Month 10- October it’s Plastic Bottles
Background…..
As when I decided to go Vegan back in 2013, I started with the food, gradually as I did the next shop I swapped over the milk and butter and cheese, we obviously stopped eating or buying any meat but finding substitutes didn’t happen over night.
My husband Peter then joined me a few months later as he felt better not eating meat every day, every meal as it was me shopping & cooking the food we all ate.
Our kids were young at the time 3, 5 & 6 so swapping the younger 2 over wasn’t a big deal as they were at the stage of trying different food out all the time anyway. We also found after eating dairy they would throw up later in the day, so it was easier to just look for the V vegan sign on food than to keep checking for non dairy products for them.
Clayton, being Autistic had (and still has) a self limiting diet of dry brown or beige finger foods only so he wasn’t included in our switch, getting him to just eat was a struggle in its self.
Anyway…..my point is, nothing happens over night, going Vegan we started with food, it then progressed onto products, clothing, shoes, coats, linen, furniture, now we chose items without a second thought.
This progressed onto what was happening on our land and led us to permaculture, principles & design. Permaculture principle No6 is: Produce No Waste. This is the overall aim.
Just making 1 swap starts to make a difference to our planet. What could you do today?
Simple swap of not buying fizzy drinks in plastic bottles & switching to cans
All our cans get the tabs removed & crushed to go to a local charity that collects them for cash. So nothing goes into our recycling bin
As much as I would love to just stop buying them Clayton actually drinks fizzy drinks, think he likes the feel of the bubbles on his tongue. It means we can guarantee that he has drunk enough during the day too by counting the cans finished.
*BUT* here are 5 Ways You Can Use In Your Plastic Bottles in the Garden before putting them in the recycling
This month I have concentrated on what we have done with plastic bottles before we switched over to cans this year.
First Use- Using Plastic Bottles To Plant In
What did we do?
We took the 1ltr flavoured fizzy drink bottles and cut them in half. Added drainage holes by drilling holes in the bottom and wrapping some brown paper around them to protect the roots. These lavender were in here for a good 4mths before planting out.
Second Use – Use The Tops As Mini Green Houses
What did we do?
The tops of the bottles we used as mini greenhouse or cloche to allow the seedlings to have a humid environment to get started. They were used inside in our seed pots and outside in our vertical garden milk cartons
Third Use – Use The Middle Sections To Stop Slugs Eating Small Plants
What did we do?
Made cuffs with a middle section to stop the slugs on small seedlings. Cut the middle of the fizzy water bottles. Put sticky copper tape around the top & used pinking scissors to cut around the top so its sharp for slugs to go over.
Fourth Use – Using Them For Protection In The Garden
What did we do?
These were a double usage, the bottles either full or just the tops were put on the bamboo poles, firstly for health & safety to protect our eyes so we didn’t hurt ourselves but secondly they moved in the wind and rattled against the poles and scared away the birds and Deer away, so a win win.
Fifth Use – Using Them As A Watering Can
What did we do?
♻️Using Bottles as Watering Cans.
💧🌿Clayton struggles to use watering cans as he tends to tip them too far & the misses where they are suppose to go. Ending up with frustration especially inside the house.
💧🌿Using these he can aim the water and the flow just where he wants & it is much lighter & easy to hold.
💧🌿We always have 2 on the go. One with large holes “lots” for a bigger flow & one with smaller holes “little” for a smaller, more lighter flow.
💧🌿They are ideal to keep in your car boot too for washing hands or shoes. We use them to wash the sand off our booties when we Stand Up Paddle board ✨Full bottle of water with a lid with no holes for travelling, then swap the lid to one with the holes in when needed 👌🏼
5 Uses For Plastic Bottles
There is only 1 reason this month to make some swaps
1. The whole reason is to stop extra waste coming out of the household.
🌳Permaculture Principle No6 – Produce No Waste
🌱Vegan Living- To Do No Harm
👣🌎Small steps is better than none at all! What small change could you make this year? Could you look into your items too?
What changes could you make to reduce your overall waste?
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Building a Food Forest -Scotland 