1. Toilet rolls
We welcomed in 2018 by receiving a box of 48 toilet rolls from Who Gives A Crap. This company are trying to make the world a better place one toilet roll at a time. Their toilet paper comes wrapped in paper, not plastic and most importantly it does the job [we bought the premium 100% bamboo rolls]. Who Gives A Crap started four-years ago thanks to a crowd funding campaign and I heard about them thanks to blogs written by people who are way ahead of me in their pursuit of giving up plastic. Who Gives A Crap’s toilet rolls are from recycled paper or from sustainable bamboo and they donate 50% of their profits to organisations such as WaterAid to help build toilets and improve sanitation in countries that don’t have access to a toilet.
2. Re-usable bags for fruit and vegetables
Apart from toilet rolls [and I just can’t go there] my current interest is in finding items we can re-use rather than use and bin, as much as it in finding items that are plastic-free. We have invested in six re-usable mesh bags for tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, small oranges and other fruit and vegetables we buy loose. I keep three at home in the bike pannier that is used for shopping trips and three in the campervan. I have come to the conclusion that re-using our own bags is preferable to even using paper bags and so bought these bags and keep them handy so there is no excuse to use anything else. I found the mesh draw-string bags on Ebay [I think they are also sold for separating laundry items]. The staff in our local supermarket were happy to peer in them before weighing and they are light and easy to wash if you need to, so these are a big win.
3. Re-usable alternatives to kitchen roll
We are not big kitchen roll users, we always have a damp cloths [torn up clothes or towels] hanging around the kitchen for small spills. But we always have a roll in the kitchen for things like mopping up bigger spills and drying aubergine that has been salted and rinsed. To prevent even this small usage we now have a basket of dry cloths in the kitchen window [see top photo]. These are a combination of torn up old towels, old face cloths and some miscellaneous new reusable cloths we had in the cupboard. This makes it really easy to grab a dry and clean cloth when ever it is needed and then throw them in the washing machine to be used again.
Back on the road again 