11
votes
Accepted
Alternatives to garbage plastic bags
Ironically, the better you are at reducing your waste, the less likely you are to succeed at replacing plastic bags for the irreducible portion. My mother throws out actual garbage twice a year - one ...
- 1,897
11
votes
Are there any more sustainable alternatives to conventional commercial toothpaste?
My toothpaste is made from natural materials (mainly clay, small quantities of herb extracts and essential oils) and comes in a (recyclable) aluminium tube. The cap is from recyclable plastic (but of ...
- 5,973
10
votes
Alternative to Toilet Paper?
To add to Terry and Darren's suggestions, I wanted to insist on the fact that modern bidet attachments are available and easily installable on a sitting water toilet without major modification.
This ...
- 3,272
7
votes
What is the most sustainable choice to write on a whiteboard?
So far the best alternative that I've found is to use a refillable marker. I bought one of these a week ago with a bottle of ink. The marker is not made of plastic (I would say it is made of aluminium)...
- 1,492
6
votes
Is there a shaving razor that is an alternative to, say, Gillette Mach 3, and does not use plastic ?
I'm an energy consultant - I'm also aware of the environmental impacts of plastic - however; I still have to ask, what is the issue with plastic?
The only thing more sustainable than plastic is SOME ...
- 496
6
votes
Accepted
How much, if any, does resolution effect the net power consumption of watching online video?
The Natural Resources Defense Council commissioned a study in late 2015 to understand the energy consumption from 4K TVs, titled The Big Picture: Ultra High-Definition Televisions Could Add $1 Billion ...
- 11.8k
5
votes
Alternative to paper towels for draining fried food?
I have not found much of an alternative to paper towels, but you could at least try the following:
Drain food that has been deep fried on a wire rack. Only after this use paper towel to soak up ...
- 111
5
votes
Are there any more sustainable alternatives to conventional commercial toothpaste?
You should look at the corporate responsibility of the companies who make toothpaste.
Some will be better than others and you can be sure that many will be incentive by both government tax schemes and ...
- 496
5
votes
Accepted
Hotel communal living
Since you don't indicate in which country you're thinking of implementing this plan, I'm going to write from my perspective in the US, considering chain hotels (Marriot, Holiday Inn, Hilton,, etc) ...
- 11.8k
5
votes
Accepted
How to prevent rust on garden tools
Linseed oil is traditional. Presumably you could either grow the seed or buy a bag of it and crush and boil it yourself. Linseed oil is a drying oil which, in contrast to the sunflower oil you ...
- 166
4
votes
Solar Panel short section of string due to obstacle
You must open circuit the panels you're not using, do not short circuit them. Open circuit is fine, the panel just sits there and no current flows. You'll see quite a high voltage on the terminals (it'...
- 3,875
4
votes
What are the natural alternatives for toothpaste?
As a retired dentist with 30+ years of practice experience I have some input here. This will be a very controversial statement:
Toothpaste is NOT essential to good oral hygiene!!!
Just routine (...
- 161
4
votes
Alternative to Toilet Paper?
When my daughter was in diapers, we used cloth wipes for her. I bought them online, but pretty much any small piece of cloth will do. I would wet it with a spray bottle of water or a wipes solution to ...
- 241
4
votes
Alternatives to garbage plastic bags
Long before plastic bags became ubiquitous, stores provided customers with paper bags. It was also a time when people used to read hard copy newspapers as their main source of news. To utilize the ...
- 3,517
4
votes
Accepted
What feed is typically used in cricket farming?
I received the following answer after emailing a company that raises crickets.
We use a agricultural feed that includes feed beans, buckwheat, and feed corn non of which are edible by humans. We ...
- 2,849
4
votes
Is flushing dog faeces down the lavatory better than bagging and binning them?
Flushing down the toilet is a lot better than have it end up in a city dump where it will remain as long as the bag that contains it lasts.
You can purchase dedicated pet waste composting units or ...
- 708
3
votes
Are there any more sustainable alternatives to conventional commercial toothpaste?
Ayurveda, an ancient science of life, food, medicine & healing and sister science to Yoga, provides these suggestions:
Datun / Datoon can made from plant stems
Dant Manjan / Herbal Tooth Powder ...
- 346
3
votes
Organic & natural (maybe edible) alternatives for Pre Shaving cream, foam, oil etc?
There are a few recipes available out there. Most of those that I have seen are oil based and the ingredients that they use are very easy to buy (at least where I live). I will give you an example ...
- 1,492
3
votes
Organic or Homemade equivalent White board Cleaning liquid & scrub?
I use lab alcohol for the ones in work. You need a solvent to free up the inks. At home I'd use methylated spirits (alcohol stove fuel). Flambe alcohol might work. You could test some vodka but the ...
- 2,116
3
votes
Alternative to Toilet Paper?
In more outhouse oriented times, folk would use old corn cobs. Giving us the expression 'corn-hole'
- 375
3
votes
Alternative to paper towels for draining fried food?
Slices of stale bread are a good alternative. I keep crusts / the ends of loaves in the freezer and place 4 to 6 on a tray to cover the tray. You then just place your fried food on top to drain. The ...
- 131
3
votes
What is a low-toxic way to kill yellow Jackets?
I personally use a combination of d-limonene & borax.
First, borax is a natural occurring salt from lake beds and d-limonene is basically just orange oil, a solvent.
Mix the two together and ...
3
votes
What are ideas to change the advertising system towards sustainability?
The issue is not advertising per se, but what drives it. In a capitalist system, businesses pursue higher revenues and lower costs in order to maximize profits. Advertising is a part of this system ...
- 11.8k
3
votes
What are ideas to change the advertising system towards sustainability?
This is a complex issue and one that's hard to address succinctly. It gets into the larger matter of media and its role and interaction with society, which is profound. This includes political and ...
3
votes
Accepted
Alternative to sealing compound
Indians, and later voyageurs used a mix of wood ash, spruce resin and lard.
Spruce resin is just collected off of trees. Melt. Once it flows well, filter the sticks and bugs out.
Add wood ash to the ...
- 7,207
3
votes
What alternatives exist for bean bag filler?
Rice hulls , and I think other small grain hulls should be very good . Some pillows are stuffed with rice hulls ( the TV advertisements claim they are wonderful ).
- 550
3
votes
Accepted
Is less white paper usually more sustainable?
The short answer: Yes.
The long answer:
White paper is produced by bleaching the dried pulp, whether raw tree product or recycled.
The following is reproduced from this site:
To produce a white paper ...
- 204
3
votes
How to prevent rust on garden tools
This source suggests:
Keep your garden tools clean and dry. Clean them off after use, and especially before putting them away for the winter.
Preferably store them by hanging them on nails or hooks, ...
2
votes
Alternative for electrical washing machine
If you don't feel like making a DIY washer, there is actually a whole niche industry of non-electric washers, including the Laundry Pod and the Wonderwash. You spin them around manually and leave your ...
- 306
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible