is clothing made from recycled bottles good for the environment?
Brands manufacturing clothing partially from recycled bottles cite their environmentally sound credentials. Is using recycled plastic a good use of this product? The process of using recycled plastic involves creating small flakes of plastic which are melted into minute pellets. These are heated, spun into threads and then crimped to make soft, fluffy fibre. It is usually blended with something else to make fabric.
Image Pexels
Is this the best way to recycle plastic? The first problem is that every time the clothing is washed it releases microbeads into the water system. These are known to last at least 100 years in the environment. (Modelling suggest much longer) The other issue is there are better uses for recycled plastic. Using plastic bottles to make more plastic bottles is more efficient than taking the plastic out of the loop. Fashionable clothing can be discarded after being worn a few times. Used clothing eventually becomes landfill.
Image Pexels
The Australian Federal Government is one of the first in the world to announce plans compelling washing machine manufacturers to install microplastic filters in washing machines. (here) This only takes the microbeads out of the water systems, but not landfill, as the filters are emptied into rubbish bins.
If you are interested in more information, look at www.moralfibres@gmail.com
my plastic drink bottle
(My apologies if you have already read this section. I had a bit of a technological blip!)
Like so many people, I carry a bottle of water with me when we go out to avoid buying bottled water in a plastic bottle. I have an aluminum bottle which holds 500ml but it is heavy. The real problem is I can’t easily see into the bottom of the bottle to be sure it is clean. So when I saw a white poly carbonate* 500ml bottle at a great price I bought it.
I can easily see right down to the bottom of the bottle, it is light to carry, sturdy and extremely long lasting. I assumed the dominating brand name label was on the shrink wrap wrapper, not printed on the bottle. I was wrong! The cellophane wrapper was clear, the bottle was not. I hesitated to use it as the branding annoyed me. Bit by bit I began using it for all the reasons I mentioned earlier. But I still didn’t like it.
Clear sight to the bottom of the bottle.
Every journal I’ve ever had has been covered in my own choice of paper by me, I always create my own phone backs and so I set about looking for a solution for the drink bottle. To have my own design printed as a waterproof sticker was expensive and to buy a phone sized sticker from a company making them for the back of mobile phones was much the same price, so I went looking for waterproof stickers. Narrowed the search to Australian companies because of delays in shipping from overseas and wanting to support Australian businesses.
Two stickers would have covered the branding but I enjoyed using three!
These stickers came in a pack of 50, took only a few days to arrive and I’m really pleased with them. It took two stickers to cover the branding. I used three. It was fun deciding which ones to use and thinking up uses for some of the 47 left over stickers. Best of all, I really like my Japanese themed drink bottle.
There’s a theme here; I really, really like traditional Japanese art.
- Poly carbonate is about 250 times stronger than glass. One of its characteristics is high impact resistance and weight. It is a natural UV filter and can be reused without significant degradation.
- Update. The stickers have been on the bottle for over three weeks now. It has been in almost daily use and they still look new. Good.
DINGOES
Image credit Pixabay
- Dingoes are wild, medium sized canines living in Australia. There is a small population of dogs with similar genome markers in Asia, suggesting the dingoes came via boat to Australia at least 3 500 years ago. They live in every area of the continent, except in Tasmania. They can live in harsh deserts through to lush rain forests but access to water determines where they live.
- Image Adobe Stock
Image Adobe Stock Dingoes are carnivores although they do eat some fruit and vegetables, nuts and grain. Their preference for meat causes conflict with farmers. When livestock is lost to dingoes farmers respond with poison, namely 1080. Since 2016 Queensland’s Cluster Fencing scheme has been effectively preventing dingo attacks on sheep and calves. Using guardian dogs is also becoming an effective and economical way to prevent dingo attacks.
Dingoes traditionally ate kangaroos, specifically red kangaroos. National parks are being overgrazed by kangaroos and feral goats. The environment is out of sync. By living harmoniously with the dingoes the kangaroo population can be controlled, there would be more grazing land for livestock and a more sustainable environment would result. This is one example of the forward thinking approaches being implemented by farmers in Australia.
SOME FACTS ABOUT DINGOES
They don’t bark, they howl. Their teeth are larger than those of domestic dogs. They have large, pricked ears. They live 8 – 10 years.
The oldest remains found are 3500 years old.
They live in packs of about 10, although young males can exist on their own until they create their own pack.
They are primitive canines related to wolves. They grow to about 60cm tall, weight up to 25 kg. with red, ginger or typically sandy yellow coats.
HAPPY EASTER !
