Greenpeace and Everyday Plastic have joined forces in the UK to co-ordinate the biggest survey of plastic to date.

Are we recycling household plastic or simply just throwing it away? Let’s gather evidence to show our government what’s really going on. The more we count, the more we’ll have to show the government that it’s time to reduce single plastic use by 50% by 2025 by switching to reusable options. And also to ban sending our waste to other countries.

Every household can join in. And if you are a teacher, you can sign your school up for the count and get access to some great learning resources and classroom-based activities for 9-12 year olds.

Count me in!

You can join Ecologi today and get 100 free trees to add to your forest.

Ecologi has planted nearly 40 million trees on behalf of their members and by supporting worthwhile climate projects around the world, have reduced a massive 1.7million tonnes of CO₂ emissions.

Sign up to Ecologi today to get 100 free trees (offer ends 30/4/2022)

“This year it’s expected that the average family will spend, on average, £800 on presents, food, decorations and travel. After all, it is the time of the year where we visit distant loved ones, reconnect with lost friends, and gorge ourselves silly on party food and alcohol.

“As well as the great financial strains that the festive season puts on us, it also has other, largely unseen consequences that affect the environment around us.

“According to research conducted by Business Waste.trade, the two weeks that make up our favourite time of the year put great strain on resources, and amounts to millions of tonnes of waste and pollution.

“For example, did you know that we as a country throw away 230,000 tonnes of food during the Christmas period, which is the equivalent of 74 million mince pies? Or that it takes 3.5kg of carbon dioxide to produce just 1kg of wrapping paper? ”

Click on the graphic below to find out more:

The true cost of Christmas

After digesting some of those figures, I reckon that if I can make even a small reduction on my impact, it’ll be effort well spent. Here’s some ideas for you to reduce your Christmas Carbon Footprint and have a bit of fun at the same time…

Making, decorating and Christmas day crafts:

Why not try your hand at making some carbon-neutral Christmas lights? Your neighbours will be impressed, and you could work off all those mince pies at the same time on a pedal powered version.

Here’s a fun eco-friendly Christmas day craft activity that will ensure your empty gift boxes get plenty of re-use and enjoyment before you’re ready to recycle them. What other animals or objects could you make?

Eat, drink, be merry and recycle:

For any meat-eaters out there, don’t forget to buy a local Turkey. Make sure you get a big one, so you can invite lots of friends over… cooking one big meal takes up a lot less energy than cooking many. And it’s far more social too!

And finally, when the festivities come to an end, Recycle now has a helpful recycling locator that can make sure anything you haven’t eaten or reused ends up in the right recycling bin.

Wishing you the best for the holiday season from EcoStreet!

Katie Wise and Ashley Moradipour need your help to make a documentary that tells the story of a group of dedicated Icelanders vs. a big road constuction project.

Iceland is a nation well-known for its breathtaking natural landscapes and formations, which Icelanders hold dear to their hearts. This is why a recent road construction project has caused people to fight back. This new road will run from the Alftanes peninsula, where the presidential office is, to the Reykjavik suburb of Gardabaer; the projected plan involves the road cutting directly through the largest lava field in the Reykjavik area. Icelanders of all walks of life, from artists to musicians to elf “seers” are protesting the construction of this road, arguing that the new road is unnecessarily destroying Iceland’s natural beauty. During the fall of 2013, dozens of “friends of lava” (an environmentalist group) gathered around the lava rocks every day, sitting and singing songs to peacefully protest the construction of this road. One day, the friends of lava were confronted with the “biggest bulldozer in Iceland” and over 50 police officers. After not backing down to the officers’ requests to leave the lava field, protesters were physically removed from the area and 9 were arrested and sent to jail. Since that day, the 9 arrested were sent to court for a hearing, but they continue to fight for the preservation of this lava field.

Our documentary will follow the story of this road construction project and the passionate protesters who are fighting to save the land. While the personal stories that will be shared through the film are specific to this cause, the broader issue to be explored is the constant struggle between preserving nature and the expansion of a nation. This documentary will take you into the lives of passionate Icelanders and give a whole new perspective on environment vs. economy.

Vote Bait Damaging Renewable Energy Initiatives

There’s little doubt that the renewable energy market will pay the price for politicians who consider telling people what they want to hear more important than producing a long-term plan for greener and sustainable methods of energy production.

Given the optimistic targets, you would think that the government would be keen to invest heavily in renewables, but the exact opposite seems to be happening with the UK government helping BP fight court battles in the U.S. to win new federal contracts and reduce the number of false claims. This report from the BBC explains how U.S. firms unaffected by the environmental disaster, to which BP admitted responsibility, are now seeking to claim compensation from the UK oil giant.

Jobs and Votes

Obviously, we must protect jobs, but the rise of fracking for shale gas in the U.S. has already reduced the profitability of Oil for use in power stations and I would like to suggest that our government should spend our money on creating jobs here in a renewable energy market. Businesses like B.P. have raked in billions over recent decades, so can’t these industries stand on their own without the need for government assistance?

Surely, more votes would be forthcoming if we had low cost energy generated locally and in a cleaner environment? How about focussing on building an electric charge network for electric cars so petrol prices are no longer an issue and concentrate on using renewables to generate the energy required to charge those cars. A government willing to take the hard route with a long-term plan would win my vote. Electrifying more of the railways is a good start and recent initiatives have been a move in the right direction, but there simply isn’t enough focus on clean energy production infrastructure.

Long Term Development of Energy Efficient Products

When the move to do away with the traditional tungsten filament light bulbs took place, governments around the world made a positive move that benefits the environment because of the lower energy consumption alternatives that replaced them. However, technology exists to further reduce consumption with alternatives and while it’s not a good idea to wipe an industry out overnight, surely, the need to reduce our carbon emissions should be a big enough driving factor to force through further change? At the moment, it seems as though energy efficiency is only driven by the high cost of fuel.

This is a guest post by Shaun Thomas who is working with World of Solar to promote the use of green energy products in the home and businesses in the UK.

Image credit: Simon Howden via FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Unfortunately, although dry cleaning is very convenient for washing our clothes, it can be very damaging to the environment. The by-products of this chemical process are a lot more harmful than you might realise.

The Waste Produced by Dry Cleaning

Your average dry cleaning shop produces a number of harmful waste products, which include solvent, soils, carbon, dyes, grease, and powdered filter material. The filters that are used in the machines are hazardous waste, as well as the perchloroethylene. When these chemicals come into contact with humans and other animals within the area, they have a definite negative effect on the health and well-being of everyone who is exposed to them.

Many studies have revealed how dangerous perchloroethylene is for human health. It has been shown to cause fertility problems, menstrual irregularities and even spontaneous abortions in women who work within the dry cleaning industry. Also, when there is a dry cleaning plant in the community these chemicals can seep into the drinking water and cause some serious health problems. Doctors have linked this chemical to liver damage, kidney disease and much more. It has also been identified as a likely carcinogen according to the International Association for Research on Cancer.

Perchloroethylene is classified as so dangerous to humans that it must be handled as hazardous waste. Also, when it is released into the air, it can contribute to smog and can react with other volatile organic carbon substances. Even more frightening, a study recently conducted at Georgetown University shows that perch stays in your clothes after you have dry cleaned them, which means that this chemical is against your skin and contaminating your body. The perch levels within the clothes increase with repeat cleanings.

We have known that perch has negative effects on human health for many years, so why is it still being used within dry cleaning franchises? It is important to reinforce the dangers of this environmental hazard so that we can make the water we drink safer for our children.Once perch has entered your body, it can become stored within your fat tissue. This will have a serious effect on your long term health and will increase your risk of cancer and other diseases.

Reactions to the Toxicity of Dry Cleaning

Once it was discovered just how harmful dry cleaning was for the environment, what was the reaction among environmentalists and dry cleaning companies?

Once the threat was addressed, many environmental consultants began to be more vigilant to the threat of water pollution from dry cleaners in the community. There are a number of environmental data resources that help to track where environmental pollutants exist, or used to exist. These maps are designed to show the high risk environmental pollutants in the region throughout history, showing where gas stations, manufactured Gas Plants and dry cleaners would have been.

Perch dry cleaners are now subject to government regulation and there are strict rules about how they can dispose of their toxic substances. There are also many important air quality rules and regulations that apply to Perch Dry Cleaning operations and the emissions that they make. Environmental inspectors are keeping a close eye on this industry to ensure that operators comply with the regulations.

In response to consumer complaints, many dry cleaners have started to look into switching to alternative methods of cleaning. Hydrocarbon solvents have been used, which tend to work just as well as the standard dry cleaning chemicals but don’t have the harmful side effects. Also, a wet cleaning system that uses water and biodegradable soap has been successful on suede, wool, leather and silk clothing.

If we can be aware of this risk and discover new ways of cleaning our clothes, we can decrease the negative effect that dry cleaning has on the environment.

This is a guest post by Marshall Peterson, a freelance writer, blogger and environmental activist. He has been involved in environmental charities for years and volunteers to clean up wetlands in his own hometown.

Instead of ending up with a high electricity bill in December, Matthew James Taylor explains how to make your own Carbon Neutral Christmas Lights from recycled materials. Click here to find out how…

I’d like to see a pedal-powered version of this… it could light up the whole house, and just think of all the mince pies you could burn off in the process.

The workshop will cover a wide range of topics including:

• Building with Natural and Recycled Materials
• Solar/Thermal Heating and Cooling
• Solar and Wind Electricity
• Water Harvesting
• Contained Sewage Treatment
• Interior Food Production
• Hands-on tire-pounding session

These workshops have been presented all over the world by Michael Reynolds who has spent 40 years of research and development into self-sufficient housing made from recycled materials.

Here’s an overview of the 2012 Event in Melbourne, Australia.

Tickets available at  www.earthship.com/california

If you can’t attend the Hollywood Earthship Workshop, there’s another one Stockholm, Sweden on April 19-21 and further dates available on the Earthship website.

What is an Earthship?

An Earthship is the epitome of sustainable design and construction. For the past 40 years, Earthships have been, and continue to be built throughout the world, constantly being improved upon, incorporating every aspect of sustainability.

They have proven comfortable in any climate, any landscape, any size and still provide electricity, potable water, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production.

If you like this, you will enjoy these previous EcoStreet posts:

• Global map of straw bale houses and other natural homes and builders
• Some options to consider when buying an eco-home

Photos credit: London Permaculture / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

How the sunglasses are made

The bamboo is sourced from sustainable forests and bamboo scrap that would otherwise go to waste. In the manufacturing process, lots of long thin strands of bamboo are compressed into thin plates. These plates are compiled and shaped into the sunglasses, so there is very little room for waste, and no need for heavy energy-inefficient machinery to cut pieces out of thick blocks. The bamboo plates are coated with organic substances and they end up waterproof (and they float!) so perfect for swimming or surfing.

How you can own a pair of these stylish bamboo sunglasses

You can get your hands on a pair of these bamboo sunglasses and support some great marine wildlife projects at the same time…

Seaval are passionate about stopping the invasion of lionfish that are threatening the reef and local fish species in the Caribbean. They also need your help to protect dolphins from slaughter in Japan. So they will donate $5 to these causes for every pair of sunglasses sold.
Click here to visit the fundraising page to support these essential marine projects and get hold of your bamboo sunglasses.