Eco Notes for June

My new monthly round-up of eco friendly news, products and reviews…

Plastic-free shopping feels like it’s getting easier

Have you noticed that more and more shops are cottoning on to plastic-free shopping? It’s still an uphill struggle, but it’s pleasing to see change. My favourite recent discoveries are that Waitrose have finally switched to 100% paper bags on their bakery counter – getting rid of those silly ones with unnecessary plastic windows. Excitingly, Waitrose are also trialling a new plastic free scheme in its Oxford store. Shoppers will be able to buy a range of goods like pasta, rice and frozen vegetables loose – using their own containers to take it home. More of this, please!

Re-useable make-up wipes

I’m so excited to have finally made the switch from cotton wool pads to washable ones. I use mine to apply toner and remove eye make up. I use about two a day, so you need a fair few if you’re not going to run out too quickly. I really like these ones which are soft and big enough not to get lost in the washing machine – although you can solve that problem by using a mesh wash bag.

PG Tips are now packaging their loose tea leaves in a cardboard box with no plastic film wrapping or foil.

Ever since I found out tea bags contain plastic I’ve been trying to drink loose leaf tea, but I’ve been frustrated by the amount of packaging that often came with it. So, PG Tips’ new boxes of loose tea make me very happy. The only bits of the packaging that can’t be recycled are two small pieces of film that seal the box at the top and bottom. This is a real step forward!

Re-useable bottles that are a pleasure to use

This month I’ve been trialling this water bottle from Hydro Flasks, which was sent to me to review. It’s made of stainless steel and has a double wall vacuum inside to keep things cold for 24 hours, or hot for 12 hours. I’ve been really impressed with it so far. After a hot day at Legoland my water still had ice floating in it, which is impressive. My water also tastes much nicer in a stainless steel container compared to my plastic bottles, which always seem to start smelling strange very quickly. Because I like this bottle so much, I’m actually remembering to use it – and that’s half the battle won, isn’t it? Also, it doesn’t leak.

Ditching the cling film

Have you ditched your plastic food wrap yet? I have, and there’s no looking back now. If you’re missing it, then a great alternative is to use beeswax wraps. I’ve been using these wraps by Eco Bravo, which I find really useful for covering bowls and sandwiches. The heat from your hands will help mould then around whatever you’re wrapping. Keep your wraps clean by rinsing in cool water – hot water will melt the wax! They last for ages and when you’re done with them they can be composted. If you’re vegan, then soya wraps are also available. Thank you to Eco Bravo for sending me these wraps to try! You can get 10% off Eco Bravo wraps with the code edobravo10ig.

Find your local Terra-Cycle schemes

Terra-Cycle’s mission is to recycle all the difficult things that might once have considered ‘un-recyclable’ – like coffee pods, crisp packets and toothpaste tubes. Have a look round your town, or ask in local Facebook Eco groups, and find out what can be collected near your. I’ve discovered that I can take crisp packets to a Terra-Cycle collection box at my local council office, and FullCircle Cambridge are collecting empty toothpaste tubes.

What eco-friendly discoveries have you made this month?

Disclosure: the Hydro Flask and Beeswax wraps were sent to me free of charge to review