Fancy a bit of redecorating ? How to recycle old paint at the back of the cupboard!

 It's that time of year, we are in 2021 and looking at doing a bit of home decorating!  There always seems to be a bit of paint at the bottom of the tin that you save just in case you need to touch up any marks, but never get around to it! The main reason is that by the time you get around to doing it the colour of the paint in the tin and that on the wall is different! That is why we used to end up with lots of tins with a tiny bit at the bottom.  The reason we don't have that any more is because everything is painted white! 

    

I have found some really interesting information on what is becoming one of my favourite websites : Earth911.

Here are some of the tips they provide!

Consumer paint comes in primarily two forms: latex (or water-based) and alkyd (or oil-based). It’s important to know which type you have because the disposal options are different for each.

Paint Recycling Preparation

The first step to paint recycling is proper storage. If you have an open can of paint, make sure to keep it covered so the paint doesn’t dry up. You can also wrap the lid in plastic to provide an additional seal. Store it in a cool, dry place between uses.

If you have no more use for half-empty paint cans, see if you can donate them first. Many school drama clubs, community theaters and other nonprofits will accept used paint. 

If reuse is not an option, then it’s time to find a recycler. Here’s where the story differs based on the type of paint you have:

Oil-based paint can’t be recycled, which means you’ll need to use a household hazardous waste (HHW) program. If your community doesn’t offer HHW collection, you’ll want to dry out the paint using kitty litter and/or newspaper and throw it in the trash.

For water-based paint, recycling may be an option where you live by taking it to a transfer station. In many cities, latex paint is excluded from HHW collection and special collection events or programs are available.

Why Recycle Paint

• Water-based paint is the most commonly accepted product at household hazardous waste events nationwide, even though the EPA doesn’t consider it to be hazardous waste. Most hazardous waste is incinerated instead of recycled.
• New water-based paint can be made from recycled paint, or mixed together to create new colours used for projects like graffiti removal.
• Using 1 gallon of recycled paint instead of new paint saves 100 kilowatt-hours of energy and keeps 115 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the air.     

How Paint Is Recycled

Most latex paint that doesn’t contain mercury or foreign contaminants can be processed into recycled-content paint.

There are two types of recycled paint: re-blended (also called consolidated paint) and re-processed (also called re-manufactured paint). Re-blended paint contains a much higher percentage of recycled paint than re-processed paint.

Creating re-blended paint involves mixing several paints together, including various colours and sheens (glossy, eggshell, etc.). The paint is then filtered, packaged and distributed or sold.

Re-processed paint results from mixing old paint with new paint and other new materials. The paint is then tested for quality, packaged and distributed or sold.

When recycling centres accept the paint, we separate it out by colour, so then it will get mixed that way.

This means re-processed paint can be made into more colors than re-blended paint, which is usually offered in just neutral colours. By repurposing paint in this way, we reduce the demands on the planet’s natural resources, as well as create markets for leftover paint in cities where people would like to purchase and use recycled paint. However, oil-based paints are a trickier business, since they cannot be recycled.

Oil-based paints are incinerated, Spray paints, too. Even the metal [containers] get incinerated.

 So before throwing away any unwanted paint I will be investigating if it can be reused in any way!

The blog song for today is: "Money" by Pink Floyd

TTFN

 

Happy New Year for us and our planet! Make 2021 the year we wake up and actually do something!

 Five years ago in Paris, world leaders made history. In signing the Paris climate agreement, 197 countries agreed to work together to sort out the climate crisis. Leaders pledged to put people first and reduce their countries’ greenhouse gas emissions, with the aim of limiting global warming to well below 2ºC and ideally to 1.5°C.

Fast forward to today, and we’re living through the beginnings of a worsening climate and nature emergency. Turn on the news and you’ll see forest fires, extreme heat, mega-storms and floods. People are dying and ecosystems are collapsing.

What’s happening to our planet is already a tragedy; a failure of leadership and collective action. But if governments begin to act on the promises they made in Paris, we can avoid much worse.

The historic goals set by the Paris agreement, plus strong climate leadership from governments, may well mean it’s not too late to sort out this mess. But to succeed, we will all need to work together over the next year to make sure political leaders feel the pressure.

There’s still hope of meeting the Paris agreement goals

It’s not too late to keep global warming below 1.5ºC. Many countries have already pledged to take climate action, including some of the world’s big climate players, like China.

One recent study has crunched the numbers from commitments and pledges over the last 10 years and found that the Paris agreement’s goals are ‘within reach’. But reaching them won’t be easy. Every country has to take bold action, right now, to keep the promises they’ve already made, and keep raising their ambition.

As a start, every government needs to make a plan to substantially reduce its emissions over the next decade. The aim should be to get the world’s emissions down to zero by 2050.

And it’s not just nature and the climate that needs our leaders’ attention.

Here are some of the most important things our governments need to do:

Transition away from oil and gas production and support workers with secure green jobs. The UK already has an energy workforce with the knowledge and experience needed to transform the sector to clean power, many of whom are keen to retrain and work in renewables.

Roll out a plan for 100% renewable energy. This will create jobs in wind, solar, tidal power and other technologies to support the rollout, such as batteries and energy saving apps.

Invest in a world-leading public transport system, rather than new roads. Better transport options will improve countless lives across the country, making our air cleaner and streets safer.

Invest in warm and sustainable homes. These investments wouldn’t just keep people warm through the winter – they would also create thousands of jobs, such as in home insulation.

Ramp up financial support for countries on the frontline of the climate crisis. The world won’t be safe unless every country rolls out green solutions. High-emitting rich countries owe it to the poorest countries that are least responsible for climate change to help them to adapt and transition.

Stop food giants destroying forests and nature. Deforestation – particularly for industrial meat – is one of the major causes of climate change. Ending polluting corporate behaviour, eating less meat, reducing food waste and producing local sustainable food are all vital solutions.

Put ambitious targets in law to protect the environment. The value of nature in helping to absorb carbon is immense, and it is also vital to protect precious wildlife and natural landscapes that many of us treasure. And as the pandemic has shown, protecting nature better protects people.

Stop destructive fishing depleting our seas. As a huge store of carbon, a healthy global ocean is one of our last defences against climate change. To keep it healthy, we need at least 30% of the ocean in protected areas and destructive overfishing eliminated from the rest.

Reduce plastic production and ban exporting our plastic waste abroad. Single-use plastic, fast fashion and other plastic-heavy sectors must be regulated properly by the government to reduce the amount of waste we create in the first place.

Require the finance system and all government spending to support, rather than work against, action for the climate and nature.

Every country needs to do everything in its power now to cut emissions and protect nature. But the UK has real power on the world stage to do more than most – not just in terms of plans at home, but influence abroad too.

Make no mistake, even 1.5ºC of global warming is too much. But limiting warming to even 2ºC is still better than doing nothing. The more global warming and environmental breakdown is contained, the more the damage can be reduced across the world, and the greater the chance of a safe, fair and green future.

Let’s work together over the next year to hold the government to account, and create a better world for everyone.

Even if we all do one small change to our daily lives will make a big difference to our planet.  

 Happy New Year

 The blog song for today is "Shine on you crazy diamond" by Pink Floyd

TTFN

How to dispose of old pots and pans and can they be recycled?

 

 

Pyrex glass

Curbside recycling programs generally don’t accept the Pyrex glass type of cookware. This applies to glass lids of pans also.The reason is Pyrex contaminates the other recyclable glass because it doesn’t melt at the same temperature. Your best option with these is to pass them onto charity or to another home.

Ceramic

By ceramic, I mean 100% ceramic cookware. Most people cherish their all-ceramic cookware. But if you need to dispose of it, where can it be recycled? Recycling programs generally don’t accept ceramic items because ceramic does not melt.¹

If intact, you can pass ceramic ware on to new homes (see above).

For broken or chipped ceramic pots or pans, these can look great in the garden as a feature and there is plenty of repurposing and upcycling ideas on Pinterest.

The Zero Waste Institute says the best option is to find a way to …”Break the particles apart and return them to the clay that they were made from”.¹ 

I know broken up pieces placed in the bottom of pot plants make for excellent drainage. This is good as long as the product is 100% ceramic with no lead or other toxins in the glaze. This is not a concern with cookware sold in the US as it must meet strict safety guidelines governing lead content, similar to all food containers.

Metal cookware (including stainless steel)

You can check, but most curbside recycling programs don’t accept scrap metal and this means metal cookware.

Recyclers of scrap metals will probably want to know whether your cookware is nonferrous or ferrous.

You should know that your pots and pans contain nonferrous metal if they are made from aluminum, copper or stainless steel.

 

ElectroMagnetic Radiation- what is it?

 “Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that is all around us and takes many forms, such as radio waves, microwaves, X-rays, and gamma rays. Sunlight is also a form of EM energy, but visible light is only a small portion of the EM spectrum, which contains a broad range of electromagnetic wavelengths,”

The good news is that there are relatively easy ways to reduce your exposure to EMFs. These approaches involve reducing both the exposure level and duration.

Disable Wireless Functions

Wireless devices — including routers, printers, tablets, and laptops — all emit a Wi-Fi signal. Whenever possible, disable the Wi-Fi function on your devices. When using a computer, use an Ethernet cable for internet access instead of Wi-Fi and put the computer in airplane mode. To reduce your exposure to EMFs, turn on the Wi-Fi function only when necessary.

Replace Wireless With Wired Devices

Some devices — such as your wireless keyboard, headset, and mouse — function only when they are transmitting a wireless signal. Replace these devices with a wired version.

Keep EMF Sources at a Distance

If you have a Wi-Fi router in your home, locate it in a place that is some distance away from where people spend the most time. Avoid storing a cell phone in your pocket because these devices give out radiation even when you aren’t using them as a phone. If you use a microwave, do not stand in front of it when it is operating. Greater distance between you and the and the source significantly reduces exposure levels.

Use Your Smartphone Safely

Whenever possible, put your cell phone in airplane mode. Keep the device as far away from your body, especially when you are speaking on it. Avoid speaking on the phone in the car where the cell phone has to work extra hard to keep a decent signal, thus increasing EMF exposure. Use the speakerphone feature to avoid putting the phone up to your head. This is especially important for children who are more susceptible to cell phone radiation. When you replace your phone, look for a model with a lower Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) rating.

Prioritize Sleeping Areas

Because we spend a lot of time sleeping, this is an important time of day to protect yourself from electromagnetic radiation. If you have a Wi-Fi router, turn it off at night when it isn’t in use. Turn cell phones off or turn on airplane mode to reduce EMF exposure and save energy. Keep in mind that most cell phones will still work as an alarm clock in airplane mode. Remove all unnecessary wireless devices from the sleeping area or deactivate their Wi-Fi feature.

I do try to do some of these things already, but from now on I will try to do a few more.  It is a bit worrying to read of these things but on the other hand it is good to know about them.

The blog song for today is: "All right now" by Free

TTFN

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Palm Oil - why I am buying products without it (or trying to, because often it is in disguise)

What's wrong with palm oil?

Indonesia is being deforested faster than any other country in the world, and it has everything to do with one product: palm oil. Large areas of tropical forests and other ecosystems with high conservation values have been cleared to make room for oil palm plantations, essentially killing the biodiversity of the ecosystems that they replace.  Many plantations in Southeast Asia are on peat soils, which until recently were covered by peat swamp forests. The drainage of these carbon-rich organic soils for plantations is causing massive greenhouse gas emissions.   The cheapest and fastest way to clear land for plantations is slash and burn. Fires in Indonesia produce some of the world’s worst pollution, sending suffocating smog to cities hundreds of miles away in Malaysia and Singapore.  Clearing rainforest to make way for plantations has taken a heavy toll on local communities, destroyed natural habitats for endangered species, and become a critical factor in climate change. Replacing natural forests with palm oil plantations vastly diminishes the ability of vegetation to capture and store carbon dioxide. It’s estimated that deforestation contributes up to 20 percent of global warming. Indonesia and Malaysia account for around 87% of global palm oil production and the demand for the cheap oil continues to grow. According to WWF (World Wildlife Fund) there are approximately 20 million hectares of abandoned land in Indonesia that could be used for palm oil plantations, however, many palm oil companies are tied in with logging firms.   Timber is extremely valuable, therefore clearing virgin forest they get money twice, once for the timber and again for the produce from the oil palm trees. Other issues surrounding unregulated palm production are human rights issues, slash and burn practices to clear land, illegal land grabs, child labour and leakage of chemicals into water supply. Indonesia averaged 917,000 ha of natural forest loss per year between 2009 and 2013, more than half of which was outside concessions = ILLEGAL land clearing.

Palm oil and species extinction

​Quote Taken from COP (Centre For Orangutan Protection) "Orangutans’ poaching is done deliberately as a policy made by palm oil corporations. Therefore they hire local people as pest busters, who serve the corporation with killing any wild animals, including orangutans, which spoil palm oil trees within the plantations. The pest busters will bring up a cut-off hand of an orangutan they have killed and hand it to the corporation as a proof. When they find an adult female orangutan with her baby, they will usually kill the ‘mother‘ and take away the baby for pet or sale".   It is estimated that over 50 Orangutan are killed every week due to deforestation.  Forest homes are cleared by either heavy machinery or fire.  Orangutans are left starved with no food source and often trapped in pockets of isolated areas with no way out and often wander onto plantations searching for food. The orangutan are considered a pest by many of the oil palm companies as they often destroy young palm plants in the hope of finding food.​  They are run over by excavation equipment, doused in petrol and burnt alive, captured, tortured, beaten, shot with air guns or slaughtered.  As forest home is destroyed they become vulnerable to poachers.  Infant orangutans have monetary value and are often kept as pets or illegally smuggled, the only way a mother will let go of her infant is if she has been killed.   Elephants are often killed by poisoning.  Due to habitat loss and lack of food, elephants wander onto plantations and into villages and destroy crops.  Human, elephant conflict is becoming more common as habitat is cleared for oil palm.  Plantations and local villages often poison the elephants and snare traps are also set in the forests near the areas they are encroaching.   Tusks of the elephants are often removed to give the impression to authorities that the deaths were due to ivory trade rather than land encroachement.    Tiger and Rhino numbers are so low due to habitat loss and poaching that their extinction is rapidly nearing and we cannot let this happen.

Where is palm oil used?

This chart will show you where pressure needs to be applied.   The food industry is responsible for 72% world wide usage of palm oil. Palm derived ingredients used in personal care and cleaning products are responsible for 18% of world wide usage. ​Biofuel and feedstock is responsible for 10% of world wide palm oil usage.

Why do brands use palm oil in their products?

There are a few reasons the food industry uses palm oil.  The main reason is that it is the cheapest of vegetable oils.  Due to pressure from the large supermarket chains for products to sell at a low price, cooking oil is one of the areas where price cuts can be made to allow for profit margin.
Palm oil is also a very bland cooking oil so it does not affect the taste of products.  Palm oil also increases shelf life of pre- packaged food and finally, palm oil has a very high smoke point so it is perfect for rapid frying products such as 2 min noodles etc.
Personal care and cleaning products use palm oil for different reasons. Palm oil is extremely versatile and is used to manufacture many ingredients due to its high fatty acid content which is required to manufacture emulsifiers and surfactants. 

​How many supermarket brands use palm oil in shampoo & conditioner?  

Truth is, every single brand of shampoo and conditioner sold in supermarkets DO USE PALM OIL however the palm content is hidden under various names.   So as a consumer be aware that just because you may see one brand clearly label palm oil as an ingredient it does not mean that all others on the shelf either side are palm oil free.  There are over 200 names for palm oil derived ingredients.   We have found that brands that clearly label palm oil on the packaging of these types of products are sourcing ethically.

What was used before palm oil?

Petrochemicals and animal fats were used, so replacing these options with palm oil was the most ethical choice at the time. Palm oil has a long carbon chain of fatty acids which makes it easy to manufacture derivatives for personal care and cleaning products. 

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Palm oil production still on the rise.

    

It is up to the consumer, if enough of us avoid as many of these products containing palm oil and its derivatives then things can change!

I have seen changes for myself in the supermarkets here in Menorca with the number of products clearly marked on the outside "without Palm Oil" so it is working!

Go to this wonderful website and it will tell you all you need to know about PalmOil.

                          

It will blow your mind about the amount of alternative names for Palm Oil there are!

My blog song for today is "Don´t give up" by Kate Bush and Peter Gabriel

TTFN