Plastic is a big issue in waste. Made from oil, they're hardly a renewable resource, and the impacts of plastics being irresponsibly used and disposed of are enormous. 

Apart from landfills... Apart from litter... We are slowly filling our oceans with plastic. An issue important enough to get royalty backing a campaign to highlight and improve the situation!

The age-old environmental figurehead of polar bears are in trouble too from the impact of waste plastics - it's not just climate change which is killing them off. 

Recycling is no longer the answer - so last century! We need something bigger, stronger...

Reduction of plastics is the environmental message for plastics in the 21st century!!!

So, most of you know I'm a bit of a green-fiend. (Check my blogs on environmental issues!) I love to read about environmental issues (a regular on Treehugger), I work in the waste management sector, and my degree was heavily involved in the environmental sector's business. 

I recycle whatever I can (would be ashamed to admit I didn't, even if I didn't work in the industry!), but what more can I do to help this crisis of plastic waste mountains? Plastics are one challenge I have struggled with at home, while traveling and at work. They are ubiquitous!

Today I stumbled across the brilliant My Plastic-Free Life blog and I resolved to challenge my plastic habits. It's a challenge, but you know I like my challenges!

Quitting Bread (2011)
A to Z Challenge 2013 - on writing, books, life etc. etc!
A to Z Challenge 2015 - Costa Rica theme
30 Before 30 (2013-15)

What do I do already to reduce my plastic consumption?

1. I take reusable shopping bags with me when I'm grocery shopping. 

2. My lunchbox has no evil cling film in it, and the box is reusable. I've even had comments about how cool my retro 'Vitalite' tub is! 

3. I buy coffee in jars or tins. 

** Mmmm time for a coffee. **

4. Shampoo and conditioner in our house is bought in big bulk bottles.

5. I have a giant BPA free water bottle on my desk at work to save on use of (potentially harmful, infertility and cancer inducing) disposable plastic bottles.

6. I used proper metal cutlery to eat with, even on a picnic. Posh, hey?

7. Rubbish is put into plastic sacks, but recycling is taken out to the recycling bin in a reusable box. 

8. Washing up is done *ahem* using a paper-based cloth. (Could move to a strong cotton cloth/napkin?)

9. I take an empty bottle of water through customs at the airport and fill up on the other side. Rule friendly, cost effective, and planet friendly!

10. Also while travelling, I use my own headphones, not the crappy plastic wrapped ones you get given on the plane. Next step: PVC free headphones! 

11. In hotels, I refuse to use their mini shampoos and shower gel. I'd rather bring my own, use my own, and save the waste. And chance of possible allergic reaction - bah, skin products! 

12. On a similar note, I have never (bar one chocolate desperation moment years ago) raided the mini bar. It's expensive, for one, and the mini nature of the items in the fridge scream resource inefficiency. I may be a party-pooper for the start of the party, but I'll bring my super-size wine bottle along for later instead!

13. I download my box set DVDs and music now, thanks to the digital age. No more plastic CD cases!

14. Beers and cider cans in our house are bought loose on in cardboard boxes, not in the wildlife-killing plastic ring sets. 

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How can I reduce the environmental impact of the plastics I use?

How can I use less plastic?

1. Ask ebay to not encourage their sellers to use bubble wrap. That's an easy win! - DONE!

2. Do a beach litter pick - gloves at the ready! It's not technically my plastic, but it all helps. I live not far from Severn Beach - good for a blustery River Severn / coastal walk. But with all the walkers and fishermen, there's often debris left behind. No doubt I'll find a can ring set washed up...

3. Attempt a plastic-free grocery shop - no cheating, a 'normal' shop next week with my intended shopping list items. 

4. Find my local farmers' market and buy veg from them as much as possible. I work too conveniently next to Asda, one shop rammed with plastic packaging. Shopping at a market could reduce my plastic consumption dramatically. 

Harbourside Market, Bristol - the target for a Sunday afternoon in the near future!

5. Address the issue of my make-up. No, not to improve my skills in application (although I could use some pointers!), but I want to have a lesser reliance on plastic for my albeit minimal make-up collection. Check out 'Westy' who's trying to overcome the same challenge...

6. Refuse a straw in bars and restaurants. This should be an easy one, but it becomes more difficult the more I drink!

7. While we're talking drinking, I will try to buy wine bottles with actual corks in, instead of plastic screw-tops. 

8. I'd really like to buy food from a bulk barn, but I don't know where to find one... Any suggestions for the north Bristol area?

9. Take my own container to a butcher or deli counter to save on plastic wrapping.

10. When my plastic ice cube trays break, I will replace them with a metal version. 

11. I'm going to choose body/face care products without the plastic ingredient “polyethylene” listed. This one will probably be the hardest as I am prone to allergic reactions when trying new products so I stick to what I know - but I'm doing it for the planet, people! Read My Plastic Free Life's post Flushing Plastic Down The Drain! for more information.

12. I'm going to Sign a petition, while I'm at it, to ban micro-beads (plastic exfoliation aids) in facial scrubs etc. - DONE!

13. I'm going to track down an unpackaged shampoo bar to get rid of those 'quite environmentally friendly' plastic bulk bottles I buy. 

14. Cancel my magazine subscriptions. I subscribe to Writers News and Lonely Planet currently, but more often than not, they sit unread for months, if not years... almost long enough for degradation of the plastic wrapping to begin! - DONE!

15. I love pens and stationery in general, but I am going to make a concerted effort to use pencils instead of disposable pens. This will also make it unable for me to piss off conference colleagues with my fidgety pen clicking! - DONE! Well stocked up at home and at work now.

16. Wrap presents with ribbon - reusable, pretty and plastic free, unlike sticky tape!

Oops, that's 16!

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Check out 100 steps to a plastic free life if you fancy investigating more ways to reduce your plastic footprint.

We can't be total angels...

What am I going to keep using?

CHEWING GUM - yes, gum's mostly plastic! Needed for... well, see the point on drinking coffee!
NON-STICK COOKWARE - I hadn't even considered my cooking equipment! Non-stick has saved most of my amateur dishes, and we've also been given some gorgeous ones lately, so I'm sticking with this plastic.
DISPOSABLE RAZORS - I tried ditching these in the past, but I need to change my blades so often, due to being prone to skin irritation, it just wasn't cost effective.
TAMPONS - It took me ages to clock onto using these but I've never looked back. This is the only one here I would NEVER EVER give up. Mooncups ain't for me. I will just try to buy feminine hygiene products with minimal packaging... promise!

That's a good start - keep an eye on this post and see how I get one.

Lou x

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Born to be a Tourist - home to my 2015 A-Z Challenge

Do you need cheering up on this rainy Sunday? Ok, I'm going to share with you one of my favourite jokes, since it involves books. And a chicken. 


Happy Sunday, everyone!

THE CHICKEN IN THE LIBRARY

A chicken walks into a library, goes up to the librarian and says, “Book book book.”

The librarian, a little surprised, does her job diligently and gives the chicken a book. The chicken grabs it with its beak and walks away.

Later on, the chicken returns with the book repeating, “Book book book.”

Confused, the librarian takes the old book back and gives the chicken another book. The chicken rushes out the door.

Once again, the chicken returns, repeating, “Book book book!”

The librarian gives the chicken another book but wondering what’s going on, decides to follow the chicken.

She follows the chicken down the road and into a small wood. The librarian quietly follows the chicken all the way to a pond.

In the pond, there’s a frog.

The chicken gives the book to the the frog,

who replies, “Reddit, reddit!”

Lou x

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Born to be a Tourist

According to a fascinating article in the online BBC Magazine today, the information that police wait 24 hours is a total myth. I wonder where that came from?

Make sure it doesn't feature in your crime writing, writers!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...and on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist - home to my April A-Z Challenge travel blog!

Check out more from the bloggers on the A2Z Challenge here - there's hundreds of us, all on different themes, using different styles, from all over the world. 

Some of my favourites:

The Travelling Blackberry
Postcards Crossing
In My Own Words
Entrepreneurial Goddess

If you miss me on Miss Write, never fear, I'll be back. I'll be back, in fact, even if you don't miss me!

Until later, 

Lou x

Find me on Facebook - still posting here so stop by sometime!
...and on Twitter - a truly thriving page!
Born to be a Tourist

This post was written in November 2014 - and forgotten about! 


Driving the Commute

The M4. A previously relatively unknown carriageway (particularly westbound) for me. It’s now become around 90% of my commute to a new job. It was a little daunting, I have to admit, taking the motorway to work. Previously I had a 15-20 minute journey down a dual carriage way between two towns, and rarely did I get home after 5.30pm. Now I have a 55 minute trip on a nationally known road, and no other option.

In my former Northamptonshire based life, my commute was a bit more flexible. Multiple options in route were available as most of the trip was driven through countryside. This made the trip each day more adaptable by zigzagging through villages, if needed,  if, for example, a road was closed or there was extremely heavy traffic. I was also frequently on a site visit at the beginning or end of the day, which meant I often took different routes to work, and sometimes it meant I arrived at my desk a little later in the morning, and possibly left a little earlier, avoiding the normal rush hour routes home.

Unlike other routines, which can often soothe, the routine of the commute is something not welcomed? Why do we hate the commute so much? 

The worst part for me is the unpredictability of the traffic. The flow of traffic, the pure volume of motorists, the weather impacts… This morning, my commute was incredibly quick. I found a shortcut to the motorway and the traffic was almost non-existent. However, even after just a week in the new location, I can see that the commute to Bristol varies significantly. Homeward bound seems significantly more busier than heading into work – yesterday my 'under an hour' trip took over 80 minutes. Horrible. The variation in this trip time drives me crazy (no pun intended). I don’t like to be late (home or to start in the office) and a feeling of guilt stays with me all day.

Accidents, of course, affect every road in the country. As frustrating as it can be to sit in a queue of stationary cars, I thank my stars I’m not involved. That driver’s commute is a hell of a lot worse than mine, today.

I read recently that it’s more conducive to a happy life if you buy a smaller house but manage to find somewhere in a shorter commute distance. Essentially, the shorter commute is more valuable than a more spacious homestead. The torturous extra time sat in queues or numbly following a line of tail lights home for additional miles is not, as the scientists are suggesting, a fair compromise to having that extra space at home.  

We can’t forget that other forms of commuting exist. I haven’t been lucky enough to have a train to commute on in my seven years of professional life, but I would welcome that option if it became available. I would relish the half hour of switching off, a little extra nap time, or some time to read. More and more I find I have limited time for my novels, and a commute where I could totally switch off and let someone else transport me would be wonderful. I would be interested to see a study comparing commuter happiness between drivers and train passengers... 

And biking – great for your health, a quick toning exercise for butt and legs, and who can enter the office feeling anything other than refreshed after a winter morning ride? If I could live within around three miles (20 mins or so riding, I guess), that would be perfect. It might prove a little challenging when it snows, but here in the south of the UK the White Stuff doesn’t happen even every year.  

Many people reading this will think ‘hah, I do double her mileage!’ or scoff at my dislike of efficient, mainly well-flowing motor routes the UK is proud to have developed, but I personally feel like anything longer than 30 minutes on the road each way, each day, is my limit. I love my car, I enjoy listening to the radio, and I do, for the most part, enjoy driving – on my own terms. Driving in rush hour traffic is not what I call ‘my own terms’. A new term I learned this week was the ‘extreme commuter’ – two words which make my stomach clench. Extreme sports, yes, I'll try those. Extreme cooking (not much more than ‘freezer roulette’, really!), most weeks. But extreme commutes  - no thanks, not for me.

I learned within an hour of my first day at my new job that in a week the office would be relocating further west. Having not been warned about this in the recruitment process, I was more than normally concerned about the change and the extra driving. I was already doing 45 minutes to work and didn’t relish the thought of more. I don’t have a company car and I am not on manager wages. This move would be very inconvenient, to say the least. 

The fact that you may have no choice but to commute (no local jobs available, perhaps, family reasons etc.) also makes the idea of travelling so much each day laborious. And when your commute, like mine, is unexpectedly lengthened for reasons beyond your control, it takes some strength to suck it up. Working previously for a Local Authority, there was little scope for relocation of offices, even within the same town, let alone across the county. However, the private sector is very different … I am learning! Fingers crossed there’s no more moves for a while, especially now we're thinking of buying a house!

Enough moaning, reflecting. What am I doing about this? 

My husband and I have been talking about moving closer to Bristol anyway (now there! - Lou - April 2015), so that’s not a totally alien conversation to have. We have decided to move a little closer to the city, if possible, rather than live in a satellite town or village, thus cutting the commute. It’ll only be for 6-12 months until we’re ready to make the steps to buying a property, but hopefully we’ll have a better idea of what my (our) commute will be like following the office move (I am dreading the M4/M5 junction traffic!). I’ve already scoped out the walking distance from the nearest train station and it’s not really doable if you add on the Swindon-Bristol train times, but hopefully being a little flexible in living arrangements for the time being will help.

I also find that reminding myself I did and do want this new job helps. Life, to a great extent, is not plan-able. What did John Lennon allegedly say?

                               "God laughs at a man with a plan."

Things happen which make future planning a little difficult or even redundant, but with some careful decisions, good communication with family and partners, changes can be made to improve the quality of your life – namely, of course, your commute. You need to decide what is more important to you, how your finances will cope, and what the pros and cons are. The answer may be clearer than you thought, if you’re banging your head against your steering wheel.

Driving should not dominate your life. I like to think I am quite green-minded, but the need to commute isn’t really in line with this philosophy, and I hope it changes soon. The longer commute, I am aware, is a normal practice for millions of people – did you know 3.5 million Americans commute over 3 hours a day? – but it’s not for me. Watch this space! (I'm now biking each day! Yay! - Lou - April 2015)

Six Top Tips for a Nicer Commute

1. Make sure you have a bottle of water on hand in case you get delayed. This will help with concentration levels and alertness.

2. If you’re hungry when you leave, have a small snack. Being hungry on even a short journey is not fun.

3. Try to work out if your journey time is altered for better or worse if you leave at a different time. A friend of mine says if she’s just five minutes later leaving the house in the morning, the traffic is so much worse.

4. Be prepared – in the winter, make sure you carry a blanket and a torch in the boot of your car. You’ll welcome them if you breakdown.

5. If you take the train, remember some lines now host free wifi. You could start your work day while you’re travelling and the possibly leave a little earlier in the afternoon.

6. Grabbing a book can help you unwind – take a good novel on the bus or train and start your evening relaxation a while earlier. 

And be grateful this isn't your commute!!!

Lou x

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Born to be a Tourist - hosting my #A2Zchallenge blog this year!

I started baking at 2pm today. The only thing that stopped me was I ran out of cupcake cases. 

From the top left and along:

Chocolate mini egg cakes
Almond and lemon buns
Iced and sprinkled vanilla cakes
Pistachio and lemon marzipan cake

Don' cha wish you'd come to visit?!

Lou x

Find me on Facebook
...And on Twitter
Born to be a Tourist - home to my 2015 A2Z Blog Challenge!