# What little things have you done



## hash tag (Oct 1, 2021)

Inspired by a story on R4 early this morning. A bloke claimed he was still using a 10 year old battery in his alarm clock, because he takes the battery out of it
during the day and at weekends


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## Reno (Oct 1, 2021)

I just held in a fart as not to contribute to methane emissions. I'm sure Greta would be so proud of me.


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## Artaxerxes (Oct 1, 2021)

I'd stopped using carrier bags at the shops long before it was cool.


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## BigMoaner (Oct 1, 2021)

i have turned my 1 hour commute into a paradise of meditation, mental processing, music and reading. about the only few hours i get to myself each day.


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## bimble (Oct 1, 2021)

I have saved the world by purchasing a bamboo toothbrush.


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## DotCommunist (Oct 1, 2021)

I virtuously live a frugal life, like unto the saints of old. Only I have weed. But other than that my humble asceticism should be a lesson to you all.


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## campanula (Oct 1, 2021)

i darn old socks.


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## farmerbarleymow (Oct 1, 2021)

I don't drive so I'm basically a saint compared to the evil motorists.


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## klang (Oct 1, 2021)

I walk very slowly.


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## maomao (Oct 1, 2021)

Loads but probably all undone by my gas boiler and lack of a cavity wall.


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## petee (Oct 1, 2021)

batteries? i have a battery-powered scale and only put the battery in when i want to use it.
presto, one battery for its whole life, 15 years i think, and i didn't even pay for it, it's a holdover from the previous dispensation.


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## farmerbarleymow (Oct 1, 2021)

petee said:


> batteries? i have a battery-powered scale and only put the battery in when i want to use it.
> presto, one battery for its whole life, 15 years i think, and i didn't even pay for it, it's a holdover from the previous dispensation.


Isn't that a bit of a faff though?  If the scale is off the battery won't drain much I'd guess - possibly no more quickly than if it's kept out of the scale.  

That reminds me - I've got some dead batteries I need to chuck in the recycling bin.


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## hash tag (Oct 1, 2021)

The battery could be off the scale


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## MickiQ (Oct 1, 2021)

My alarm clock is mains powered so no savings there I'm afraid.


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## farmerbarleymow (Oct 1, 2021)

MickiQ said:


> My alarm clock is mains powered so no savings there I'm afraid.


Buy a wind up alarm clock - apart from the environmental cost of producing it, zero running costs.


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## petee (Oct 1, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> Buy a wind up alarm clock - apart from the environmental cost of producing it, zero running costs.



but then you have the tick-tick-tick and while i can sleep in a room with every light on, i can't tolerate noise.
though come to think of it, _you_ probably like ticks.


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## fishfinger (Oct 1, 2021)

bimble said:


> I have saved the world by purchasing a bamboo toothbrush.


That's just silly - bamboo doesn't have any teeth!


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## farmerbarleymow (Oct 1, 2021)

petee said:


> but then you have the tick-tick-tick and while i can sleep in a room with every light on, i can't tolerate noise.
> though come to think of it, _you_ probably like ticks.


Ticking clocks have never bothered me.  Would you cope with lots of clocks ticking while you're awake?  I love the clock room in the British Museum - lots of mechanical clocks all ticking away - very soothing.

PS - changed my avatar in your honour.


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## MickiQ (Oct 1, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> Buy a wind up alarm clock - apart from the environmental cost of producing it, zero running costs.


One massive flaw in that, It relies on me remembering to wind the fucker, I don't have to remember to generate any electricity.


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## maomao (Oct 1, 2021)

Why the fuck would anyone need an alarm clock if they have even the most basic phone?


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## hash tag (Oct 1, 2021)

Our phones stay out of the bedroom.


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## weltweit (Oct 1, 2021)

I haven't bought a carrier bag in months, my local shop sells these really rugged ones for 10p and it is possible to reuse them hundreds of times. 

Saw an interesting thing today though, about the difference between alloy cans of drink and plastic bottles. Apparently because it is so easy to reuse, 70% of all the aluminium that has been generated is still in use and is numerously recycled as more drink cans - by comparison just 5% of plastic is recycled.


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## maomao (Oct 1, 2021)

hash tag said:


> Our phones stay out of the bedroom.


I leave it on top of a cupboard by the door so that I get up when it goes off.


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## mx wcfc (Oct 1, 2021)

Biodegradable washing up scrubbing pads, rather than those green and yellow plastic things.


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## weltweit (Oct 1, 2021)

maomao said:


> I leave it on top of a cupboard by the door so that I get up when it goes off.


I have a clock alarm radio and my phone on my bedside table. My phone goes off at 6:00, then the clock radio goes off at 6:05, each time I have to hunt around to sleep the right item, usually this cycle goes on for 15-20 minutes before I give up and get up


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## SpookyFrank (Oct 1, 2021)

I fed three range rover drivers to a hungry polar bear.


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## girasol (Oct 1, 2021)

Foot down on the clutch when going downhill to save petrol.  A tip I got from people driving in the 70s  (but it's pointless nowadays, it would seem)

But really, I do the usual: recycling, no plastic bags, etc etc...  Is this a virtue signalling thread?


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## hash tag (Oct 1, 2021)

girasol said:


> Foot down on the clutch when going downhill to save petrol.  A tip I got from people driving in the 70s  (but it's pointless nowadays, it would seem)
> 
> But really, I do the usual: recycling, no plastic bags, etc etc...  Is this a virtue signalling thread?


Don't try coasting in an automatic.


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## platinumsage (Oct 1, 2021)

I figured we don’t need a very bright lamp in the room when watching TV so I fitted it with a 1 watt fridge bulb.


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## MickiQ (Oct 1, 2021)

weltweit said:


> I have a clock alarm radio and my phone on my bedside table. My phone goes off at 6:00, then the clock radio goes off at 6:05, each time I have to hunt around to sleep the right item, usually this cycle goes on for 15-20 minutes before I give up and get up


I have Mrs Q , If I don't get up and cancel it immediately she will express her displeasure and unlike the alarm clock I can't cancel her.


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## petee (Oct 1, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> Ticking clocks have never bothered me.  Would you cope with lots of clocks ticking while you're awake?  I love the clock room in the British Museum - lots of mechanical clocks all ticking away - very soothing.
> 
> PS - changed my avatar in your honour.



you love 'em


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## farmerbarleymow (Oct 1, 2021)

petee said:


> you love 'em


I've only had a tick once - caught from our lovely collie, who must have caught it from a sheep on a farm in Scotland.  Did me no harm after me mam burnt it off with a lit B & H fag.  

Good old Scots medicine.


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## Orang Utan (Oct 1, 2021)

i mine my own coltan and cadmium. 100% organic. Artisanally quarry-reclaimed fair trade rocks


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## xenon (Oct 1, 2021)

bimble said:


> I have saved the world by purchasing a bamboo toothbrush.



I did that. Turns out they aren’t very good though. Maybe there are other types, but the bristles were far too soft.

and I now use an electric toothbrush anyway. Just call me Mr planet killer.


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## mx wcfc (Oct 1, 2021)

xenon said:


> I did that. Turns out they aren’t very good though. Maybe there are other types, but the bristles were far too soft.
> 
> and I now use an electric toothbrush anyway. Just call me Mr planet killer.





			https://www.onbuy.com/gb/bamboo-electric-toothbrushes-nylon-bristles-biodegradable-natural-eco-friendly-compostable-vegan-reusablewireless-charging~c7668~p49195559/?exta=gshp&stat=eyJpcCI6IjMyLjcyMDAiLCJkcCI6bnVsbCwibGlkIjo2NzA0Mzk2NiwicyI6bnVsbCwidCI6MTYzMzA1MTUzNiwiYm1jIjoiMi41In0=&lid=67043966&gclid=CjwKCAjw49qKBhAoEiwAHQVTo2lxruoUc-GmVUPi2lY3vgOZZINg2FJ2kVUipr8I_Nb6Vt__dtb3ehoC434QAvD_BwE


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## xenon (Oct 1, 2021)

Oh and I don’t drive, rarely fly, twice in the last 10 years. Don’t have children. I’m a happenstance planet saving hero right.


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## Supine (Oct 1, 2021)

People somewhere grow cannabis plants which lock in carbon and help to protect the environment. They also turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. 

I buy some and smoke it. I pay for them to grow it and help the earth at the same time


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 1, 2021)

Condoms don't have to be a single-use item. Remember the 4 Rs... Romp Remove Reverse Reuse.


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## xenon (Oct 1, 2021)

It actually hurts my brain to think of the amount of stuff I consume. I mean I as an individual in the west. The shaving the eating the shitting the cleaning them walking around wearing of things using electricity, entertainment blah blah fucking blah. All stuff. Endless miles of stuff.
But I like a lot of it, it makes life easier. What is the alternative, barbarity, subsistence living. I’m being serious though.

How does one get Gillette Mach 3 blades in the post climate change adjusted utopia.


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 1, 2021)

xenon said:


> How does one get Gillette Mach 3 blades in the post climate change adjusted utopia.


In my adjusted utopia, Gillette will be publicly owned, and blades will be free.


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## weltweit (Oct 1, 2021)

Shaving is against nature and wasteful, grow a beard.


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## xenon (Oct 1, 2021)

Who will go down the Gillette mines. Well you know get the Indium and the other shiny preciousis.


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## xenon (Oct 1, 2021)

if I have to grow a beard, a shit gingery silvery lookingbeard, it is trust me. Fuck it, let the planet burn. No civilisation is worth that.


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## farmerbarleymow (Oct 2, 2021)

xenon said:


> I did that. Turns out they aren’t very good though. Maybe there are other types, but the bristles were far too soft.


Same here - it was shit.  Unfortunately it was a two-pack so there's another one to get through before I can justifiably bin it.


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## Aladdin (Oct 2, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> Condoms don't have to be a single-use item. Remember the 4 Rs... Romp Remove Reverse Reuse.



Do you do that with your undercrackers too?
🤪😁


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## Jeff Robinson (Oct 2, 2021)

I promote the good word of Marxism-Lentilism to any captive audience I come across.


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## A380 (Oct 2, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> In my adjusted utopia, Gillette will be publicly owned, and blades will be free.


‘The best a comrade can get’


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## WouldBe (Oct 2, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> I've only had a tick once - caught from our lovely collie, who must have caught it from a sheep on a farm in Scotland.  Did me no harm after me mam burnt it off with a lit B & H fag.
> 
> Good old Scots medicine.


Does that work for seagulls?


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## nogojones (Oct 3, 2021)

Last week, just before the shit hit the fan, I filled the car to the brim, knowing that I'm unlikely to use it for weeks. That diesel is now safe in my tank rather than being burnt by others pumping CO2 into the atmosphere.


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## campanula (Oct 3, 2021)

Being poor.


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## UrbaneFox (Oct 4, 2021)

Signed online petition against the Science Museum being sponsored by Shell. 

Now the former Director of the Sci Mus has resigned from the Sci Mus's Advisory board over oil sponsorship.

At this rate the climate change nonsense talk will be over by Christmas.


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## SpookyFrank (Oct 7, 2021)

nogojones said:


> Last week, just before the shit hit the fan, I filled the car to the brim, knowing that I'm unlikely to use it for weeks. That diesel is now safe in my tank rather than being burnt by others pumping CO2 into the atmosphere.



Diesel in your tank you say?

So that I can send you a handwritten letter of thanks for your courageous action, and a lovely gift basket, remind me what was your address again?


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## platinumsage (Oct 7, 2021)

I can’t be arsed to charge my phone


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## stavros (Oct 8, 2021)

A lot of my furniture has been bought second hand from the excellent BHF furniture and electrical shops. Unless you're the PM and his wife you can usually find something perfectly serviceable there.


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## stavros (Oct 13, 2021)

Further to that, I've also got some decent clothes from the Oxfam website. It's good for those of us whose local charity shops aren't as well stocked as I believe they are in the bigger cities.


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## waterfallfish (Oct 14, 2021)

Turn off the lights when I'm not in the bathroom


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 14, 2021)

waterfallfish said:


> Turn off the lights when I'm not in the bathroom


You should turn them off while you are in the bathroom. It makes for a more interesting experience.


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## BigMoaner (Oct 14, 2021)

put coffee cup in recycle bin


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## MickiQ (Oct 14, 2021)

waterfallfish said:


> Turn off the lights when I'm not in the bathroom


Clearly whoever you are, you aren't one of my kids


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 14, 2021)

BigMoaner said:


> put coffee cup in recycle bin


That seems counterproductive, and expensive.


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## BigMoaner (Oct 14, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> That seems counterproductive, and expensive.


Had never thought of it that way tbh


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 14, 2021)

BigMoaner said:


> Had never thought of it that way tbh


I'm not even sure ceramics can be recycled.


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## stavros (Oct 14, 2021)

Is there an opportunity at wherever you buy your coffee to bring your own, reusable mug? I believe such things and such offers exist, although I couldn't tell you where.


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## BigMoaner (Oct 14, 2021)

I don’t Chuck my mugs in the bin I meant the paper ones


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## BigMoaner (Oct 14, 2021)

I lob my saucepans over a neighbours fence tho after each meal


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 14, 2021)

stavros said:


> Is there an opportunity at wherever you buy your coffee to bring your own, reusable mug? I believe such things and such offers exist, although I couldn't tell you where.


Everywhere that has a self-service coffee machine. They'd have a job making you put it back. 
I'd guess most places would do it on request. They'd have to be proper jobsworth nobs not to.


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## stavros (Oct 14, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> Everywhere that has a self-service coffee machine. They'd have a job making you put it back.
> I'd guess most places would do it on request. They'd have to be proper jobsworth nobs not to.


Maybe that's where a version of the plastic bag tax could come in. 10p off, say, if you bring your own cup.


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## cupid_stunt (Oct 14, 2021)

BigMoaner said:


> I lob my saucepans over a neighbours fence tho after each meal



Saves on washing-up.


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## cupid_stunt (Oct 14, 2021)

stavros said:


> Maybe that's where a version of the plastic bag tax could come in. 10p off, say, if you bring your own cup.



Some coffee shops already offer a discount if you bring your own reusable cup.


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 14, 2021)

stavros said:


> Maybe that's where a version of the plastic bag tax could come in. 10p off, say, if you bring your own cup.


I'd like to extend that to baked beans in supermarkets 
Well, maybe not perishable foods but detergents and the likes. Buy by weight/volume. I reckon the first to do it will make a killing. Far less transportation costs, but no doubt they'll push the green aspect and raise their prices accordingly.


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## weltweit (Oct 14, 2021)

I started eating better which must have some effect on the environment, but I have to find a variety of vegs, already fed up to the back teeth with carrots and broccoli!


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## Riklet (Oct 14, 2021)

Im going to carshare my new car with someone else. One less car on the road.

Ive been saving up the biodegradable not-plastic bags that my weekly veg box salads come in so I can use them in my lil' food waste bin. 

I declined a plastic lid on take away coffee last weekend   

Im getting all my "new" crap second hand or off Freecycle when I move place next month.


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## two sheds (Oct 15, 2021)

I've always liked the advice of the tory MP who only shaved or washed in the dark, one or the other can't remember.


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## GastroPub (Oct 15, 2021)

I own three air conditioners and Whenever the restaurant is closed I put them outdoors on full power. Just doing my bit to cool the environment


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## GastroPub (Oct 15, 2021)

It so can be done, it's really annoying. It's a really popular thing to love the environment, It's so weird man, when you think about it


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## Orang Utan (Oct 15, 2021)

GastroPub said:


> It so can be done, it's really annoying. It's a really popular thing to love the environment, It's so weird man, when you think about it


edgy knobhead


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 15, 2021)

Orang Utan said:


> knobhead


CFY


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## hash tag (Oct 15, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> You should turn them off while you are in the bathroom. It makes for a more interesting experience.


I do keep the lights off when in the bathroom, because, I leave the door open. No problem.


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## Leafster (Oct 15, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> I'd like to extend that to baked beans in supermarkets
> Well, maybe not perishable foods but detergents and the likes. Buy by weight/volume. I reckon the first to do it will make a killing. Far less transportation costs, but no doubt they'll push the green aspect and raise their prices accordingly.


There are shops around which sell stuff loose - not just fruit & veg. Google "Zero Waste Shops" and you'll find loads. We have one here but, as you suggested they really push the green and ethical side of things so the prices tend to be high.

Having said that, I think you can take your own containers to some supermarkets to use at the fresh fish/meat and deli counters.

ETA: here's the website for our local one: Pedricks Zero Waste


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## chainsawjob (Oct 15, 2021)

Been using the same bottle for washing up liquid for 10 + years. I get refills of a five litre container and fill it up from that.


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## stavros (Oct 15, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> I'd like to extend that to baked beans in supermarkets
> Well, maybe not perishable foods but detergents and the likes. Buy by weight/volume. I reckon the first to do it will make a killing. Far less transportation costs, but no doubt they'll push the green aspect and raise their prices accordingly.


I suspect a systematic change forced by the government would be more effective and quicker than letting the market decide. Maybe that's a discussion better suited to the policy thread.


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## BigMoaner (Oct 17, 2021)

I turn my light off when reading my kindle


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## xenon (Oct 17, 2021)

chainsawjob said:


> Been using the same bottle for washing up liquid for 10 + years. I get refills of a five litre container and fill it up from that.



Can you get a 5L container of washing up liquid on delivery?


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## StoneRoad (Oct 17, 2021)

Let's see ... quite a lot of environmentally friendly things.

Planted over 200 trees and shrubs a few years ago to turn an area into a wild wood, that also provides some shelter from the north and east winds [which helps protect the house from wind chill].
[Some of the faster growing trees have shaded out others, which - having seasoned standing - will provide firewood this winter. Some thinning may take place this winter]

Recycle or reuse what glass, plastic containers and cardboard that I can.

Home compost as much as I can - then spread the results on my garden.
I don't normally use commercial fertilisers & pesticides - also grow bee & butterfly friendly native plants.
Have put up over 50 nest-boxes, I must replace most of the first batch, so need to build over 30 and "service" the rest.

Have barely used the car for months ... I don't have access to local public transport in winter [In summer there is a tourist route nearby] ... used to use rail for longer distances when possible. Last time I flew anywhere was more than two decades ago, I even went to Poland by train in 2009. Basically semi-retired now, which means the long commute has ceased (2 x 80 mile / day) and has been replaced by one of less than 2 miles to my local workshop. In any case, I mostly WFH on admin ...

Covid precautions have made us have food etc delivered, which had made us more economical by reducing food waste, stopping frequent journeys to the shops and we now have started a small winter weather stockpile. 

Changed windows to reduce drafts [& fitted double glazing]. New(-ish) doors ditto. Upgraded loft insulation and will need to do something with the cavity & underfloor insulation [would help if there was a suitable grant].
Tried to get solar panels, but the roof angle was too flat for both of the installations companies I tried. Without the grants, I can't afford it atm. Thinking about a wind mini-turbine. Problem with these two is planning permission as I live in a national park & world heritage site !

Unfortunately, I have tanked LPG for cooking & heating. The boiler is a condensing combi, relatively new & efficient.
The hot water tank has solid insulation, but it's getting an additional (thin) jacket next month. 
We also have two 90gal cold water tanks [long story, due to supply problems] and they'll get more insulation if needed
Have just changed the shower for a more efficient model - it takes the HW from the combi-boiler, I rarely use the bath.

Not on mains drainage so have to be environmentally friendly otherwise it is expensive to "re-start" the septic tank - actually, the tank is so old that the description is a bit optimistic. The outflow system was "serviced" this year and now works. The inflow pipes were repaired & cased from the inside three years ago - the farmer drove a tractor over it and the weight partially crushed the pipe. In the fullness of time, I would like a digester, but the tank isn't on my land and is in a field across a quite busy road.


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## stavros (Oct 17, 2021)

I got a new combi boiler earlier this year, replacing what what I think was nearly 20 years old. I'm therefore fairly certain the new one is more efficient, not least only heating the fairly minimal hot water I need. It's definitely a lot quieter than the old one.

I did think about an electric one, as I'm with a green supplier. However the fact that electricity was four times the price of gas at the time prohibited that.


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## WouldBe (Oct 17, 2021)

Just passed 10MW from the solar panels.


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## stavros (Oct 19, 2021)

Any thoughts on electric ovens? I noticed that moochedit mentioned theirs on the heat pump thread.

I got a new gas one just over 5 years ago, and use it once a week for around 2 hours. My electricity is from a green supplier, although they claim a tony proportion of their gas supply is green too.


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## moochedit (Oct 19, 2021)

stavros said:


> Any thoughts on electric ovens? I noticed that moochedit mentioned theirs on the heat pump thread.
> 
> I got a new gas one just over 5 years ago, and use it once a week for around 2 hours. My electricity is from a green supplier, although they claim a tony proportion of their gas supply is green too.



I've never had any problems with it. Not sure how it compares utility bill wise.

If it has a fan inside you can normally cook at a slightly lower temp than one without a fan although i don't know if that saves electricity or not.


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## stavros (Oct 20, 2021)

What make is it? Are there specialist electric brands, which may or may not be better than your Boschs, Zanussis, etc?

I wonder who James Brokenshire left his collection to.


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 20, 2021)

stavros said:


> What make is it? Are there specialist electric brands, which may or may not be better than your Boschs, Zanussis, etc?
> 
> I wonder who James Brokenshire left his collection to.


Neff are very good. I think they're owned by Bosch.


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## weltweit (Oct 20, 2021)

I ate Cauliflower, grown locally so it had almost zero food miles.


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## LDC (Oct 29, 2021)

Stopped flying in Europe. Used to do a 2-3 short hauls a year to see friends in France, Barcelona, and Berlin, but haven't done that now for a few years. I still go, but less frequently, and get the train when I go. Doesn't feel like a big sacrifice, and maybe it partly happened due to other changes in my life (and I have a bit more money tbh, so trains seem more do-able) but I do think flying less short haul (or none at all) is what nearly 99% of us need to do.

Also thinking of having an annual week tree planting here as a holiday when they re-start them Trees for Life | Rewilding the Scottish Highlands


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## Saul Goodman (Oct 29, 2021)

LynnDoyleCooper said:


> , but I do think flying less short haul (or none at all) is what nearly 99% of us need to do.


Most people aren't flying to see their friends around Europe a few times a year. 
I think you're vastly overestimating how many people would even be in a financial position to do this.


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## LDC (Oct 29, 2021)

Saul Goodman said:


> Most people aren't flying to see their friends around Europe a few times a year.
> I think you're vastly overestimating how many people would even be in a financial position to do this.



I was meaning 99% of the people that fly, not 99% of people generally. If people don't fly, then they don't need to cut back or stop. I'd be interested to see that stats about who's doing the short haul flying though. When I've been doing them I've been on low wages, flights have often been £10 or £20. I'd think it might be as much cultural/social as financial, used to travel and havng friends abroad for example.

I hate these type of threads or discussions generally as they end up pushing individual changes, the least important thing to think about and do.


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## weltweit (Oct 29, 2021)

weltweit said:


> I ate Cauliflower, grown locally so it had almost zero food miles.


I miss broad beans .. if I am honest!


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## LDC (Oct 29, 2021)

weltweit said:


> I miss broad beans .. if I am honest!



A much under-rated foodstuff imo.


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## friendofdorothy (Oct 29, 2021)

Its not much but I've stopped buying those foam scrubby sponges for washing up a while ago. I tried various cloths or bit of old tshirts for a while, but they were really no good. So I cut up a former thick floor towel, sewed bias binding round the raw edges and made 16 dinky wash things, that I can put in a wash and reuse. It was bizarrely satifying making them and they are really effective for washing up.

I've also been saving all the yoghurt pots with clear lids for planting seeds in and keeping seedlings protected while they are small.


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## StoneRoad (Oct 29, 2021)

Trying to make sure that we properly fill the dishwasher, freezer and so on. If it wasn't for covid, we would be shopping locally, plus a veg box etc.

A job in the next few days will be to collect up some logs from the "wildwood" area of the garden.
I have some pruning & thinning to do, which will produce a further supply of logs, plus some to set aside to season, ahead of next winter. We are intending to use our wood-burner this winter, rather than the expensive LPG boiler.
I hope this will make our heating be more carbon efficient. [but, I doubt that I could grow more wood than the CO2 emitted in other ways].

We've exchanged another two windows - new wooden frames and double glazing - to improve the heat seal. The only window left isn't in too bad a condition, and we've built the replacement frame & have the glass already. 
It takes us a day to rip out the old window and replace the frames and fit the new glazing. Usually, there is just a bit of tidying up around the beading to do the following day. Why wood ? I'm not a big fan of uPVC and we live in a Nat. Park & World Heritage Site ...


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## danny la rouge (Oct 29, 2021)

LynnDoyleCooper said:


> I hate these type of threads or discussions generally as they end up pushing individual changes, the least important thing to think about and do.


Precisely this. Lifestyle changes aren’t sufficient. For the scale needed, it has to be systemic change. 

Not that I’m saying actively don’t do anything. Just that it’s not what we should be focussing on. It’s what governments and the fossil fuel industry want us to focus on. And they succeed. It’s very successful misdirection.


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## StoneRoad (Oct 29, 2021)

danny la rouge said:


> Precisely this. Lifestyle changes aren’t sufficient. For the scale needed, it has to be systemic change.
> 
> Not that I’m saying actively don’t do anything. Just that it’s not what we should be focussing on. It’s what governments and the fossil fuel industry want us to focus on. And they succeed. It’s very successful misdirection.



How, then do we persuade governments and the fossil fuel industry that "they" need to do these certain things ?
 - such as :- significantly reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions, especially from electricity generation and stick to their promises to make those reductions ? Even when those existing commitments [Paris 2015] are unlikely to be sufficient.

However, although I do agree with you about the need for systemic changes, we [the general people] still need to make those lifestyle changes.
This is a situation where "every little helps" ...


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## danny la rouge (Oct 30, 2021)

StoneRoad said:


> How, then do we persuade governments and the fossil fuel industry that "they" need to do these certain things ?



I don’t have a great deal of faith that they will. The 26 in COP26 means they’ve held this conference 26 times and still not done what they need to do.

The best hope we have is direct action. That means not performative publicity stunts, and not vanguards of activists acting in our best interests, but actually engaging with working class people so that the action comes from, involves, the people affected, and the action targets those responsible.

But will world leaders and business do enough soon enough of their own volition? No, probably not. Not going by past performance. 


StoneRoad said:


> However, although I do agree with you about the need for systemic changes, we [the general people] still need to make those lifestyle changes.
> This is a situation where "every little helps" ...


Well I did specifically say I wasn’t saying don’t.


----------



## LDC (Oct 30, 2021)

danny la rouge said:


> The best hope we have is direct action. That means not performative publicity stunts, and not vanguards of activists acting in our best interests, but actually engaging with working class people so that the action comes from, involves, the people affected, and the action targets those responsible.


I agree, but I do think here's something worth thinking about with the relationship and dynamic between social movements like the climate stuff happening now, and what might be more work and community based movements. I think like it or not the form much of politics takes in the here and now is through things like XR and Insulate Britain, the question is how to expand what they do and makes links with the things you mention, which is where I think it will be won or lost. (Know you know this, just thinking out loud.)

I want to be able to say something about the struggle in the sphere of production (work) and the sphere of circulation (the streets etc.) both being needed and possibly complimentary, but it's too early!


----------



## friendofdorothy (Oct 31, 2021)

StoneRoad said:


> How, then do we persuade governments and the fossil fuel industry that "they" need to do these certain things ?
> - such as :- significantly reduce Carbon Dioxide emissions, especially from electricity generation and stick to their promises to make those reductions ? Even when those existing commitments [Paris 2015] are unlikely to be sufficient.
> 
> However, although I do agree with you about the need for systemic changes, we [the general people] still need to make those lifestyle changes.
> This is a situation where "every little helps" ...


Yes.

I often feel powerless against the tidal wave of plastic, waste and burning up the earths resources. There is only so much we can do as individuals .Yes we can not buy this or that product - or collectively we can join a movement to urge manufacturers or energy companies to waste less do things better but with out a national or global framework to really change the whole unsustainable system we are all fucked.

I also know we are all going to hell in handcart and I am very, very angry with govts and big businesses for not protecting our world.

I feel doing the small things are the only things in my control. Remaking things, choosing a 'green' energy co,  and avoiding the worse excesses of throw away culture gives me a teeny weeny feeling of agency so I don't feel awful for just washing dishes.


----------



## mentalchik (Nov 7, 2021)

There seems to be a huge disconnect....work in a supermarket, we sell hundreds of "bags for life" every day...in fact we sell just as many if not more than before they got rid of 5p bags (interestingly one of the biggest groups being our local students, hardly any of them seem to bring a bag) i do daily shopping and have a large rucksack and reusable bag, haven't bought a plastic bag for years...littering....every day i pick my way through large amounts of litter (really dirty town) and a litter strewn car park when i get to work....if people can't even be bothered to not dispose of their own litter what hope is there ? can't personally do much about my home as it's a HA flat in a very large block, use the heating very sparingly i spose but tbh that's more about cost.


----------



## StoneRoad (Nov 7, 2021)

Littering seems to be is really getting worse, and has been for years.

This time of year the rubbish alongside roads gets really obvious. And it makes me depressed, that people care so little about the environment. Nothing much seems to have changed !

Back at the 1990 Gateshead Garden Festival, the management had a thing about litter-picking. For various obvious reasons.
You would have thought that six months of making sure you didn't chuck stuff except into bins would have registered somewhat with the staff ...
Nope, on the last day, various staff were smoking / eating on duty [something that was almost a sacking offence] and chucking their litter. 
"It doesn't matter now"
was the response !

Nothing much seems to have changed, again ...

I do pick up (using a picker and wearing gloves/mask) along the road outside the house, stuff lobbed out of cars etc.
So much litter & waste, much of which could be recycled ... cans get put into our recycling bin.

Something on this subject of littering that really buggs me.
[apart from discarded butts that start fires]
People walking up to a beauty spot for a picnic [carrying full bottles/cans and food packets]
then dump their waste, the now lighter, empty containers ! rather than take them away.


----------



## Aladdin (Nov 7, 2021)

Having all the groceries delivered means they arrive in a big crate which I leave out again for next delivery. No plastic bags if any kind. 

I turn off any lights in rooms I'm not sat in. 

Heating is on a thermostat and only kicks in twice a day for an hour each time in winter. The house is massively insulated and holds heat well. 

I'm showering less since the pandemic started and I wear clothes at least 5/6 times before washing them. (Except for undergarments which get changed daily...)

Washing dishes etc by hand. Not using dish washer. 

I drive maybe once a week now.  Which is a massive difference. But this is because I am working from home. 

Recycling ... I have way more time to wash and recycle most rubbish. And compost food waste. The general waste is less than ever.


----------



## weltweit (Nov 7, 2021)

StoneRoad said:


> ..
> People walking up to a beauty spot for a picnic [carrying full bottles/cans and food packets]
> then dump their waste, the now lighter, empty containers ! rather than take them away.


I spent some months hitchiking in Australia years ago. 

The outback roads are little more than red dirt track rolling their way through the red dust of the mainly billiard ball flat occasionally bush covered countryside. 

On the more busy roads there was a space of about 10m either side of the road which was deep in empty beer tinnies, plastic wrapping, bottles some broken, and general rubbish. 

The average long distance Australian motorist it seems just doesn't care.


----------



## StoneRoad (Nov 8, 2021)

Something else that would help ---
The idea of giving up Peat in compost etc.

Peat Bogs are massive carbon sinks [better than trees !], 
So, draining bogs to plant trees, harvesting the peat for sale or fuel has been very detrimental.








						Climate change: National Trust joins international call for peat product ban
					

The organisation says peat bogs should be left alone as they trap carbon.



					www.bbc.co.uk
				




I try to find & use peat-free composts, and avoid buying plants that need peat ...
Must admit that some peat-free products are crap, which is why I'm doing more home composting.
I used to use those little compressed peat pots for germinating some plants, now I use newspaper or bog-roll centres.

Interesting that the NT has finally come over to the ban peat camp ...


----------



## pinkmonkey (Nov 8, 2021)

Stopped flying. Switching over to renewable fuel for my burner, Im a bit skint right now and coal is cheap but I should be able to switch totally over to eco logs soon as work picks up. (Haven’t worked for a few months). Got rid of the chemical toilet in 2019 and I compost my turds. I try to buy everything I need at car boots or charity shops or on ebay. I saved up for Goodyear welted boots that were £££ from Trickers, but can be repeatedly sent back to the factory to be resoled and repaired so they should last longer than me. I get most of my electricity from my solar panels. We switched all our lights to leds. I reuse packaging rather than sling it. I don’t use cotton pads I have reuseable ones. We repair things, including things we’ve found - we tat broken electronics and El Jugs fixes them. Amazing how half the time its a fucked battery or loose connection. We fix friends broken electronic things too. I repair my clothes and shoes. I grow my own, I buy food in the reduced section, I then decide what I’m making, cook it up and freeze it in those takeaway containers. Of course I feel like I’m pissing in the wind, but I mostly save money by being this frugal and theres nothing like the satisfaction of making, fixing and doing things yourself.


----------



## seeformiles (Nov 8, 2021)

I’ve accepted a job that is within 5 mins walking distance from home while turning down a slightly better paid job that would involve a daily 15 miles car commute.


----------



## Carvaged (Nov 8, 2021)

I don't buy or consume much of anything (beyond what I need to eat). Not just because I'm too poor to afford stuff, but also because I don't like lots of things and owning possessions beyond practical day-to-day essentials kind of stresses me out. I also re-use most things - from plastic packaging to foil, tubs, empty bottles etc.


----------



## farmerbarleymow (Nov 12, 2021)

weltweit said:


> I miss broad beans .. if I am honest!


I buy them frozen - they're lovely and I get through quite a lot of them.


----------



## weltweit (Nov 12, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> I buy them frozen - they're lovely and I get through quite a lot of them.


Me too, but Morrisons hasn't had broad beans in their freezer section for months  

Actually though, I just found some today in my village shop so yay for them!!


----------



## farmerbarleymow (Nov 12, 2021)

weltweit said:


> Me too, but Morrisons hasn't had broad beans in their freezer section for months


M & S usually have them in stock if that's any help.

I always try to ensure I've got 2-3kg of them in, and just top up when I need to.


----------



## weltweit (Nov 12, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> M & S usually have them in stock if that's any help.


There ain't an M&S nearby sadly ..


----------



## farmerbarleymow (Nov 12, 2021)

weltweit said:


> There ain't an M&S nearby sadly ..


You can get them from Ocado - £1 for 500g, 1p more than Morrisons based on a quick check.


----------



## weltweit (Nov 12, 2021)

farmerbarleymow said:


> You can get them from Ocado - £1 for 500g, 1p more than Morrisons based on a quick check.


It's ok, as I mentioned I just found them in my village shop. 

An emporium incredible in what oddities and necessities it stocks and provides post office services 7 days a week.


----------



## Saul Goodman (Nov 12, 2021)

rosesarered said:


> Brought my totes to the market.
> Went to the local market instead of the big chain supermarket.
> Picked up someone's trash while walking home.


I suspect you also purchased a pallet of spam.


----------



## stavros (Nov 13, 2021)

Does anyone here apply the "If it's brown flush it down..." maxim?


----------



## stavros (Nov 29, 2021)

I'm using my gas oven less recently, and using my induction hob more.


----------



## hash tag (Dec 14, 2021)

We dont have nor will have Christmas lights at home. Don't mock. Listening to You and yours recently, someone noted for their lights in Nottinghamshire said to the reporter his lights had less of her carbon footprint
than all her recent flights (recording from 2+ years ago). They went on to state a silly amount the electricity costs the Americans for these lights each year.
A quick search for the UK - £4 million a year ....https://www.fool.co.uk/personal-finance/your-money/learn/christmas-lights-cost-brits-nearly-4m-a-year-heres-how-to-keep-yuletide-energy-costs-down/


----------



## StoneRoad (Dec 14, 2021)

Needed to brighten things up this year.
So bought some replacement exterior lights.
All LEDs and their draw is tiny compared to various previous iterations.

We had some very power hungry floodlights on a daisy chain supply a couple of decades ago.
(they gradually died and the last working section were nicked out of the garden one afternoon just before 12th night).


----------



## hash tag (Jan 19, 2022)

I have found myself using the switches on the hifi as opposed to using the remote and thus prolonging the life of the battery in the remote.


----------



## hash tag (Jan 19, 2022)

Asthma inhalers...................



hash tag said:


> Forget recycling asthma inhalers, they way to go must be dry powder inhalers as opposed metered dose inhalers which contain greenhouse gases equivalent to 100 miles in a car.
> I drag this up now because I heard an article about it on the BBC in the wee small hours which I cannot find. Other links here though
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## StoneRoad (Jan 19, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Asthma inhalers...................


Thanks for that - OH is about to ask for more inhalers [only used occasionally], so I'll pass that one on.


----------



## StoneRoad (Jan 19, 2022)

We had a small amount of damage from Storms Arwen & Barra ... very little, tbh.
Just the top out of a Scot's Pine, a few other big branches and a load of thin twigs.

However, we have also had the OHL people doing some tree trimming.

So, since the weekend, we've cut most of that pine up for firewood - too badly damaged for anything else. Although we still have a little bit more tidying up to do, most of that is now done. This is now stacked to season before we use it, especially the largest lumps ...
We've also made some inroads into the tree pruning heaps, ie cut out the biggest bits for firewood and the thinner stuff for kindling - all the remaining brashings are being added to heaps for small mammal shelter & minibeast habitats. Several piles suitable for birds' nests have been compiled ! Still got about another third to do ...
Next time, I'll have my chipper available to help the clear-up !

The result has been a collection of firewood, that will keep us going if we need extra warmth - or the power's off.
I do want to use some of the stock to reduce our reliance on LPG for space heating, as the cost per litre is eyewatering atm.


----------



## 8ball (Jan 19, 2022)

hash tag said:


> We dont have nor will have Christmas lights at home. Don't mock. Listening to You and yours recently, someone noted for their lights in Nottinghamshire said to the reporter his lights had less of her carbon footprint
> than all her recent flights (recording from 2+ years ago). They went on to state a silly amount the electricity costs the Americans for these lights each year.
> A quick search for the UK - £4 million a year ....https://www.fool.co.uk/personal-finance/your-money/learn/christmas-lights-cost-brits-nearly-4m-a-year-heres-how-to-keep-yuletide-energy-costs-down/



That's, what... a few pennies per person in the country per year?  If everyone in the country had a cup of tea it would probably cost that.


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## Dandred (Jan 20, 2022)

All lights in the house are LED, triple glazed, most efficient gas boiler, sort the recycling, even take all the labels of plastic and glass, drive a 1 liter petrol car when I could easily drive round is something much bigger. Only eat meat twice a week. Buy our electric from green suppliers.


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## hash tag (Jan 20, 2022)

8ball said:


> That's, what... a few pennies per person in the country per year?  If everyone in the country had a cup of tea it would probably cost that.


"Little things".
They all add up 😁


----------



## 8ball (Jan 20, 2022)

hash tag said:


> "Little things".
> They all add up 😁



Ok, let's have a "one less cup of tea to keep the lights on" drive.


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## 8ball (Jan 20, 2022)

Dandred said:


> All lights in the house are LED, triple glazed, most efficient gas boiler, sort the recycling, even take all the labels of plastic and glass, drive a 1 liter petrol car when I could easily drive round is something much bigger. Only eat meat twice a week. Buy our electric from green suppliers.



Got kids?


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## hash tag (Jan 20, 2022)

8ball said:


> Ok, let's have a "one less cup of tea to keep the lights on" drive.


I'm making 3 cups with one boil of the kettle and keeping it in a flask 😉


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 20, 2022)

petee said:


> but then you have the tick-tick-tick and while i can sleep in a room with every light on, i can't tolerate noise.
> though come to think of it, _you_ probably like ticks.



I've literally slept under shellfire. If you are knackered enough, you will sleep.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Jan 20, 2022)

8ball said:


> That's, what... a few pennies per person in the country per year?  If everyone in the country had a cup of tea it would probably cost that.



Mrs Sas's strings of outside LED Christmas lights come to less than 30W. So, say six hours a day for 20 days 30x6x20 = 3,600 W.

Boiling 2kW kettle for ten minutes = 20,000 Watts.


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## StoneRoad (Jan 20, 2022)

The majority of household lights - inc exterior, sheds and decorative - are now LED.

The last holdout area was the garage / workshop and the replacement fittings are now ready to install.


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## 8ball (Jan 20, 2022)

Sasaferrato said:


> I've literally slept under shellfire. If you are knackered enough, you will sleep.



...unless you have a sleep disorder.


----------



## Badgers (Jan 20, 2022)

hash tag said:


> I'm making 3 cups with one boil of the kettle and keeping it in a flask 😉


Am also doing this 😎 got a big decent Thermos for about £20. Knock up a load of coffee in the morning and kettle is done with a boil 👍 have also got a smaller one for soup and such. 

No doing much elsewhere. Have always shopped second handclothes and household things. Used to fly a lot but that is past. Never waste food


----------



## stavros (Jan 29, 2022)

More general environment than climate change per se, but I forwent rocket in the new recipe I cooked this evening, because I could only find plastic bags of it in my local greengrocer and the nearby farm shop.

I may have missed out, but the meal tasted good all the same.


----------



## stavros (Feb 27, 2022)

I cooked a lovely new recipe this evening, where I switched celeriac in for the prescribed swede, because the latter's not in season but the former is.

Or at least my Hugh FW book says that's the case; Eat the Seasons says they're both in at the moment.


----------



## StoneRoad (Feb 27, 2022)

As I have probably noted in the 'Gardening Thread' I have been doing quite a bit of tree trimming, ably assisted this winter by Arwen and friends. There has been quite a pile created by the OHL vs trees team ...
This is largely "green" timber and I don't want to burn too much of it, because of the claimed particulates and it's way too smokey unless the wind is blowing hard, but that also makes the fire in the log-burner draw too fast/much.

This morning, I finally finished clearing the heaps of twiggy stuff [heaped up as wildlife habitat] and extracted those branch sections thick enough to call logs. Therefore, by this afternoon, I had managed to get proper access to the previous pile of logs that had had the newer stuff heaped up against it. Having looked at it again, there are some good sized logs in there. So, the next fine day [when it is not blowing half a houlie or more] we'll chop that lot up into useable lumps and pile up the fresh stuff that needs to dry, and probably add to it over the next week or so. I need to speak to some near neighbours on the same subject [sourcing more logs].

I'm going to need a few more trees planted, most of the ones I've thinned out were planted 25 years or more ago ...

tl;dr - making firewood out of dead[ish] trees


----------



## stavros (Feb 28, 2022)

stavros said:


> I cooked a lovely new recipe this evening, where I switched celeriac in for the prescribed swede, because the latter's not in season but the former is.
> 
> Or at least my Hugh FW book says that's the case; Eat the Seasons says they're both in at the moment.


My error; I meant squash rather than swede.


----------



## dessiato (Feb 28, 2022)

I’ve bought another car with a smaller engine. I don’t drive it very often, it’ll be Easter before I next use it.


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## LDC (Mar 7, 2022)

I generally hate all the personal lifestyle change stuff as I think it's missing the point/letting the companies off the hook etc, but I do know that we are going to have to change some aspects of how we live. Anyway, I like this article, even though it suggests personal changes, as it's clear, feels doable, isn't preachy, and is much more egalitarian if this was the level people aimed for together. (Plus all the other more structural changes elsewhere obviously.)









						Six key lifestyle changes can help avert the climate crisis, study finds
					

Research shows that governments and individuals making small changes can have a huge impact in reducing emissions




					www.theguardian.com


----------



## Sasaferrato (Mar 7, 2022)

8ball said:


> ...unless you have a sleep disorder.


I've always had problems getting to sleep, but once I'm asleep, I stay asleep. I use an MP3 player, playing an audiobook now.

I once had a prolonged period of working eight hours on, eight hours off in a noisy environment, getting to sleep was not a problem then. Eating breakfast at midnight was a bit bizarre. I had a lab tech colleague with a vicious sense of humour, he cleared half the midnight breakfast queue (you tend to feel slightly nauseous anyway, tired and life completely out of sequence) with his comment re tinned plum tomatoes 'Just the thing for a hearty breakfast, an aborted mouse', cue green tinted faces fleeing.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Mar 7, 2022)

dessiato said:


> I’ve bought another car with a smaller engine. I don’t drive it very often, it’ll be Easter before I next use it.


I've gone from 1600 to 1368. Driving at a steady 60, over 50 to the gallon.

Filling at the half tank stops me from bursting into tears these days.


----------



## StoneRoad (Mar 7, 2022)

Half-jokingly, I've thought about using one of my two smaller m/bikes to commute to the workshop, instead of the car - when I don't have either the need to be there asap or large items to transport, that is.
Certainly a thought for in the summer [warmer] months.


----------



## dessiato (Mar 7, 2022)

Sasaferrato said:


> I've gone from 1600 to 1368. Driving at a steady 60, over 50 to the gallon.
> 
> Filling at the half tank stops me from bursting into tears these days.


At Xmas I rented a C1 which would give up to 75 to 100mpg, indicated.


----------



## Sasaferrato (Mar 7, 2022)

dessiato said:


> At Xmas I rented a C1 which would give up to 75 to 100mpg, indicated.



Hmmmmm.... I've checked mine by filling it to the brim, then working out distance/fuel used.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 7, 2022)

Found myself pondering the possibility of getting some kind of hook-up 'thing' to attach to my exercise bike, to generate small amount of electricity. Wondering if it could be stored up, in a battery or something, for use later.


----------



## hash tag (Mar 7, 2022)

StoneRoad said:


> Half-jokingly, I've thought about using one of my two smaller m/bikes to commute to the workshop, instead of the car - when I don't have either the need to be there asap or large items to transport, that is.
> Certainly a thought for in the summer [warmer] months.


I gather many bikes do not qualify for ULEZ


----------



## sojourner (Mar 7, 2022)

sojourner said:


> Found myself pondering the possibility of getting some kind of hook-up 'thing' to attach to my exercise bike, to generate small amount of electricity. Wondering if it could be stored up, in a battery or something, for use later.


Why are you laughing hash tag ? I'm serious.


----------



## surreybrowncap (Mar 7, 2022)

sojourner said:


> Why are you laughing hash tag ? I'm serious.


----------



## hash tag (Mar 7, 2022)

sojourner said:


> Why are you laughing hash tag ? I'm serious.


I would imagine it would take a lot of peddaling to get anything worthwhile from it, but hey, worth a try.

Many years ago I remember an outfit called rinky dink who used to provide power for their amplification from a bike or two.


----------



## gentlegreen (Mar 7, 2022)

sojourner said:


> Found myself pondering the possibility of getting some kind of hook-up 'thing' to attach to my exercise bike, to generate small amount of electricity. Wondering if it could be stored up, in a battery or something, for use later.


I had been sitting on some large DC motors for decades which came out of mainframe tape drives so in 2020 when my bike broke and I was sent home anyway, I tried to build something - sadly it would have needed much higher gearing to produce and useable current - let alone provide any pedalling resistance - and the folly reminded me in any case that I can't stand the boredom of cycling and going nowhere and I opted for walking laps of the park instead ...

Strava calculates that over a 21 mile, hour and a half cycle ride I averaged 232 watts.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 7, 2022)

Well I'm on it most days, as is the fella, so it'd be approx 5 or 6 hours of pedal power a week. I know it's a tiddly amount, but maybe if there's a way to save the power generated, it could build up, for use on days when the power is out, for essential stuff like boiling water to wash or cook with.


----------



## StoneRoad (Mar 7, 2022)

hash tag said:


> I gather many bikes do not qualify for ULEZ


Sadly, I think that's true.
However, the littlest bike I have has very good fuel economy, especially when driven carefully. It's only 175cc, three-speed and doesn't have much of a top speed. Handling is, shall we say, a bit idiosyncratic ! There's a fair chance that mine used to be bright red ...


----------



## Leafster (Mar 7, 2022)

sojourner said:


> Found myself pondering the possibility of getting some kind of hook-up 'thing' to attach to my exercise bike, to generate small amount of electricity. Wondering if it could be stored up, in a battery or something, for use later.


This is what you need: 





__





						RE:GEN | Generate Clean Energy with Every Workout
					

The RE:GEN is the world’s first electricity-generating smart fitness bike.  Create useable clean energy every time you exercise. Get fit. Earn Sweatcoins. Reduce your carbon footprint.




					regen.energym.io


----------



## hash tag (Mar 7, 2022)

Only £2000 🤔


----------



## Cloo (Mar 7, 2022)

Replaced shower gel and liquid soap with solid soap and minimal packaging, swapped to shampoo bars and will do same for conditioner when bottle runs out.

We've been only buying fruit, veg and wine from the Northern hemisphere for a while to try to cut down on food miles. It's interesting because it makes you much more aware of seasonality and whether there's been a good/bad season for various things (especially asparagus).


----------



## Sasaferrato (Mar 7, 2022)

Cloo said:


> Replaced shower gel and liquid soap with solid soap and minimal packaging, swapped to shampoo bars and will do same for conditioner when bottle runs out.
> 
> We've been only buying fruit, veg and wine from the Northern hemisphere for a while to try to cut down on food miles. It's interesting because it makes you much more aware of seasonality and whether there's been a good/bad season for various things (especially asparagus).



When we were kids, everything was eaten in season.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 7, 2022)

Leafster said:


> This is what you need:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Damn. Oh well, at least I know my idea wasn't pants.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 7, 2022)

Thanks, btw 🙂


----------



## ouirdeaux (Mar 7, 2022)

maomao said:


> Why the fuck would anyone need an alarm clock if they have even the most basic phone?



The world often puzzles me as well.


----------



## hash tag (Mar 7, 2022)

At night our phones are left switched off and are never taken into the bedroom. 
The tick of a clock can be very soothing.


----------



## Dandred (Mar 8, 2022)

8ball said:


> Got kids?


No, chose not to before I got married.


----------



## sojourner (Mar 8, 2022)

hash tag said:


> At night our phones are left switched off and are never taken into the bedroom.
> The tick of a clock can be very soothing.


I don't take my phone to bed either. Plus, I have a dawn-wake-up alarm clock, that gradually gets lighter so I wake more naturally, and it has birdsong and cows mooing on it.


----------



## Aladdin (Mar 8, 2022)

Leafster said:


> This is what you need:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Sweatcoins


🤔


----------



## StoneRoad (Mar 8, 2022)

My phone only comes into the bedroom under certain, very limited, circumstances, most of the time it is in another room. [left on for text messages].
Alarm system is the "dawn chorus" and attacks on the bird feeder, although the clock radio warbles into life as a reminder to haul out of the warm bed ...


----------



## platinumsage (Mar 8, 2022)

I've stopped buying South African grapes in favour of Brazillian ones.


----------



## stavros (Mar 8, 2022)

platinumsage said:


> I've stopped buying South African grapes in favour of Brazillian ones.


What's the difference, in environmental terms?


----------



## platinumsage (Mar 8, 2022)

stavros said:


> What's the difference, in environmental terms?



About 200 air miles.


----------



## hash tag (Mar 8, 2022)

Easter is coming up, I'll only buy British chocolate and British Easter eggs...


hash tag said:


> Easter is just around the corner. As I am away I ordered a couple of eggs for my inlaws, expecting them to arrive in a few days, they arrived next day and will probably be eaten in a day or two.
> British chocolate makers:
> I went here Home - Chocolate Tree also...
> Paul A Young Fine Chocolates.
> ...


----------



## WouldBe (Mar 8, 2022)

platinumsage said:


> About 200 air miles.


And probably several acres of rainforest.


----------



## 8ball (Mar 9, 2022)

Dandred said:


> No, chose not to before I got married.



Think that decision got made for me by circumstance (though there is a small doubt wandering around out there),
Good to be in control of things, though.


----------



## cozmikbrew (Mar 9, 2022)

Go up to strangers,smile,hug them and say "Thank for that",and i mean it,rarely does it get a positive response@x


----------



## stavros (Mar 12, 2022)

There's an estate I walk through almost every day, which is almost completely made up of shared road/pathway, i.e. no pavements. When walking in the dark, around a curved section with open-fronted car ports on the inside, I walk on the outside of the curve, so as not to set off the ports' motion-sensitive lights.


----------



## Yuwipi Woman (Mar 15, 2022)

Saul Goodman said:


> I'm not even sure ceramics can be recycled.



The short answer is yes.  One of the ways that potters will condition clay to give it a better chance of surviving a kiln is to mix in about 20% ground up pots.  This is only unglazed pots, so there's a limitation.  You can also used glazed ceramic to make mosaic designs.  Some people do this instead of buying commercial flooring.


----------



## stavros (Apr 19, 2022)

I went into the very sparsely populated office today, and it was striking how many monitors were left on. Similarly unnecessary lights. I tried to rectify that where I could.


----------



## Lea (Apr 21, 2022)

Use soap bars rather than shower gel or handwash in bottles.


----------



## 8ball (Apr 21, 2022)

Ate a pasty cold.


----------



## stavros (Apr 21, 2022)

Lea said:


> Use soap bars rather than shower gel or handwash in bottles.


You can get shampoo bars as well. I think Lush sell them.


----------



## hash tag (Apr 21, 2022)

Lush also take old plastic bottles back in return for a discount on new products


----------



## davesgcr (Apr 21, 2022)

Local Tesco and even Marks take "soft plastic" for hopeful recycling. Do this thoroughly and it has reduced our normal waste by a reasonable amount. Hardly fill more than a third of the bin now .....

"Every little helps" - one hopes.


----------



## hash tag (Apr 21, 2022)

davesgcr said:


> Local Tesco and even Marks take "soft plastic" for hopeful recycling. Do this thoroughly and it has reduced our normal waste by a reasonable amount. Hardly fill more than a third of the bin now .....
> 
> "Every little helps" - one hopes.


Isnt a large part of this simply green washing?


----------



## 8ball (Apr 21, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Isnt a large part of this simply green washing?



With any corporate thing of this kind there tends to be a settlement between people concerned about the environment, bean counters and PR/marketing.


----------



## hash tag (Apr 21, 2022)

Some supermarkets take back plastic bags, somewhere else, spectacles, somewhere else clothes. I'm not convinced these things all end up where we would like them to.


----------



## StoneRoad (Apr 21, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Some supermarkets take back plastic bags, somewhere else, spectacles, somewhere else clothes. I'm not convinced these things all end up where we would like them to.


No, probably not all of them.
But some of these bits & bobs do end up recycled or reused in some way, rather than just dumped in "landfill" ...


----------



## xenon (Apr 21, 2022)

Just burn rubbish for energy anyway. It’s never all going to be recycled without costing more in energy.


----------



## gentlegreen (Apr 22, 2022)

Since I retired, I bathe even less often.
I also do a lot less laundry - though that doesn't count as I use my bath water.
I only flush once a day with water that I already used to rinse my alfalfa sprouts.
I'm currently embarking on growing more of my own food to see what is feasible in a small urban space.

-----

When I move to somewhere with more garden and workshop space, I plan to recycle all my grey water, poo and wee.
On the other hand, I may well have to use a car occaisionally for big shops and to to tow a boat to the launch point...
... but doubtless I will invest in an electric bike and trailer for shopping... and solar panels... and a solar shower as I will hopefully need to up my personal hygiene game as I socialise more.
I fully hope to wear electrically heated clothes in winter.

I will also aim to grow a lot of my own food which will save on single-use plastics - though that will mean I will need to raid communal bins for the containers I use. I will hopefully find ways to re-purpose quite a lot of other people's landfill... 
Living several miles from the shops instead of 1/10 mile will provide incentive. I will also bulk-buy pulses and seeds - not least because things like tahini may be less easily available.

If it proves appropriate / feasible, I might get some exercise from small-scale market gardening.


----------



## 8ball (Apr 22, 2022)

gentlegreen said:


> Since I retired, I bathe even less often.
> I also do a lot less laundry - though that doesn't count as I use my bath water.
> I only flush once a day with water that I already used to rinse my alfalfa sprouts.
> I'm currently embarking on growing more of my own food to see what is feasible in a small urban space.
> ...



This is surely too hardcore for the "little things" thread.
Careful with the exercise, though.  Will mean breathing out extra CO2.


----------



## nottsgirl (Apr 22, 2022)

Posted a picture on Facebook in celebration of Earth Day.


----------



## furluxor (Apr 24, 2022)

gentlegreen said:


> Since I retired, I bathe even less often.



Still got a stretch to go to retirement (I'll never get that bus pass!) but I also started showering less often a few years ago. My brother's doctor said he was ruining his skin by showering daily. I have dry skin as well so I took the advice and switched to every second day with no ill results.
And back in the boating days...well, there's such a thing as strategic washing : ) Standing in a stock pot and using a cloth.


----------



## muscovyduck (Apr 24, 2022)

I've been on an anti-plastic hype and growing food. Feels good. The big challenge is when you're not trying to replace something plastic, but you're trying to replace something that comes packaged in plastic


----------



## gentlegreen (Apr 24, 2022)

I ought to cook my beans from scratch to save on steel cans, but it would cramp my style - I suppose I could cook up a week's supply of chickpeas and put them in the freezer-ish thingy I 'm using. At the very least I should use up my stock of dried pulses since they refuse to sprout ...


----------



## Aladdin (May 7, 2022)

furluxor said:


> Still got a stretch to go to retirement (I'll never get that bus pass!) but I also started showering less often a few years ago. My brother's doctor said he was ruining his skin by showering daily. I have dry skin as well so I took the advice and switched to every second day with no ill results.
> And back in the boating days...well, there's such a thing as strategic washing : ) Standing in a stock pot and using a cloth.




I had to rush to hospital on Friday for a "quick blood test ". 
I ended up walking about a third of a mile after parking the car in the rain (admittedly  not very heavy rain but enough to soak in) 
Bear in mind this was the very first walk outside of my back garden since March 2020. 
And the rain jacket made me sweat. 
It was only after I finished up in the hospital and walked back  that I realised  I must have been a bit whiffy. But on double checking myself I actually was not a bit smelly. Not at all. 
I'd not showered since Monday.
Plain forgot ... just was too busy doing stuff and working and minding the octogenarians. 

Oh well. 
Single handedly saving the planet.


----------



## farmerbarleymow (May 7, 2022)

8ball said:


> Ate a pasty cold.


I used to buy ginsters pasties back in the day and eat them cold.  The thought of doing so now makes me feel  slightly queasy.


----------



## stavros (May 8, 2022)

farmerbarleymow said:


> I used to buy ginsters pasties back in the day and eat them cold.  The thought of doing so now makes me feel  slightly queasy.


Careful not to heat them too much.


----------



## danny la rouge (May 8, 2022)

I didn’t go for a flight in my private jet again today.


----------



## LDC (May 8, 2022)

danny la rouge said:


> I didn’t go for a flight in my private jet again today.



You still have your own?! I thought the ACG had communalised all their private jets?


----------



## danny la rouge (May 8, 2022)

LynnDoyleCooper said:


> You still have your own?! I thought the ACG had communalised all their private jets?


I don’t have a private jet to go for flights in.


----------



## WouldBe (May 8, 2022)

danny la rouge said:


> I didn’t go for a flight in my private jet again today.


Can't afford to fill it up.


----------



## MickiQ (May 9, 2022)

danny la rouge said:


> I didn’t go for a flight in my private jet again today.


Funnily enough neither did I


----------



## danny la rouge (May 9, 2022)

MickiQ said:


> Funnily enough neither did I


🤜🤛


----------



## furluxor (May 11, 2022)

I have switched to biodegradable dental floss, which is not going swimmingly. The gaps between my teeth are so small that the floss broke and got stuck, which resulted in me running around the house trying to pry it out using sewing thread, toothpicks and well sharpened pencils. Succeeded at last but now I hold my breath every time I floss. The inevitable disaster is coming.


----------



## 8ball (May 11, 2022)

furluxor said:


> I have switched to biodegradable dental floss, which is not going swimmingly. The gaps between my teeth are so small that the floss broke and got stuck, which resulted in me running around the house trying to pry it out using sewing thread, toothpicks and well sharpened pencils. Succeeded at last but now I hold my breath every time I floss. The inevitable disaster is coming.



Don’t think it’s meant to biodegrade quite that fast.


----------



## stavros (May 15, 2022)

Does anyone know what the approximate energy required is to pump a litre of water to a home? There'll be factors which means it varies - altitude, proximity to reservoir, perhaps different treatment techniques - but I'm not able to find a definitive answer on this.


----------



## stavros (May 31, 2022)

I can't seem to find recycled bog roll anymore. Once upon a time the local Coop used to sell, as I'm sure did Oxfam. More recently I've had to get it from Tesco, but neither them nor Asda, both very big shops, seem to have any at the moment.


----------



## StoneRoad (May 31, 2022)

stavros said:


> I can't seem to find recycled bog roll anymore. Once upon a time the local Coop used to sell, as I'm sure did Oxfam. More recently I've had to get it from Tesco, but neither them nor Asda, both very big shops, seem to have any at the moment.


Our local co-op & sainsbury's both sold the stuff, at various times, but I haven't been in either shop since before covid [BC].


----------



## stavros (May 31, 2022)

Maybe the situation in Ukraine has somehow affected supply lines. I've been forced to buy stuff that only offers 80% recycled packaging, as opposed to the actual paper itself.


----------



## stavros (Jun 11, 2022)

Success! I found recycled bog roll in Waitrose.


----------



## WouldBe (Jun 11, 2022)

stavros said:


> Success! I found recycled bog roll in Waitrose.


Drape it over the edge of the bath and let it dry then reuse it. .


----------



## hash tag (Jun 11, 2022)

stavros said:


> Success! I found recycled bog roll in Waitrose.


Make sure you hang it the correct way and use it sparingly.


----------



## hash tag (Jun 13, 2022)

I find myself switching off lights all over the place as Mrs tag appears to put them on unnecessarily ( in my humble opinion ) and then never ever realises she has left them on 😡


----------



## StoneRoad (Jun 14, 2022)

hash tag said:


> I find myself switching off lights all over the place as Mrs tag appears to put them on unnecessarily ( in my humble opinion ) and then never ever realises she has left them on 😡


Same here, despite being almost all LEDs, I still switch 'em off.
Several bits of electronics that were usually left on standby have also been disconnected ...

Now to try and teach housemates to turn the laptop / radio / TV off when they are not actively using the output from said devices, especially the TV.

I've almost given up on trying to get them to recycle ... they just "bin" everything, without much attempt at separation. Can't even but the banana peel in the composting bin, never mind wash out pop bottles, which is very frustrating.


----------



## Pickman's model (Jun 14, 2022)

stavros said:


> Success! I found recycled bog roll in Waitrose.











						Who Gives A Crap UK
					






					uk.whogivesacrap.org


----------



## MickiQ (Jun 14, 2022)

StoneRoad said:


> Same here, despite being almost all LEDs, I still switch 'em off.
> Several bits of electronics that were usually left on standby have also been disconnected ...
> 
> Now to try and teach housemates to turn the laptop / radio / TV off when they are not actively using the output from said devices, especially the TV.
> ...


Switching off standby stuff as been the big thing for me, the TV, the DVR, the Blu-Ray and the Sky box are now all on a single strip plugged into a smart switch that turns them all off at midnight and back on again in the middle of the afternoon (mornings at weekends)


----------



## davesgcr (Jun 14, 2022)

Came back from Brighton on the train , and someone had left a half full bottle of still water on one of the tables. 

So I watered some of the rather dry station planters and put the plastic bottle in the station mixed recycling bag. Feeling virtuous.


----------



## stavros (Jun 15, 2022)

davesgcr said:


> Came back from Brighton on the train , and someone had left a half full bottle of still water on one of the tables.
> 
> So I watered some of the rather dry station planters and put the plastic bottle in the station mixed recycling bag. Feeling virtuous.


Coincidentally I did similar one my walk to the shops at lunchtime, although I used the contents of the discarded receptacle to water a patch of grass.

The bottle itself was put in my recycling once I got home.


----------



## frogwoman (Jul 31, 2022)

Turning lights off when leaving a room is something I've done since I was a kid, weird how some people don't do it.


----------



## TheWolfshead (Aug 2, 2022)

frogwoman said:


> Turning lights off when leaving a room is something I've done since I was a kid, weird how some people don't do it.


You probably had a dad like mine!


----------



## stavros (Aug 2, 2022)

I never use the hand dryers in pubic or work toilets. I just shake dry.


----------



## Artaxerxes (Aug 2, 2022)

It’s ironic in this age of fake meat and pseudo-vegan bollocks cluttering the shelves they withdrew Beanfeast from the market.


----------



## hash tag (Aug 2, 2022)

stavros said:


> I never use the hand dryers in pubic or work toilets. I just shake dry.


But how do you dry your hands?


----------



## furluxor (Aug 19, 2022)

frogwoman said:


> Turning lights off when leaving a room is something I've done since I was a kid, weird how some people don't do it.



It might be less weird if you think about the different lighting that people have. I reflexively switch off overhead lighting when leaving the room but then I very rarely use it in the first place. When the room has ambient lighting from multiple small lights positioned in various parts of the room, switching on/off each time you enter/exit becomes finicky and time consuming.


----------



## hash tag (Aug 30, 2022)

A person on radio 4 this morning said her geeky husband calculated it costs £25 per annum to keep the microwave on standby.


----------



## xenon (Aug 30, 2022)

hash tag said:


> A person on radio 4 this morning said her geeky husband calculated it costs £25 per annum to keep the microwave on standby.



Just get the old fashioned cheap type. 2 dials, no clock.


----------



## xenon (Aug 30, 2022)

I do have quite a few things that are on 24/7. Fridge, table top freezer, server, modem, 2 alexa thingies, bathroom fan (there's no window in there, speeds up when detecting steam,)  and my desktop PC is left on a few days a week. 

Was on the green tariff until that supplier went bust though.


----------



## hash tag (Aug 30, 2022)

I imagine it is cheaper to use a microwave to cooks things as opposed to a conventional oven or cooker as it will generally cook things in a few minutes.


----------



## chainsawjob (Sep 11, 2022)

Not so much things I've done (although this was a card I bought), but small environmental efforts I've come across recently. A card without cellophane wrapping, but just a paper closure instead, and free coffee grounds for the garden offered by a cafe (my garden is paved & only pots, so I didn't take any).


----------



## stavros (Sep 11, 2022)

chainsawjob said:


> Not so much things I've done (although this was a card I bought), but small environmental efforts I've come across recently. A card without cellophane wrapping, but just a paper closure instead, and free coffee grounds for the garden offered by a cafe (my garden is paved & only pots, so I didn't take any).
> 
> View attachment 342208
> 
> View attachment 342209


I draw my own cards, have done for years. I use old whatever cardboard that'd otherwise get put in the recycling bin.


----------



## 8ball (Sep 11, 2022)

stavros said:


> I draw my own cards, have done for years. I use old whatever cardboard that'd otherwise get put in the recycling bin.



Pics?


----------



## chainsawjob (Sep 12, 2022)

stavros said:


> I draw my own cards, have done for years. I use old whatever cardboard that'd otherwise get put in the recycling bin.


Love a handmade card.

I've kept a stack of birthday and Christmas cards with the intention of cutting the fronts off and making new cards out of them. It's on the 'projects that may happen somewhen' pile!


----------



## stavros (Sep 12, 2022)

8ball said:


> Pics?


They tend to be familial in-jokes, so would be a bit lost on here.


----------



## stavros (Sep 17, 2022)

I think I unintentionally had a vegan day today. One of my favourite new recipes is without any animal products, and is pretty quick and easy to do.


----------



## hash tag (Sep 17, 2022)

We unintentionally had a vegan day yesterday and today....it was a huge cook with about 7 separate elements which required cooking individually. Perhaps not very energy efficient.


----------



## _Russ_ (Oct 27, 2022)

Ive been vegetarian for 38 years, unfortunately it has not stopped the world from being terminally fucked.
There is only one way to avoid destruction of the eco system and that is population control.


----------



## hash tag (Oct 27, 2022)

_Russ_ said:


> Ive been vegetarian for 38 years, unfortunately it has not stopped the world from being terminally fucked.
> There is only one way to avoid destruction of the eco system and that is population control.


That didn't work very well in China.


----------



## _Russ_ (Oct 27, 2022)

hash tag said:


> That didn't work very well in China.


Indeed it hasnt been achieved anywhere, perhaps we will end up doing it inadvertantly, but probably not before taking a large chunk of the living world down first


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 27, 2022)

Tried holding in a fart earlier


----------



## stavros (Oct 27, 2022)

_Russ_ said:


> Indeed it hasnt been achieved anywhere,


The Vatican has a very low _official_ birthrate.


----------



## Throbbing Angel (Oct 27, 2022)

Artaxerxes said:


> It’s ironic in this age of fake meat and pseudo-vegan bollocks cluttering the shelves they withdrew Beanfeast from the market.


When did that happen?


----------



## Artaxerxes (Oct 28, 2022)

Throbbing Angel said:


> When did that happen?



2020






						Beanfeast - Wikipedia
					






					en.wikipedia.org


----------



## friedaweed (Oct 28, 2022)

Today me and my wife rescued a bee (Well she saved it initially i just interfered out of interest) . It was definitely near death, on it's back right outside the back door where my size 11's (Big socks too) often tread.

Anyway, we fed it some honey and stewed hedgerow fruit in some tepid water which it lapped at ferociously, and then it died.

But you know, we saved it for a while, the small things. It didn't get squished.


----------



## StoneRoad (Oct 28, 2022)

yeah, I do the saving bees thing a lot.
sad when you only postpone the end, but quite often we end up stashing them in the greenhouse for a while before they fly away.

Sometimes, they seem to prefer walking around on my warm hand before departing for fresh flowers.


----------



## furluxor (Nov 1, 2022)

I feel like all those tedious resident surveys have paid off, our council has announced that they will be recycle type 5 (PP) plastics. Victory! This is technically what my council has done but I'm sure they wouldn't have budged if not for my scribbling in ALL CAPS on the side of the survey forms.


----------



## StoneRoad (Nov 1, 2022)

Wish Northumberland would be a bit more proactive with recycling ...
The better idea would be to use the pre-segregated boxes / bags.

Plus, I wish they would get their act together on the skips. If Cumbria can do it properly ?
and make it cheaper for bods to dump trade waste - I'm sick of seeing stuff that needs to be cleared out of roadside hedgerows & field gates.


----------



## hash tag (Nov 1, 2022)

A year or two back we stayed at the Nyhavn hotel  in Copenhagen and everywhere you went there were signs and bins encouraging you to recycle virtually
anything and everything. Staying in hotel's in the UK inc. the Bamburgh Castle Inn I really don't think they have heard of recycling


----------



## xenon (Nov 1, 2022)

Re plastic recycling, I put everything plastic in that isn't a ready meal container./ black plastic. Presume it gets sorted or burned.


----------



## hash tag (Nov 1, 2022)

xenon said:


> Re plastic recycling, I put everything plastic in that isn't a ready meal container./ black plastic. Presume it gets sorted or burned.


Why not meal containers? If you wash them with the washing up, you are not wasting anymore heat or water and recycling something else.


----------



## StoneRoad (Nov 1, 2022)

If it's got the three arrow circling logo then it gets washed out and put in the recycling ...
[although I still have to keep reminding some people to do it]

But I know that black plastic is a difficult one, so sometimes that gets binned / burnt instead.


----------



## sojourner (Nov 1, 2022)

Bought 8 large handkerchiefs to blow my perma-runny nose on, to save buying endless tissues/using bog roll. Can chuck them in with general laundry, and they'll last years.


----------



## stavros (Nov 1, 2022)

furluxor said:


> I'm sure they wouldn't have budged if not for my scribbling in ALL CAPS on the side of the survey forms.


Your capital investment has paid dividends.


----------



## stavros (Nov 26, 2022)

I picked up seven plastic bottles on a mile walk to the shop this morning. This is in suburbs of a small city, with a large part of the walk along the edge of a farmer's field.


----------



## xenon (Nov 26, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Why not meal containers? If you wash them with the washing up, you are not wasting anymore heat or water and recycling something else.



They don't recycle black plastic here.


----------



## xenon (Nov 26, 2022)

I'm not using any gas... As my boiler's broken. pfft


----------



## StoneRoad (Nov 26, 2022)

xenon said:


> They don't recycle black plastic here.


Pleased to find that quite a number of plastic food trays that were black are now in re-cylcable colours [grey, mainly]


----------



## iona (Nov 26, 2022)

StoneRoad said:


> Pleased to find that quite a number of plastic food trays that were black are now in re-cylcable colours [grey, mainly]


Makes no difference here, Brighton are useless at recycling. Only plastic they'll take is bottles. Tetrapacks have to go in a special bin in town, too.


----------



## hash tag (Nov 27, 2022)

iona said:


> Makes no difference here, Brighton are useless at recycling. Only plastic they'll take is bottles. Tetrapacks have to go in a special bin in town, too.


Surprised at this as I always thought, politically Brighton was pretty green.


----------



## iona (Nov 27, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Surprised at this as I always thought, politically Brighton was pretty green.


Politically the council might claim to be green but practically they're mostly just incompetent ime.


----------



## gentlegreen (Nov 27, 2022)

Aldi now have a *plastic film *bin - so that accounts for most of the landfill waste I produce on a regular basis.
The next step is to start cooking beans in bulk for the fridge so I can stop buying canned beans - at least 7 *cans *a week - leaving just tinned toms.
I probably ought to buy a Brita jug for the fridge as I get through far too many *PET bottles* and hauling 8kg of water home 1/10 mile is silly - though it's so cheap and I rather like the fizzy stuff ... other people get through at least as much diet pop ...


----------



## ska invita (Nov 27, 2022)

StoneRoad said:


> Wish Northumberland would be a bit more proactive with recycling ...Plus, I wish they would get their act together on the skips. If Cumbria can do it properly ?
> and make it cheaper for bods to dump trade waste - I'm sick of seeing stuff that needs to be cleared out of roadside hedgerows & field gates.


Northumberland isn't a patch on Cumbria, everyone knows that


----------



## ska invita (Nov 27, 2022)

gentlegreen said:


> Aldi now have a *plastic film *bin - so that accounts for most of the landfill waste I produce on a regular basis.
> The next step is to start cooking beans in bulk for the fridge so I can stop buying canned beans - at least 7 *cans *a week - leaving just tinned toms.
> I probably ought to buy a Brita jug for the fridge as I get through far too many *PET bottles* and hauling 8kg of water home 1/10 mile is silly - though it's so cheap and I rather like the fizzy stuff ... other people get through at least as much diet pop ...


Soda stream or similar for fizzy water


----------



## stavros (Nov 27, 2022)

gentlegreen said:


> Aldi now have a *plastic film *bin - so that accounts for most of the landfill waste I produce on a regular basis.


That sounds good. Are we talking just cling film, or the stuff that covers ready meals and the like too?

A brief search of the interweb didn't provide the answers.


----------



## gentlegreen (Nov 27, 2022)

stavros said:


> That sounds good. Are we talking just cling film, or the stuff that covers ready meals and the like too?
> 
> A brief search of the interweb didn't provide the answers.


 I'll have to check ...
I'd think cling film would be OK, but it's really about salad and veggie and fruit bags...
I suppose it's no bother for them because of all the pallet wrap the have to dispose of anyway - some of which may be clingfilm I suppose.
I wonder what actually happens to it ...


----------



## gentlegreen (Nov 27, 2022)

So no cling film ...


----------



## hash tag (Nov 27, 2022)

Is that a genuine attempt at doing a little bit to help? I wonder if it's not still thrown in with the rest of the waste?


----------



## gentlegreen (Nov 27, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Is that a genuine attempt at doing a little bit to help? I wonder if it's not still thrown in with the rest of the waste?


yes it's pretty low-grade  plastic and vulnerable to people putting random stuff into the waste stream.
Though I've always felt that at least all this plastic will be in one place...


----------



## weltweit (Nov 27, 2022)

I haven't switched my Gas central heating on yet, and have no plans to.


----------



## stavros (Nov 28, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Is that a genuine attempt at doing a little bit to help? I wonder if it's not still thrown in with the rest of the waste?


The Coop started collecting crisp packets relatively recently, so they may be using the same model.


----------



## davesgcr (Nov 28, 2022)

Seem to be a solid take up here in leafy Herts for the soft plastic waste initiative. Often find the gathering receptacles full - (Tesco / M&S local etc) - if it does nothing , it seperates the waste down and even less in the normal waste (as oppossed to recycling bins) .....one hopes it does get properly recycled.


----------



## nottsgirl (Nov 28, 2022)

Turned my heating down a degree.


----------



## Maggot (Nov 28, 2022)

Throbbing Angel said:


> When did that happen?











						The decline of Beanfeast
					

I love Batchelors beanfeasts.    They are an easy and tasty alternative to mince for vegetarians. Great for shepherds pie, bolognese etc. Yet you can hardly buy them anywhere now. Even some of the larger supermarkets have stopped stocking them.  There used to be 4 different varieties, now there...




					www.urban75.net


----------



## 8ball (Nov 28, 2022)

Maggot said:


> The decline of Beanfeast
> 
> 
> I love Batchelors beanfeasts.    They are an easy and tasty alternative to mince for vegetarians. Great for shepherds pie, bolognese etc. Yet you can hardly buy them anywhere now. Even some of the larger supermarkets have stopped stocking them.  There used to be 4 different varieties, now there...
> ...



Exactly.  They went out of fashion well before the 'current thing'.


----------



## gentlegreen (Nov 29, 2022)

I don't eat fake meat, but I almost fancy some now ... though I haven't had any since visiting friends in the early 80s... 
I suppose I'm remembering Linda McCartney's deadly pies (4 in a box and no freezer so they tended to get eaten far too rapidly).


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## quimcunx (Nov 29, 2022)

hash tag said:


> Don't try coasting in an automatic.



Why?  My dad is always making me coast in his.

E2a it might not actually be coasting. Just taking your foot off the accelerator, not changing into neutral.


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## stavros (Nov 29, 2022)

gentlegreen said:


> I don't eat fake meat, but I almost fancy some now ... though I haven't had any since visiting friends in the early 80s...
> I suppose I'm remembering Linda McCartney's deadly pies (4 in a box and no freezer so they tended to get eaten far too rapidly).


Give it a go. They vary a lot, I find, so whether you like it now probably less simple than it was 40 years ago.


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## StoneRoad (Dec 2, 2022)

ska invita said:


> Northumberland isn't a patch on Cumbria, everyone knows that


The one of best recycling I've seen in recent years is the system Gwynedd uses.


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## stavros (Dec 3, 2022)

I'm finding the National Grid app quite handy, to know when is greenest to do tasks that aren't really time-specific, e.g. charging my phone. It's been very calm and overcast the last few days, but the wind's picked up today, and so my region's carbon intensity is down from close to 300 to about 125 gCO2/kWh.


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## hash tag (Dec 3, 2022)

stavros said:


> I'm finding the National Grid app quite handy, to know when is greenest to do tasks that aren't really time-specific, e.g. charging my phone. It's been very calm and overcast the last few days, but the wind's picked up today, and so my region's carbon intensity is down from close to 300 to about 125 gCO2/kWh.


The best time to charge your phone and other gadgets is when you are at work.


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## 8ball (Dec 4, 2022)

stavros said:


> I'm finding the National Grid app quite handy, to know when is greenest to do tasks that aren't really time-specific, e.g. charging my phone. It's been very calm and overcast the last few days, but the wind's picked up today, and so my region's carbon intensity is down from close to 300 to about 125 gCO2/kWh.



Stuff like charging your phone has fuck all effect on anything, but could be handy if you’re talking about charging your car.


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## stavros (Dec 4, 2022)

8ball said:


> Stuff like charging your phone has fuck all effect on anything, but could be handy if you’re talking about charging your car.


It's a small thing, as the thread title requests, and I'm loath to describe anything as "nothing", even figuratively.

It's true though that recharging EVs will have a greater effect, to complement my phone.


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## 8ball (Dec 4, 2022)

stavros said:


> It's a small thing, as the thread title requests, and I'm loath to describe anything as "nothing", even figuratively.
> 
> It's true though that recharging EVs will have a greater effect, to complement my phone.



Decent extension lead will sort you out.


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## stavros (Dec 14, 2022)

I've moved my WFH space from the dining room to the tiny bedroom, which takes virtually no time to heat and stays warm after.


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## stavros (Dec 25, 2022)

My suggestion of foregoing turkey for a vegetarian dinner today was pretty much a success (none of those present are vegetarian).


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