Lovely green soap and dish

Lovely green soap and dish

Originally uploaded by sunshinesyrie

This one is so easy I have forgotten to mention it but I don’t buy soap wrapped in plastic. I don’t even buy soap wrapped in boxes – there’s no need for it. I buy soap loose from health stores and shops like Lush.

Home made tooth powder

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You can still get toothpaste in the old-fashioned metal tubes if you are prepared to pay a lot, and don’t mind the plastic caps which are hard to impossible to recycle, and that the tubes are most likely plastic lined.

Or you can try salt. UGHHHH

Or bicarbonate of soda – this is pretty good for your but, for all its sterling qualities, I find it far too soapy tasting to use un-cut.

So I mix it with two other famous dentifrices known for their soft polishing action and Orris Root. Orris root is a natural preservative and helps the flavor along.

Home made Tooth Powder / Paste

1 part chalk

1 part kaolin

1 part Orris Root

1 part bicarb

Put in a jar and shake well – saved as tooth powder or mix to a stiff paste with water

You can buy the

chalk, kaolin and Orris Root from Aromantics – But if you do, the products come in a plastic bags which are plastic – booo… but polythene so easily recycled . I get huge amounts tooth powder out of one small bag of ingredients so I consider it a worthwhile compromise. Its less plastic than any other option…and it can be recycled.

You can buy plastic free bicarb here

For more on dentifrices and whats good for your teeth go to mizar

MORE INFORMATION

There are lots of ways to keep your self plastic free and gorgeous right here …including more toothy tips.

Find other plastic free products with the>>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Find out about plastic, why we boycott it and who we are here

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• How to backpack (or holiday), plastic free (plasticisrubbish.wordpress.com)

Bicarb Toothpaste

For the last few months I have been experimenting with plastic free dentifrice. Dentifrice is the stuff you put on your toothbrush to clean your teeth – toothpaste usually though you can use all manner of things. My mothers keeps telling me that soot is good but that sounds more like a practical joke to me.

You can still get toothpaste in the old fashioned metal tubes if you are prepared to pay a lot and don’t mind the plastic caps which are hard to impossible to recycle. NB. Beth over at fake plastic fish also raises concerns about the metal tubes being plastic lined.

Or you could use bicarbonate of soda because…

“Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), a product used for many years by itself or in combination with other ingredients has several excellent properties. As a soft crystalline substance that dissolves readily, it has a mild abrasive potential. In solution it will kill on contact all of the motile microorganisms associated with periodontal infections, e.g. spirochetes, motile rods, etc. It will also kill other disease related bacteria. It will also neutralize and detoxify the bacterial acids and toxins that form in plaques (bacterial biofilms). I would put this inexpensive, readily available, product at the very top of the list of potentially beneficial dentifrice-ingredients.

for more got to mizar

You can buy plastic free bicarb here

The fantastic photo is Taiwanese Toothpaste Brands Originally uploaded by Danburg Murmur . Those funky looking pastes may well make me break my pledge

Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

For the last few months I have been experimenting with plastic free dentifrice. Dentifrice is the stuff you put on your toothbrush to clean your teeth – toothpaste usually though you can use all manner of things. My mothers keeps telling me that soot is good but that sounds more like a practical joke to me.

You can still get toothpaste in the old fashioned metal tubes if you are prepared to pay a lot and don’t mind the plastic caps which are hard to impossible to recycle. NB. Beth over at fake plastic fish also raises concerns about the metal tubes being plastic lined.

Or you could use bicarbonate of soda because…

“Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda), a product used for many years by itself or in combination with other ingredients has several excellent properties. As a soft crystalline substance that dissolves readily, it has a mild abrasive potential. In solution it will kill on contact all of the motile microorganisms associated with periodontal infections, e.g. spirochetes, motile rods, etc. It will also kill other disease related bacteria. It will also neutralize and detoxify the bacterial acids and toxins that form in plaques (bacterial biofilms). I would put this inexpensive, readily available, product at the very top of the list of potentially beneficial dentifrice-ingredients.

for more got to mizar

You can buy plastic free bicarb here

Find other plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

The wonder of bicarb

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bicarbonate of soda – something of a wonder product. This one product can replace hundreds of plastic bottles on your shelves.

Bicarb is available from Wing Yip Chinese Super Store in Manchester and it comes in paper bags… or from Dri Pac in cardboard boxes.

You can use it to

Clean a microwave oven

Remove tarnish from silver

Clean a stainless steel sink

Boost the strength of liquid laundry detergent

Clean a fibreglass bathtub or shower.

Clean bathroom tile

Maintain your septic tank

Deodorize cloth diapers

Clean a refrigerator

Deodorize a dishwasher

Boost the strength of dishwashing liquid

Remove burnt-on food from cookware

Clean and deodorize a cutting board

Deodorize food containers

Clean coffee and teapots

Deodorize kitchen garbage

Deodorize carpet

Deodorize a cat litter box

Soothe poison ivy rash or insect bites

Soothe sunburn, windburn, and prickly heat

Take a refreshing bath

Brush your teeth

Wash your mouth

Neutralize vomit odour

Soothe tired feet

Use as a deodorant

Clean dirt, grime, and scuffmarks from doors, stoves, laminated tabletops, linoleum floors, and tile.

Remove coffee or tea stains from china

Minimize the smell of dirty laundry

Deodorize a closet

Deodorize garment storage bags

Deodorize shoes or training shoes

Remove crayon marks from walls or wallpaper

Clean dirt and grime from hands

Remove conditioner and styling gel build-up from hair

Refresh stuffed animals

Clean high chairs, car seats, strollers, and plastic mattress protectors

Clean baby bottles, nipples, and bottle brushes

Whiten socks and dirty clothes

Clean chrome bumpers and hubcaps

Remove dead insects from a car or truck windshield

Deodorize carpeting in a car

De-grease and clean barbecue grills

For more on the above go to cleaning tips from the virtuowl.

Over in New Zealand they are using it to wash their hair and clean their teeth and here are some more bicarb beauty tips

For the plastic free afficiando it really is a must.

You can find out HOW TO …do all sorts of  things… plastic free right here

Find other plastic free products with the>>>A-Z<<< plastic free index

Related Articles

• 50 Ways to Use Baking Soda (blisstree.com)
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Cow Killers

Cows hanging about on street corners eating plastic bags. Doesnt do them any good at all and it is estimated that thousand dies each month from accidently ingesting the bad stuff. 

Hear all about it here or read about it here

And its not just cows – all kinds of animals die from eating plastic

Heres another interesting explnation of plastic pollution

 
Go plastic free – find  plastic free products with the >>>A-Z<<< plastic free index