The uk is a throwaway society?

[tyred]

I'd like to go back to aluminium toothpaste tubes so that you can roll them up, I thought to myself as I rolled up an aluminium tube of tomato puree.

Euthymol toothpaste still comes in aluminium tubes.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Old tooth paste tubes can be cut up to make a tyre boot . Ok. that still leaves a lot of single use plastic.

Google tells me that the average person uses 6 tubes of toothpaste per year, and the population of the UK is 68million. That's about 0.4 billion tubes per year. Let's say you can make two and a bit tyre boots from each tube on average (some big tubes, some small ones) That gives us a billion boots per year.

According to Sustrans there were 3.5 billion cycling miles per year (2016)

So if every cyclist has one blowout requiring a tyre boot repair every three and a half miles then we'll be sorted.

 

[Juan Kog]

Google tells me that the average person uses 6 tubes of toothpaste per year, and the population of the UK is 68million. That's about 0.4 billion tubes per year. Let's say you can make two and a bit tyre boots from each tube on average (some big tubes, some small ones) That gives us a billion boots per year.

According to Sustrans there were 3.5 billion cycling miles per year (2016)

So if every cyclist has one blowout requiring a tyre boot repair every three and a half miles then we'll be sorted.

Thats interesting, but you really need to get out more . .

 

[ColinJ]

Thats interesting, but you really need to get out more . .

I thought that too, after I caught myself checking the figures!

 

[Fredo76]

The USA is a throwaway society.

We're currently throwing away just about all of it, in every sense.

 

[All uphill]

For anyone who gets depressed about this kind of thing, I recommend doing all you can to reduce your personal consumption, rather than moaning.

Moaning is often a sign of feeling powerless, when we can absolutely do things to reduce the problem.

I take my hat off to litter-pickers; to people who use the train in preference to car, reuse inner tubes, leave unnecessary packaging in the supermarket. There are a thousand things each of us can do.

 

[FishFright]

For anyone who gets depressed about this kind of thing, I recommend doing all you can to reduce your personal consumption, rather than moaning.

Moaning is often a sign of feeling powerless, when we can absolutely do things to reduce the problem.

I take my hat off to litter-pickers; to people who use the train in preference to car, reuse inner tubes, leave unnecessary packaging in the supermarket. There are a thousand things each of us can do.

If we all do a bit then a lot gets done.

 

[gbb]

For anyone who gets depressed about this kind of thing, I recommend doing all you can to reduce your personal consumption, rather than moaning.

Moaning is often a sign of feeling powerless, when we can absolutely do things to reduce the problem.

I take my hat off to litter-pickers; to people who use the train in preference to car, reuse inner tubes, leave unnecessary packaging in the supermarket. There are a thousand things each of us can do.

As an example, years ago i was walking past near neighbours house, exchanging a few words as we passed. I leNt down to pick up some litter, he watched and said 'dunno why you're bothering, there'll be more tomorrow
And he's right, there will be.
So I replied, I know, and I'll pick that up tomorrow.

That was around 30 years ago, I still live there, I still pick litter every workday morning when I walk the dog.
I still moan thought

 

[Littgull]

As an example, years ago i was walking past near neighbours house, exchanging a few words as we passed. I leNt down to pick up some litter, he watched and said 'dunno why you're bothering, there'll be more tomorrow
And he's right, there will be.
So I replied, I know, and I'll pick that up tomorrow.

That was around 30 years ago, I still live there, I still pick litter every workday morning when I walk the dog.
I still moan thought

I do exactly the same and pick up litter left by others in our road. But I often think that perhaps I should be wearing a pair of protective gloves before picking litter up as the type of person who drops litter probably doesn't wash their hands after going to the toilet !

 

[gbb]

I do exactly the same and pick up litter left by others in our road. But I often think that perhaps I should be wearing a pair of protective gloves before picking litter up as the type of person who drops litter probably doesn't wash their hands after going to the toilet !

I was brought up in a fairly rural environment in the 70s kids out all day, playing in mud and dirt, a bit of muck never bothered me...but, I frequently wear a pair of nitrile gloves in poor weather, hardly ever in the summer but I do think about the germs in winter.