Tag Archives: coffee grounds

Recycling and Climate Change…27th January 2020…Banana Leaf Technology and Roof Top Gardens…

Hello and welcome to this weeks news and views on Climate Change and recycling…Thank you for all your comments last week they were all valid concerns and I hope I went some way to answering those concerns it was lovely to have that two-way discussion going…Thank also to all of you who shared the post and spread the news and views.

Blog Header fruit skins

The banana tree…here in Thailand and in my garden Bananas grow in abundance.

Its scientific name is Musa Sapientum which roughly translated  means  Fruit of wise  men

Here it is called Kluay pronounced glue oy.

Seasons vary slightly around the regions and it is a tree-like perennial and officially classed as a herb, the world’s largest herb as it can reach 25 feet in height. The fruit is also classed as a berry. Did you know that?

Here in Thailand leaves are used to serve food on,  wrap food for steaming and cooking or used as containers…like these pictured here …They nestle nicely inside my shopping bag without the need for a plastic bag.

tomatoes banana leaves

It also only bears fruit one time and then little ones for the next crop grow out from the bottom of the plant a perpetual cycle…Which means rather than just letting the tree go to compost the leaves are utilised…before they are turned into compost…Circular recycling at its best.

A young scientist when he was only 15 years old got to thinking about how he could utilise this natural product…This is the result…

All the things I see locally here using banana leaves are great this is taking it one step further and making it longer lasting …

This gladdens my heart and gives me hope when I see young people experimenting at home in mums or nan’s kitchen and producing a natural recyclable product out of potential waste…Like Orange peel, coffee grounds, watermelon skin or banana peel to name just a few…I am going to source some moulds and get Aston working on some egg cups as they also won’t break when bounced like all my others…

 

This young student has taken it a step further using industrial juice waste to create this  Bio-Peel,  unveiled by design student Denny Handley who studies at Brunel University, London his idea blends waste orange peels with a mixture of other biodegradable products to create a new packaging material that’s strong, malleable and environmentally friendly.

https://www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/articles/Unpeeled-Orange-peel-based-food-packaging-unveiled

My roving reporter Tori Zigler... sends me the latest news from the UK…It is much appreciated, Tori…Thank you, xx

Snow I know many of you are experiencing quite a lot of the white stuff…These e-sledges don’t disturb nature or pollute the environment…

Travellers to Finnish Lapland wanting to make their adventure as sustainable as possible can now experience the snowy landscape the zero-emission way via electronic snowmobile thanks to Aurora eMotion.

Aurora eMotion, the first and only electric snowmobile safari provider in the world, operates safaris in Finnish Lapland on emission-free and silent eSleds without disturbing the silent peace of wintry nature and with no harm to the surrounding environment and wildlife.

Thank you, Tori, for sending me this…Tori has written some beautiful children’s books which if you are looking for that special little gift then pop over and have a look…

So much great news…Now, who have I put in my naughty corner this week?

Not really any surprise that it’s a drinks manufacturer…Coca Cola...

coca-cola-867248_640

Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay

Their spokesperson is blaming you…Yep…Blaming the consumer…They say you like bottles and that they should be listening to YOU!

They say they are going to concentrate on recycling…However, we all know that many of the plastics used for bottles are made from the type of plastic which cannot be recycled in many local recycle plants as they need specialist recycling due to the plastic they are made of…

Greenpeace USA…had something to say about that…

In a statement emailed to EcoWatch, Greenpeace USA Plastics Campaigner Kate Melgesexplained exactly what she thought was wrong with Perez’s reasoning:

It is mighty convenient for the world’s worst plastic polluter to insist that people want their single-use plastic around. Coca-Cola continues to show how out of touch it is with the environmental crises communities around the world are facing. The solution is not to simply swap one throwaway material for another or continue to fall back on recycling. The solution is for Coca-Cola and other consumer goods giants to fundamentally rethink how they’re bringing products to people, centering systems of reuse and package-free options. We cannot afford the levels of inaction that Coke has shown thus far. Soon, the company will realize just how sick and tired people are of its plastic addiction.

What can we do? That’s easy isn’t it? We are the consumer ….We have a choice what we buy….We could quite easily just stop purchasing Coca Cola…Will you?

https://www.ecowatch.com/coca-cola-plastic-pollution-2644896488.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1

On a happier note…John Rieber told me about how Kelly Clarson on her show was promoting Grow your own With Jennifer Garner..there is now a rooftop garden on top of the television studio building…The show was the Sept 11th ( one) I had missed…Well worth watch and good to see celebrities getting behind this Grow Your own….Thank you, John.

How cool is that? John always wows me with some of his gastronomic finds pop over and enjoy x

Thank you if you are still here and reading to the end…I look forward to your comments xx

About Carol Taylor: Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx

Plastic, Waste and recycling…Latest News…Shoes made from coffee grounds, Plastic eating Mushrooms…

Monday the start of another new week…and two important days in the Buddhist calendar Asalna Puja Day and Buddhist Lent Day which means for 3 days schools, banks and public offices will be closed and selling alcohol is prohibited… Thais will be celebrating so party time it will be both serious and fun…Asalha Puja Day (Asanha Puja, Asarnha Bucha, Dhamma Day) is a Buddhist festival that occurs on the full moon of the eighth lunar month, which is usually in July. The festival pays homage to the Buddha and commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon and the founding of the Buddha’s Sangha – four noble truths.

Monk sitting

Buddhist Lent Day in Thailand is the day after Asalha Bucha marking the beginning of the three month period where monks stay in their temples with no travelling.

An update on last weeks post…Should children be taught to grow food in school as part of the school curriculum…The Answer was a resounding YES!

The lovely Pete Springer is very proud of his former pupil Melissa and said:

I have to brag about one of my former students, Melissa Applegarth, who is all in when it comes to healthy eating. One of the big projects she is pushing is called The Tower Garden. Here’s the link if you are intrigued, Carol. Melissaapplegarth.towergarden.com… 

Do check the link out it is a very impressive project…

I have been very impressed and heartened about just how many, many innovative people there are who really care about this beautiful world and doing what they can to ensure its survival…

Take DopeKicks…We are a team of entrepreneurs trying to disrupt this very dirty industry with 100% vegan, ecological solutions, made with cool materials and that everyone can afford. We also love cannabis and we think it is one of those super materials that can change the world.

The 1st waterproof Hemp Sneakers ...They need backers but it seems like a good idea…There are many of these projects springing up now and many seem very good …

N.B These hemp sneakers are NOW 1500% funded on Kickstarter: “We wanted to outperform all the other shoes in every category, and that is exactly what we have done.”

The second one is Rens...The Worlds First Waterproof Shoe made from Coffee...Made from the coffee grounds …Circular recycling at work another great Kickstarter idea…

Many people are asking could seaweed be a solution?

What a brilliant idea…

Plastic eating Mushrooms???? Is there no end to all these ideas that are popping up…Looking for solutions does seem to be reaping benefit upon benefit…

Fungi Mutarium mushroom …

 

I love this idea…Circular Fashion …The future remade…

Products designed to be sent back when they’re worn out. Then new products from the material recovered… again and again.. How brilliant is that idea?…

Every year 100 billion new items of clothing are produced while a truck full of clothing is burned, or buried in a landfill every second. Slowing fast fashion down a bit won’t fix it. But when we take the waste material at the end and make new products from it at the start, it changes everything. That’s what is now being done.

 

Dandelions… A weed?… I remember my father making Dandelion Wine and I also remember the neighbours joining him in his shed at the bottom of the garden… I also remember how much he giggled and laughed and remember my mother and the lady next door getting a bit cross with them…I now know why?… Haha

By many called a stubborn weed but also used for years and years in herbal medicines and tasty recipes and teas…

dandelion flowers

 

Image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay

 

That’s all for today…We need to think about recycling, reusing and the plastic we use as well as the food we waste…It is too important not to…Buy local think about your carbon footprint and importantly your foods carbon footprint we all have a role to play…

Thank you so much for reading this post and if it made you think THEN please share and or comment on how you deal with plastic and recycling what do you think is the way forward xxx

About Carol Taylor:

Enjoying life in The Land Of Smiles I am having so much fun researching, finding new, authentic recipes both Thai and International to share with you. New recipes gleaned from those who I have met on my travels or are just passing through and stopped for a while. I hope you enjoy them.

I love shopping at the local markets, finding fresh, natural ingredients, new strange fruits and vegetable ones I have never seen or cooked with. I am generally the only European person and attract much attention and I love to try what I am offered and when I smile and say Aroy or Saab as it is here in the north I am met with much smiling.

Some of my recipes may not be in line with traditional ingredients and methods of cooking but are recipes I know and have become to love and maybe if you dare to try you will too. You will always get more than just a recipe from me as I love to research and find out what other properties the ingredients I use contain to improve our health and wellbeing.

The environment is also something I am passionate about and there will be more on this on my blog this year

Exciting for me hence the title of my blog, Retired No One Told Me! I am having a wonderful ride and don’t want to get off, so if you wish to follow me on my adventures, then welcome! I hope you enjoy the ride also and if it encourages you to take a step into the unknown or untried, you know you want to…….Then, I will be happy!

Carol is a contributor to the Phuket Island Writers Anthology: https://www.amazon.com/Phuket-Island-Writers-Anthology-Stories-ebook/dp/B00RU5IYNS

Connect to Carol

Blog: https://carolcooks2.com/
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/TheRealCarolT
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/carol.taylor.1422

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/caroltaylor56/pins/

Thank you once again for reading this post I hope you all have a great week xx