restricted to what can be placed in the Subpod system. Bokashi: A simple and effective method of composting. Bokashi itself is not really composting but rather “food fermenting”. Once your food is ready to go in the ground it gets buried where the food breaks down and composts — there's nothing else to it! It’s low cost for the initial purchase ($190 for two buckets and two bag mixes), however you will be required to purchase new mix every few months which can cost up to $20 a bag. Lomi: Lomi system has mixed reviews online. It's definitely not cheap which takes away from the beauty of composting, however if you live in an apartment building or simply don't have the space or time for composting, this type of system would be a fantastic option. 10 things you may not know you can compost! Cotton, wool, hemp or linen fabrics (no polyester, nylon, acrylic or blends). Untreated pet and human hair and nail clippings Human and pet waste (requires specific composting conditions). Latex gloves and condoms! Charcoal and paper ash Masking tape Silk dental floss Wine corks Dryer and vacuum lint (from natural materials only) Sawdust
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5 Ways to Reduce Plastic this Easter
As with most celebrations, Easter is an occasion that generates a lot of waste — and while avoidable much of that waste is single use plastic. Perhaps this Easter we can take the effort to make conscious purchasing decisions to reduce our waste. Below we cover 5 ways ways to help reduce plastic consumption over the Easter long weekend: 1. Conscious Purchases The Easter weekend begins with the shops. Of course there is chocolate to be purchased, and if you’re having guests over for lunch or dinner, there’s lots of food to be purchased. When you hit the shops this long weekend there are a couple of things you can do to skip the single use plastic. When purchasing Easter eggs look for chocolate eggs that aren’t packaged in plastic, instead opt for eggs that are either wrapped only in foil, or seek out larger chocolate eggs where the foil wrapped egg is packaged cardboard (without the plastic). Like any other day of the year when hitting the shops remember to take your reusable bags and avoid products that are packaged in plastic — yes that includes soda that comes in plastic bottles. While they may be recyclable remember — only 9% of plastic actually gets recycled in Australia. 2. Create a Foil Ball Make recycling fun by asking everyone to contribute to the Easter foil ball. Take foil wrapped around Easter eggs and place them in a bowl, as the contents of the bowl grows, start wrapping the larger foil pieces around the smaller chocolate wrappers —scrunch the foil with your hands to create a foil ball. Another suggestion is to place the small foil wrappers inside an aluminium can so the contents and the can be crushed and recycled together. It's best to check with your City Council to confirm that a ball of foil and/or the wrappers inside a can is accepted in your councils recycling facilities. Unlike plastic, aluminium foil can be recycled over and over again. In fact, Australia is the ranked fifth in the world for aluminium recycling, recycling up to 70% of aluminium cans. 3. DIY Decorated Eggs Decorating eggs can be a fun activity to do with the kids, or an easy DIY for decorating the dining room table or kitchen area. We aren’t talking about the chocolate variety of eggs here (though you could do that as well), what we’re talking about is a pretty hard-boiled egg or using an empty egg shell. To make coloured decorative eggs: Boil the eggs, then allow to cool. Make a few different coloured natural food dyes with ingredients such as coffee (brown), turmeric (yellow), dehydrated greens (green) or cabbage (red). Mix the aforementioned products with water, and dip each egg into the colour of your choice. Place eggs back into the cardboard egg carton and allow to dry. For a little extra fun you could also add smiley faces to decorate your coloured eggs 🙂 Not only are these eggs a lovely decoration for the dinner table you can choose to crack them open for dinner, or put them in the fridge to enjoy for lunch the next day. To make herb egg shell hair: Create a clean crack in an egg — (be sure to use the egg yolk and whites in your cooking). Decorate the shells with smiling faces, then addd your favourite herbs to the shells for the egg hair. If you're not wanting to use the herbs for your cooking after they've been on display, be sure to place both the egg shells and the "green hair" into your home compost bin — your garden will be happy you did. 4. DIY Chocolate Treats If you’re vegan or you have vegan guests, hard boiled eggs likely won’t be on the Easter menu or be used for decorations — why not make your own chocolate treats instead? Creating chocolate treats is also a super fun activity to do with the kids. Instead of making an actual egg as a simple easter treat or dessert, dip some fresh strawberries or other fresh fruit in melted chocolate. Either melt down a bar of store bought chocolate, or venture out and make your own vegan chocolate. Be sure to look for fruit that’s not packaged in plastic! 5. Plastic Wrapped Easter Gifts Not everything is within our control. When you’ve gone out of your way to avoid purchasing as much plastic as possible for your Easter weekend, it can be a bit of a downer when someone gifts you a box of chocolates (covered in plastic wrap, with a plastic insert to house the chocolates), or a large chocolate egg packaged in a thick non-recyclable plastic shell. There goes your plastic free weekend. We can choose to get annoyed at the situation, we can choose to accept the gift for what it is, or we can choose to use this as a time to educate others about why you opt to skip the plastic. However, it’s important to remember — there’s a time and place, and you have to pick your battles! Saying no to your neighbours gift and giving them an explanation of why, may not go down as well as if you said no to your sisters Easter egg gift covered in plastic packaging. Whatever you choose to do this Easter weekend, make sure it’s an enjoyable one and do your best to a) not eat too much chocolate and b) reduce your plastic waste where you can — you won’t always succeed at either but you’ll feel better knowing you tried! Have a Happy Easter
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Create Your Own Plastic Free Juice
Eliminate single use plastic in your home — forget buying juice in plastic containers, instead juice your own. Nothing beats a freshly squeezed glass of juice. Juicing Necessities Grab a box of oranges, or bag a dozen or two when you're at the markets or grocery store. If you're not able to grab a box make sure to take your reusable fruit and veggie bags with you, to place the loose oranges in. Fresh juice, particularly orange juice can be juiced by a variety of methods, but if you want to get the most juice out of your bounty, an electric juicer is a must. A juicer is a great investment for the home. They are available at a variety of price ranges. You don't however need to run out and buy the latest greatest model to achieve delicious fresh juice. Take a look online on Facebook shopping pages, at your local Vinnies or Second Hand shop, or seek out a deal on eBay. Fresh squeezed juice can be stored in the fridge in used plastic juice containers. This continues to give them, life rather than tossing them into the recycling bin (remember the key to eliminating household plastic is to reduce and reuse before recycling). Juicing a few dozen oranges should yield you around 3 litres of juice. If you don't get enough juice to fill your juice containers add water to juice. Be sure to give it a bit of a shake before drinking so the liquid is combined. Fresh squeezed juice will last a few days in the fridge — that is if you don't drink it all before the "use by date". Discarding the pulp and orange rinds If you want to go full zero waste, you may want to use up your pulp in cooking. You'll be baking a lot of muffins if you want to use up all the orange pulp as part of the muffin ingredients. You can also add pulp to soup for some additional flavour and texture. Citrus peels can be soaked in vinegar for a few weeks. After soaking remove the peels from the vinegar mixture. To get the most liquid and scent, give them a good squeeze first. Store the orange vinegar in a used spray bottle. The liquid can now be used as wonderful orange scented, natural, all purpose cleaner. My absolute favourite way to enjoy citrus peels in a meal is to dehydrate them. Once dehydrated the peels are then ground into a fine powder. You can add this powder to almost any recipe where you're looking for some extra orange flavoured punch. Add it to salad dressings, it also tastes great in melted chocolate. It's also a fantastic addition to a salt grinder, add rock salt, ground citrus peel and some dried herbs. Also fabulous in smoothies! Although some say you should not add citrus peels to your compost, my understanding is that they don't break down fast enough — or disrupt the pH balance. If you're not a hard core gardener, and are simply composting to reduce waste, then you can always try the Bokashi technique (this works perfectly for me). Place the pulp and rinds at the very bottom of the hole that's been dug for your Bokashi composting. Place the contents of the Bokashi on top and bury with soil. Not interested/don't have time for at home juicing — source out some Noah's Juice. It's packaged in a glass jar with a foil lid.
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Plastic Free January
Starting the year Plastic Free You may have heard of Plastic Free July — an initiative that started in Perth 2001 by the Western Metropolitan Regional Council. The objective: raise awareness around the amount of plastic we use in our day-to-day lives. This small initiative that started in one city in Australia is now a global movement. Another plastic free movement that takes place across the globe at the start of the new year is Plastic Free January. Unlike Plastic Free July, Plastic Free January does not appear to have been started by one single person, and was likely based on the Plastic Free July movement — with the emphasis on promoting a plastic free lifestyle as part of a New Year’s Resolution. While EORTH are big followers of Plastic Free July (we opened our online store plastic free store at the beginning of July 2018 to coincide with the movement), we are equally behind the Plastic Free January, as it's the time of the year when people are ready to make a change! HOW DOES A PLASTIC FREE CHALLENGE WORK? There are no hard and fast rules. Plastic Free months are all about raising awareness of the issues surrounding plastic pollution. The basic premise of the Plastic Free January challenge is: If a product is wrapped in plastic, don’t buy it. If a products packaging is plastic (such as a bottle of water), don't buy it. If you're offered a free product that's wrapped in plastic or the product itself is made from plastic — simply say no thank you. By taking these simple actions, you become more aware of how much plastic has become the norm in our day-to-day life. I'd also like to encourage you to take the challenge one step further by completing two simple steps suggested by Dr. Jenna Jambeck, Environmental Engineering Professor from the University of Georgia. Dr. Jambeck presented the two steps below during a hearing on the Environmental Impacts of Plastic in October 2019.* During the first 24 hours of commencing the Plastic Free January Challenge, take note of everything that you touch that is plastic. By doing this you will see how widely used and useful plastic is, as well, it will allow you to reflect upon where and when are the right times and places to use this material. Go outside on a scavenger hunt for garbage, it's unlikely you will need to go very far! View each item you find as a message for you. Then ask yourself three questions: What is it? How did it get here? What are we going to do about it? WHY IS REDUCING SINGLE USE PLASTIC IMPORTANT? Despite the fact that plastic recycling has been in firmly place since the 80s, it's estimated that only 9% of the plastic produced annually is recycled globally. That's a pretty dismal rate and one that is most certainly not sustainable. According to the reports presented by Dr. Jambeck, 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic had been produced by 2017. Approximately 40% of this plastic was used for packaging and single use items. Only 9% of plastic waste had been recycled globally. Another 12% of the waste was incinerated. Leaving 79% of the waste to end up either in the a landfill or in the open environment. It was estimated that 8 million metric tons of plastic entered the oceans globally in 2010. This quantity would be qual to a dump truck full of plastic entering the ocean every minute. From these statistics it’s clear to see why focusing on reducing single use plastics is important. Just like Plastic Free July, will be blogging about the ways to avoid single use plastic throughout the month of January, along with a bit of information on plastics, what they are, what are the best types to avoid and general information on why we collectively need to move towards a less plastic driven lifestyle. If you’re participating in the Plastic Free January challenge be sure to use the hashtag #plasticfreejan or #earthbeforeplastic on your social media posts. * Please note: Dr. Jameck’s two steps have been modified from her exact phrasing to fit with the Plastic Free January challenge. They are however based on raising awareness of plastic pollution, which is the concept of Plastic Free January.
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DIY Chocolate Bark with Dried Berries
Home-made chocolate ready in less than an hour Cocoa butter — it's an ingredient that you may associate with cooking or more specifically with chocolate. But cocoa butter isn't just used to make chocolate, or your favourite hot chocolate drink — did you know that cocoa butter is also commonly used in natural skin care products? Cocoa butter is a versatile product that's great for not only putting in your body but it's also great for moisturising both the hair and skin! Here at Eorth we use natural cocoa butter in many of our natural Australian beauty free products including our natural lip balms. Although cocoa butter is commonly produced in African nations, cocoa beans are also grown and processed right here in Australia. In fact Far North Queensland is home to one of a few of Australia's organic cocoa plantations. As the festive season draws near, we thought it would be the perfect time to share a simple recipe that contains cocoa butter, which is great for your skin — and your taste buds too! This delicious chocolate treat can be whipped up very quickly, you'll just need to wait for it to cool and harden in the fridge before you can sink your teeth into the natural goodness of this Chocolate Bark. DIY Chocolate Bark using a base of 4 simple ingredients While it's simple enough to head to the store to and grab a bar of chocolate, it's more difficult to find a bar of chocolate that hasn't been packaged in plastic. Even my favourite chocolate manufacturer, that previously sold all their chocolate bars wrapped in foil and cardboard — has now switched to plastic instead of foil. I was pretty disappointed when I discovered this opening the last bar of chocolate I purchased. The next best option. Make chocolate yourself! And it really doesn't take very long. I mention four simple ingredients as a base, because this recipe can be altered to suit your tastes, your dietary requirement or to suit whatever is in your pantry. You could also skip the dried fruit and use just three ingredients as a base. What are the four key base ingredients? Cocoa Butter Cocoa Powder (for a rich dark colour) Local Honey (or preferred sweetener such as Agave Nectar) Dried Fruit — we've used cranberries for a festive look but a locally dried fruit would be even better! This delicious chocolate treat can be whipped up very quickly, you'll just need to wait for it to cool and harden in the fridge before you can sink your teeth into the natural goodness of this Chocolate Bark. Ingredients 250 g Cocoa Butter 100 g Cocoa Powder 100 g Local Honey (or sweetner alternative) 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract 1/4 tsp Australian Pink Sea Salt 1/2 cup Dried Fruit (Cranberries) 1/4 cup Crushed Macadamia Nuts (optional) Instructions Prep Time: 10 mins | Serves 2 Line a baking tray with foil and set aside (if you're in a warm environment you may want to place the tray into the fridge to cool). Add the cocoa butter in a double boiler, continue stirring as it melts. Add Cocoa Powder, Honey Extract and Salt. Whisk until you have a smooth consistency. Pour the chocolate mixture onto the foil lined baking tray, and allow to cool for a few minutes. Sprinkle the dried fruit, nuts or seeds over the chocolate. Transfer the chocolate to the fridge or freezer to harden. (The faster it hardens, the sooner you can eat it!) Once ready remove the chocolate from the foil sheet and break the chocolate into bit sized pieces. Notes If you'd like to have a frosted look on the top of your chocolate, add all your ingredients except the cocoa powder (and toppings) to your mixing bowl and stir. Remove a small amount of the mixture and set aside. Add the cocoa powder and whisk well. As per the instructions above add dark chocolate mix to the foil lined tray. Drizzle with the white chocolate mix and add dried fruits and nuts as noted above. This chocolate will melt quickly so be sure to store it in the fridge. It will last for a few weeks — or less if you just can't resist having a quick snack! Enjoy your plastic free chocolate treats.
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Gifting without the unnecessary waste
Christmas time means office parties, social functions and family get togethers. A common, fun part of these social gatherings is gift giving. And who doesn’t love to give and receive? Isn’t that what the spirit of Christmas is all about? The concept of gift giving at work related functions usually requires buying gifts under a certain dollar value determined by group organiser—typically under $20. The recipient may have been chosen prior to the event or it’s a lucky dip type of arrangement, where the gift could go to any member of the party. It’s done in the spirit of fun times, however these fun times usually also represent something not so fun. And those that broach the topic of the not so fun aspect of gift giving, are usually looked upon as being a “party poopers”. What could possibly not be fun about giving gifts? The fun part many enjoy is to give a gift that is silly and unwanted. The gift is only intended to give a few giggles to the crowd for five minutes and will be promptly thrown away once the recipient gets home. The not so fun part is that it’s either all made of plastic or wrapped in plastic. What should be an inexpensive, fun way to celebrate and give gifts has now turned into “what can I buy that’s cheap?” And typically when we think of cheap, it involves some junky plastic item that you might pick up at the dollar shop. Let’s face it, we’ve become a throw away society, purchasing gifts simply based on a dollar value. How much will it cost — not how much will the recipient “value” this gift? It's easy to avoid unnecessary waste by simply selecting gifts that will last or can truly be appreciated by the recipient. Need some plastic free gifting inspiration? Skip the plastic wrap and make your own bouquet of flowers. Head to your local markets (or our online store) and pick up a bar of x-mas soap —everyone can use a bar of soap! Support your local beekeeper. At the last secret Santa event I attended, a jar of honey was the gift everyone wanted. (Filling an empty wine bottle with honey also makes the gift more interesting). Prefer wine to honey? Wine also makes an excellent plastic free gift! Have you been saving your seeds from your garden? Why not place the seeds into a small paper bag or glass jar and add a label. It's another gift that keeps on giving. Don't have seeds but have been storing up dried herbs? These can be placed into pre-used glass jars, and every time your recipient uses your herbs they'll be reminded of the great xmas gift they received. Looking for something small, eco-friendly and unique? Something that everyone can use is a bamboo toothbrush, why not also add some plastic free dental floss. Chocolate is often on the cards for Christmas gifts, and it’s rare that anyone is disappointed when they receive a box of chocolates. The issue with chocolates is — the amount of plastic the chocolates are wrapped in. Plastic packaging wrapped around the cardboard box, a plastic sheet protecting the chocolates on the top and a black plastic tray to house the chocolate. All this plastic is headed straight for landfill. We’ve got some better plastic free chocolate gifting options: Purchase a block of chocolate that’s packaged in cardboard and foil. Head to your local refill store and select some delicious chocolate coated strawberries or chocolate coated nuts. Place these in a glass container and you’ve got the gift of chocolates. Looking for a DIY option? How about adding a jar of dehydrated strawberries to a jar. Grinding down dehydrated strawberries also makes for a beautiful powder to sprinkle over some plastic free ice-cream. Need a last minute gift and don’t have time to hit the shops or wait for an online delivery? Purchase a gift voucher — this could be for an eco-adventure, a relaxing massage, sponsoring an animal, or for purchases at an eco-store – such as Eorth.
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Plastic Free Clothes Pegs
Environmentally friendly clothes pegs are becoming a hot commodity item as people make a simple switch to replace the plastic pegs that are constantly breaking apart in our hands! Australians are known for hanging our clothes on the line most of the year-round. Whether you’re in the heat of the far northern regions of the country, in the outback or along the coast, plastic pegs quickly deteriorate with heavy use and become pieces of junk destined for the landfill. Twenty plus years ago it was common to use wood laundry pegs. While there’s nothing wrong with a wooden peg — it’s biodegradable and compostable — they come with some of their own challenges. They’ve been known to go mouldy in wet or damp environments and can leave marks on your white clothing. It’s time to choose a plastic free alternative to support the laundry needs in your household. Stainless Steel Clothes Pegs If you're seeking the best environmentally friendly clothes pegs on the market, then you'll want to choose a Stainless Steel Clothes Peg. These pegs are made from one single piece of wire and are available in several different Stainless Steel Grades. 201 Grade Stainless Steel Pegs 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel Pegs (Silver) 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel Pegs (Rose Gold) EORTH answers: environmentally friendly clothes pegs How hot do the wire pegs get in the sun?These pegs have been Eoth tested in the Far North Queensland summer and to date, we can happily report no burnt fingertips! The pegs single wire and loophole design allows for airflow through the peg keeping it from getting too hot. We live by the ocean. Will the wire pegs rust?We highly recommend choosing the 316 Marine Grade Stainless Steel Pegs if you live by the ocean. They are the most durable option for salty conditions and are designed to protect against rust. How do plastic free alternatives hold up in the wind?Both eco-friendly laundry pegs are perfect options for windy environments. They will keep your clothes held tight to the line through their drying time. If my stainless steel pegs do rust, how can I remove rust?Stainless steel wire pegs can be soaked in a CLR to remove rust and they'll be good as new again.
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Ice cream in minutes: without the plastic
Trying to avoid plastic in your home requires making changes to the way you currently do things, or making changes to how and where you purchase household products. But not every Plastic Free change requires replacing or purchasing an item, or simply skipping foods you enjoy. Ice cream for example, typically sold in a plastic container or paper container lined with plastic—it's a luxury item that you might not want to give up. What if I told you, you can have your ice cream and eat it too and be plastic free at the same time! If you eat bananas, and you're not one of those unusual people who eat the whole hand of bananas before they turn soft, then you've probably got a bunch of frozen bananas stashed away in the freezer—set aside for a banana bread baking day. A great way to use up those frozen bananas, or any other frozen fruit you might have in your freezer, is to make delicious homemade ice cream. This simple recipe will please any dinner guest—it's vegan, contains no preservatives, and best of all it's zero waste and plastic free. For this recipe we've used frozen mango and frozen bananas. Bananas and mangoes can be placed in the freezer with their peel on. When you're ready to use the frozen fruit—leave them on the kitchen sink to defrost a little. You can speed the defrosting time up by running the frozen fruit under warm water. How long it takes to defrost will depend on the temperature of your location, if you live in the tropics this is going to take less time than if you live a snowy mountainous area (who wants to eat ice cream on a cold day anyway?) Ingredients 4 Frozen Bananas 1 Frozen Mango SERVES 4 - (3 scoops each serving) Remove the skin from your bananas and cut the mangoes in half away from the seed. If you've left the fruit out too long and it's too soft, put it back in the freezer to re-harden. Cut the frozen mango just like you would a fresh mango or an avocado—slice the flesh into cubes while still attached to the skin and push the peel upwards from the bottom making the flesh pop up from the skin and allowing you easily to cut the flesh away from the peel. Place the fruit into a food processor and blend, this should take less an a minute to blend into a soft smooth texture. And presto you have ice cream. Yes it's that simple! Top your ice cream with your favourite fresh fruit, passionfruit makes a great topping. This soft serve ice cream is best eaten right away, however if you're making the ice cream for a special occasion or a dinner date you'll want to put the ice cream into the freezer for about 30 minutes to an hour until it hardens. Place a metal ice cream scoop into a bowl of boiling hot water and form your freshly blended fruit into a round ball. Place the formed ice cream balls back into the freezer and remove 30 minutes before serving, allowing the ice cream to defrost. The amount of time you leave the frozen dessert out will depend on where you live—you may need to experiment with timeframes if you're making the dessert for a special occasion. Enjoy your plastic free ice cream and congratulate yourself on another successful plastic free meal.
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