Plastic Free Junk-Food

Normally I eat pretty healthy, BUT this weekend, I’ve jumped overboard and abandoned the diet ship….we all do. But this got me thinking, when it is time to abandon said diet ship what plastic free alternatives are out there?

1. Ice-cream in the cone (don’t ask to taste first as most places use little plastic spatulas, just pick a flavour and go with it)
2. Pizza
3. Fish & chips in paper
4. Burger from the corner surf shop/takeaway store, wrapped in paper (huge and delicious!)
5. Wine (bottle, not case/cask)

(I indulged in #1, #4 AND #5!, Yes I'm terrible)

What delicious and guilt free (in terms of non-plastic packaging that is) junk food do you indulge into during junk days?

Closing the plastic loop-can it be done?

I found this wonderful viedo on TED today -

Is this the last frontier of recycling?

Microplastics: The Invisible Polluter’s

Most of us do our part to prevent plastic waste littering our environment; we recycle, take re-useable shopping bags to the grocery store and drink from reusable bottles. However, we may not be aware of the hidden plastics in common consumer products such as bath and beauty products. 

These hidden plastics are called Microplastics and are smaller than 1mm in diameter. These micro plastics are ubiquitous in shower products and cosmetics. 

When we shower and use these products, these Microplastics wash down the drain and travel to water treatment plants. The filtration technologies of most water treatment plants are ineffective at removing these tiny plastics due to their small size and subsequently these Microplastics enter the aquatic ecosystem. Here microplastics pose an immediate two-fold threat to the ecosystem, first through the adsorption and concentration of organic pollutants and secondly, as a delivery vessel for these pollutants into food webs via ingestion and bioaccumulation. Yet, the ecosystem impacts from microplastics remains largely unknown, and more research is still needed. 

What can you do?     

To find out if a product contains microplastics, look for polyethylene or polystyrene on the ingredients list. The good news is that there are plenty of products now in the market that do use natural alternatives. Or you could make your own. I found this article here for DIY bath products.

Sign this petition: Cosmetic manufacturers: Stop contributing to marine plastic pollution with your exfoliating scrubs

More Information

Last year the Guardian published a great article on this topic. This article can be found here

Unilever to phase out 'microplastics' by 2015

  

Microplastics: Lush hot on Unilever’s heels

Coca-Cola wins case to ban CDS!

Ironically, just one day after clean up Australia Day The Federal Court of Australia ruled in favor of the beverage giant and overturned the NT recycling scheme.

Back in January 4 2012 The Northern Territory in Australia introduced a deposit scheme to encourage people to recycle cans and bottles, and coke was not happy.

Earlier today, Clean up Australia chairman Ian Kiernan,, Greenpeace CEO David Ritter and Total Environmental chief Jeff Angel led a protest outside Coke's Sydney Headquarters. The group attempted to dump 4000 beverage containers collected from yesterday's clean up activities as a symbol of the litter that will continue to accumulate as a result of the overturned recycling scheme.

Coke wasn't impressed with this and called in the fuzz...which threatened to arrest the group for ...littering!

Coke Argues that Container Deposit Schemes are the most insufficient and ineffective method of increasing recycling rates. with only 33% of containers recycled.  -Firstly, I would like to see the data sources behind this statement and secondly the point of CDS is also to reduce littering, as well as increase recycling.

Furthermore, a recent study (Sep 2012) Commissioned by the Enviromental Protection Authority of South Australia showed: 

• 83% of respondents return at least some of their refundable drink containers to the recycling depot (with 69% of those respondents disposing of most or all), reflecting a significant improvement compared with 2004 when 60% said they returned all of their containers to the recycling depot.
• 98% of South Australians support a national container deposit scheme, with reduction of litter generally across national highways, parks and streets and beaches being the primary benefit thought to accrue from a national CDL scheme.

Spokesman from Greenpeace, Reece Turner said "It is the height of corporate arrogance and any claims coke make in the future about sustainability have been completely trashed."

Please join and comment in this facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/I.Boycott.Coke

 

Sign this petition here to pledge your support for a National CDS https://www.change.org/petitions/support-the-national-container-deposit-scheme-to-clean-up-plastic-bottles

Here is a list of Coca-Cola brands sold in Australia if you wish to boycott

·         Bonaqua/BonaQa

·         caffeine free Coke light/Diet Coke

·         cherry Coke

·         Coca-Cola

·         Coca-Cola Zero

·         Crusta

·         Diet Coke/Coca-Cola light

·         diet Lift

·         diet Vanilla Coke

·         Fanta

·         glacéau vitaminwater

·         Goulburn Valley

·         Goulburn Valley Dairy

·         Hi-C

·         Lift

·         Mother

·         NESTEA

·         Neverfail

·         Peats Ridge

·         POWERADE

·         POWERADE LIGHT

·         Pump

·         Pumped

·         Relentless

·         Sprite

·         Sprite Zero/diet Sprite/Sprite light

·         Vanilla Coke

 

 Source: http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/xstd_files/Container%20deposit/Report/full_CDLrpt.pdf

 

Source:http://www.news.com.au/