Organic-Ally

Some of my customers ask: what do I do when I run out of pl--tic bags to line my bins? I've not run out yet. Here's why: we host visitors and 'open houses' often. People come with their p-astic bags and leave them with us. Sometimes I collect a whole load of these from the other community groups I work with because these are choking up their storage space. If we are really stuck, really, really stuck, some old newspaper folded into a 'cone' makes a good bin liner. Back to Organic-Ally .

Because we don't collect pl-st-c carrier bags any more (except for the rare occasion when we get 'caught out') I now find myself keeping bags from loaves of bread, potatoes, etc for re-use. I'm afraid some of the organic staples we buy come in pl-st-c because the supermarkets want to make sure we pay the premium for them Our meat and fish also come in pl--tic trays. Sometimes these are recyclable, sometimes not. Whichever way, if they are left in the kitchen bin, the kitchen would start ponging very soon. So we put these out in the bin as soon as possible. But I also do not like the meat/fish juices to run into the bin as that means a long-term pong problem, or water wastage to clean the bins. So the bread and potato pl--tic bags are kept for such occasions. And I see pictures of my mum carefully washing out pla-t-c bags and hanging them up to dry. I'm getting to be more like her every day!! Back to Organic-Ally .

We recently came across a TV documentary in which a British-born Indian actor/comedian went on a long trip to India and Pakistan to find out something of his own roots. It is quite funny viewing. I could not understand why he was surprised by the man who was shouting at the foot of the apartment block he was staying at for people to bring their rubbish down to him. This is the rag-and-b0ne man. In Singapore the 'garang-guni' was also a familiar sight when I was growing up. Mum saved every bit of newspaper and tin, etc, and whatever she could not use, she would sell to the garang-guni man. He came round with his little hand-held weighing scale and would pronounce how much paper or tin would cost, etc. Sometimes old electrical objects like broken irons, clocks, etc, were also sold for a much higher, specific price. When life was not so 'cheap' and we paid real prices for real goods, especially when there were no government subsidies keeping prices artificially high for so...

I know the story of cotton in and out -- or so I thought -- until I came across this site which gives some really dire information on cotton being grown in Uzbekistan. Or check out the film here . If buying cheap cotton clothes does not yet make you cringe, take a look at some of the information here and see what your reaction is. Back to Organic-Ally .