Rekindled

Watch this video from the fantastic Tim Minchin and remember to take your canvas bags to the supermarket (or any other time you go shopping!).  If you are a bit forgetful like me, keep a stash near your coat or shoes, or you could even keep them in your car.

Plastic Facts:

• The world uses between 500 billion and 1.2 trillion plastic bags a year.
• Each plastic bag is used for approximately 12 – 20 minutes on average
• A plastic bag is expected to take at least 500 years to break down in landfill.
• Plastics do not biodegrade normally, they break down into smaller and smaller particles, which then contaminate soil and water, which is then ingested by animals and gets into the food chain, and as plastics have only been around since the 1950’s who knows what the effect of this will be.
• Many plastic bags do not end up in landfill and end up causing harm to wildlife, including marine animals.

For more info see:

• Plastic Bag Free Modbury
• Marine Conservation Society

Last week I pledged to go waste free for a day.  You can find out how I got on, and what I learned, over at My Zero Waste, where I have written a guest post: Zoe’s Waste Free day for WRAP’s Recycle week.

My Sustainable Gardening Tips have also been featured on Be More Eco.

All in all, a very busy week for my little blog!

Recycle Week 2009 starts on Monday 22nd June. This year’s theme is ‘Let’s waste less’ and you can make a pledge at http://www.recyclenow.com/. It wasn’t hard for me to pick my pledge as I already do all of them except one: I pledge to go waste free for a day, or I will cook all the dinners for a week!  I’m not quite sure how I’m going to achieve it, and I haven’t got long to get ready, but I’ll do my best!  I think I will have to make at least one exception, which is cat litter, although I am looking into a flushable alternative.

Several eco bloggers are getting involved and have set themselves special challenges.   For example, The Rubbish Diet, who I read regularly, is such an expert waste reducer that she is going to be helping other people in her community waste less.  For one week in 2008 she managed to throw away just one plaster.  One plaster!  In a whole week!  And she has a family!!!  Read more about her and the other bloggers at http://www.recyclenow.com/recycle_week/blogger_challenge.html.

If you haven’t already, why not mosey on over to http://www.recyclenow.com/ and make a pledge.  You don’t have to go the whole waste free hog like me, there are several options including reusing carrier bags, taking leftovers for lunch, and recycling newspapers and magazines.  Let me know what your pledge is!