Ikea Crackers

Its not just flat packs they sell but these paper wrapped crackers – pretty tasty they are too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Du Vin Du Pain Du Plastic Free Fromage

C’est tres bon

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Steripenmandu

As you know I love our steri pen for saving me, as it does, from polluting remote villages and pristine landscapes with dirty mineral water bottles. I got mine from E bay but if you are in Katmandu you can buy them from.

KEEP …. map and address here

(You can also buy sterilized water to fill your own water bottle here at 10 Nepalese rupees a liter)

Or

Mount Everest Equipment Store UP School Road Tamel.

Salty Tasting Teeth

Experiments with the Teeth

For the past few months I have been using my own  home made tooth powder which has been very successful. Though I brought mountains of the stuff to India with me, my supplies have now run out. So I have been using salt. I bought my salt from Dzomsa in Leh. It came in a paper bag – good – reinforced with plastic tape – grrrr.

August

This month I…..

…got jiggy with flickr and started a plastic is rubbish photo pool to illustrate plastic pollution world wide. It features fab pictures like this one …and some of mine too!

…found out that rubbers have plastic in them and that maybe I should call them erasers

…sourced some metal and wooden pencil sharpeners to keep my new pencil nice and pointy.

…realised that wooden pencils could be used to replace plastic pens

…sourced some home made hair gel and hairspray that can be made with plastic free ingredients

…found these tiny reusable water bottles for little ones
….gave up shampoo for soap

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

To find out more about me, the boycott and when its gone right and wrong, clickhere

The new shampoo

Back in the early days I gave up buying shampoo in nasty plastic bottles and took to making my own from soap flakes. However I got to thinking why bother with all that flaking and making – surely soap is soap is soap. Turns out yes it is and you can wash your hair with a bar of soap just as well as anything else including shampoo which is just runny soap.

I find its best to wash twice.

Now this is really good news for back packers cutting down as it does on not only your plastic waste – excellent result – but the amount of stuff in your wash bag and so in your rucksack. You might think that’s nothing when you are back at home,  when you are carrying the damn thing while being mobbed by rick shaw wallahs, every bit of weight reduction counts.

However I have had bad experiences with Indian soap.  Soap bought in a cardboard box comes wrapped in a plastic bag inside.

But not this soap….

Himalayan Blends soap comes in a fairtrade box made out of recycled cotton. For more check out their site  www.villageartisan.com hand milled by khan and sons vpo palloor chamba hp

If you are in Leh you can buy it from the Organic Store.  If you are in Shimla, you can buy it from the everything shop on the Mall.

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

July round up

This month I have seen a lot of animals rooting through in the plastic filled Indian rubbish dumps looking for food. Guess what? Its not good for them!

I have also been investigating the wonders of Bicarbonate of Soda. It can be used to clean every thing from the cat to the kitchen sink buy it plastic free here

It can also be used to clean your teeth

Or you could make your own tooth powder like what I do

Talking of cleaning, I clean forgot to mention soap so here it is

I have also updated my useful plastic free weblinks

I have broken the following pledges

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

To find out more about me, the boycott and when its gone right and wrong, click here

June

 

This month I gave up  plastic toothpaste tubes for metal – the caps are still plastic though

learnt how to make bad water good with my steri pen

Sourced some plastic free trekking water

For those of you back in HUDDERSFIELD you can buy your plastic free pitta alternatives here

For those of you in ARAMBOL India you can fill up your water bottles here  

 

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

metal tubed toothpaste

These tooth pastes come in metal tubes according to the blurb and various write ups. I cant verify these claims as I make my own tooth powder – recipie to follow.

Euthymol

and

This comes in a metal tube and be bought from Twenga

Marvis Classic Strong Mint Toothpaste

By: Marvis Pack: 75-ml Product Code: MRV0002 Price: £4.88  Description Marvis is a classic toothpaste from Italy created using traditional methods to guarantees a rich, creamy paste. What makes Marvis unique is the range of exotic flavours – enticing and addictive tastes that produce a whirlwind of sensations. Marvis search the world to bring you irresistible new and original flavours that turn the simple act of teeth brushing into a daily pleasure of discovery and taste.  Marvis Classic Strong Mint Toothpaste has a uniquely fresh peppermint taste, especially recommended for smokers. Marvis toothpastes combine a  peppermint base with interesting flavours to give a long lasting pleasurable taste sensation. The formula containing Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay, fights tartar and plaque and keeps breath fresh all day long. And not only does Marvis clean and protect teeth and taste terrific but it even looks great in its luxuriously colourful tube with elegantly sculpted cap.

make your own safe water

Now its easy to give up bottled water in England but what of when yo are abroad in countries where the water is not so reliable. India for example. It is not always possible to refill you water bottle with sterilized water. as in Leh, the Hemis trek or Arambol.

Most parts of India just don’t do that and will want to sell you water in those vile plastic bottles that are now such an ugly part of the Indian landscape.

The steri pen is my solution to that particular problem. Stick the sticky bit in a liter of water – switch on and 90 seconds later the water is safe to drink. Weighs next to nothing and is tiny.

For more information visit the following sites.

steriPEN and for

great reviews of the product here and here

what it kills

good converter here

I bought mine on E bay.