Cash For Containers Campaign Update

Great news, the Northern Territory will re-introduce its container deposit scheme! And hopefully other states will follow soon!

Dear Cash for Containers Supporter,

A lot has happened in the last few weeks:

• The good news is that the Northern Territory is now set to restart its 10cent deposit/refund scheme on a firm legal footing after receiving the agreement of all states and territories.  You’ll recall that Coca Cola, Lion and Schweppes won their court case but the Act under which they took action also has an exemption clause – which the NT has now used. So far more than 54 million bottles and cans have been recycled – an achievement no other industry scheme could match.
  

• It was also good news after the environment ministers meeting on 11 April which rejected beverage industry pressure to ditch consideration of container deposits.  Instead they agreed to make a decision by the end of June.  It wasn’t what we wanted (i.e., a pro-CDS decision now) but it does allow us to keep increasing our campaign momentum.
  

•  There’s been an interesting development on the economic front with several international companies visiting Australia to tell governments they would invest $400-500million creating over 1400 jobs if a national CDS was set up.  Clearly container deposits is good economic news!
  

• And just late last week we exposed a litter scandal at Darling Harbour in Sydney.  Overflowing bins and stormwater drains send plastic debris including bottles into the bay – largely because NSW does not have a container deposit scheme.  The situation showed the weakness of the Coke bin alternative (there are over 100) and if the state had a CDS then beverage containers would not be on the streets and the bins would not fill up.   

  

The next 2 months promise to be busy and climactic.  Thanks for your support and please like our facebook page which has news, videos and audio of the latest developments.

Kind regards,

                                             

Jeff Angel

National Convenor of the Boomerang Alliance of 27 environment groups

30 April 2013

www.boomerangalliance.org.au

Plastic-Free Reads

One of my new-year resolutions for 2013 was to read more. I have since been busy reading books on all things (currently reading game of thrones). Part of my promise is to read books that will further my knowledge as well as entertain. I have made a list below of books on the issues surrounding plastics.

So here’s what plan to read on plastic pollution/living plastic-free. I have listed them in the order I wish to read. I have managed to finish the first one and made a start on the second (until I got distracted by A Feast For Crows, and fitness books by Michelle Bridges).

1. Plastiki Across the Pacific on Plastic: An Adventure to Save Our Oceans (2011)

By David de Rothschild

 


2. Plastic Ocean: How a Sea Captain's Chance Discovery Launched a Determined Quest to Save the Oceans (2012)
By (author) Charles Moore, with Cassandra Phillips




3. Plastic: A Toxic Love Story (2011) 
By Susan Freinkel

4. The Story of Stuff: The Impact of Overconsumption on the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health-And How We Can Make It Better (2011)

By Annie Leonard


5. Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too (2012)
By Beth Terry





What Books are you currently reading?

Healthy, homemade Muesli Bars – More Tasty, More Healthy and Less Plastic.

Muesli bars are one of my favourite snack foods. But as well as being wrapped in plastic packaging which I am aiming to reduce/avoid, most store bought bars are loaded with sugar and other processed ingredients or additives

So I have made my own from scratch using a Recipe adapted from The Healthy Chef. I am not a real great cook but these turned out really well and most importantly were delicious!!

These muesli bars are healthy, quick, simple, 100% natural and plastic free!


Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup crushed walnuts (or any other nuts like pecans, almonds or dried fruits)
• ¾ cup LSA
• 1/3 cup pepita seeds (or sunflower seeds, linseeds, poppy seeds)
• ½ cup Desiccated coconut
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ oil
• ¼ cup molasses (or you could use honey, maple syrup ect)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C fan forced, and line baking tray with baking paper
2. Mix all dry ingredients together (oats, LSA, nuts, coconut, and cinnamon) together in a bowl. 
3. In a separate bowl lightly whisk together eggs, olive oil, molasses and vanilla
4. Combine wet and dry indreients and mix with wooden spoon until well combined. 
5. Spoon into lined tray, smoothing mixture down into a layer about 2-3 cm thick.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown
7. Cut into pieces while warm, then let cool (makes about 24)

They turned out pretty good I must say! I divided the batch into 4 lots x 6 bars. I keep 6 bars refrigerated in a tin (re-used tin from Max Brenner chocolates), and have frozen the other 3 lots in aluminium foil and baking paper.

I think next batch I may try using orange juice or similar as a substitute for the oil to make them even healthier!

I have calculated the nutrition value using the recipe ingredients in myfitnesspal.com

Calories =143 cal

Carbohydrates = 9g

Fat= 11 g

Proterin =4g

Sugar= 2g


Please copy and share if you like :)

Australian Sustainable Skincare and Haircare Brand -Sukin

This brand had been right under my nose without me realising it, I have been using the Shampoo and Conditioner for months before paying any attention to the label…and had finished a bottle of the rose hip oil. Now I’d just like to share my thoughts with you on this brand after doing some reading.

Sukin is Australian made and owned brand and offers an extensive range of naturally effective and affordable skin, hair and body care.

Displaying a strong commitment to minimal environmental impact Sukin products:

• Are Certified 100% carbon neutral
• Are Biodegradable, avoiding build up and contamination in our waterways.
• Are Grey water safe as they do not contain harsh detergents, propylene glycol, or sulphates
• Use recyclable packaging, and ensure that packaging is kept to a minimum where possible.
• Have a Choose Cruelty Free (CFF) 100% vegan status as their products are free from animal testing, animal derivatives, and animal by-products.
• Contain no sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium laureth sulphate, propylene glycol, artificial colours, triethanolamine, EDTA, mineral oils or parabens.
• Commit to sustainability sourced ingredients

 

Furthermore, this brand has a decent collection of products that cater to a variety of different skin types, including sensitive skin, mature skin/anti-ageing, as well as gentle bath and hair products for children. 

Sukin products are widely available in chemists, and very affordable! 

 (This review is 100% based on my own thoughts and opinions. I am not affiliated with Sukin Organics and did not receive remuneration  to post this)

Lessons learnt from Captain Planet

During my childhood, one of my favourite cartoon shows was Captain Planet.  I still remember rushing home from primary school to watch this with my little brother each afternoon. 

The essence of the show was as follows; each week a villain would commit some sort of environmental atrocity, and the Planeteers - a group of 5 teenagers, who were given magic, elemental rings from Gia, the spirit of the Earth, would do their best to rid the word of crime, pollution, and hate. Each villain in the series represented a different aspect of mankind's dark side, or an ecological issue. After a little bit of action, the Planeteers would realise that they couldn't win against the villain alone, and so by working together, they would call on a superhero called Captain Planet, who would inevitably save the day. At the end of each show was some type of educational message such as recycling, saving water, or switching off lights.

Compared to other cartoons of the day the point was not to sell toys but rather convey the message about looking after the environment. In fact I think my first introduction to environmental awareness was through watching captain planet as a child.

Well here are the some life lessons I have learnt from Captain Planet

1)      Looting and polluting is not the way.

 I consider that most of the people in my generation will never be able to loot or pollute without knowing it is wrong.

2)      Billionaire tycoons are universally evil.

The lesson here was clear: rich people are environmentally ignorant jerks. Take for example Coca-Cola and MonSanto.

3)      You can’t do everything on your own.

The message here is that there is power in community and collaboration. There are times in your life when you have to put your “rings” together to summon Captain Planet. The Planeteers understood that they each contributed some valuable (cool) power but that ultimately – together, they could truly be champions.

4)      The power is yours!

Sometimes it takes an individual to lead and inspire others to make a change. Captain Planet always inspired the Planeteers to keep trying, and to apply their knowledge to the next difficult situation.

5)      Education is the key to real environmental awareness and sustainability.

The general public were normally ignorant, embraced or enabled the villain's activities to an extent before being educated by the Planeteers. Education is paramount to instil environmental awareness so that people understand the importance of their relationship with the natural world.

The captain planet foundation –From Cartoon to Real Life

The Captain Planet Foundation (CPF). Schools and organizations around the world present their environmental projects to the Foundation and receive seed money to grow their ideas. The CPF receives hundreds of proposals yearly and enables young people to become Planeteers themselves by raising environmental awareness and creating a positive impact in their communities and their own lives.

  

Does anyone else remember Captain Planet? Go Planet!