Guide
How to banish plastic from the kitchen
by Raphael Knecht
Get rid of plastic in the garden
20.3.2019
Translation: machine translated
The fact that supermarkets and kitchens are teeming with plastic is a big topic at the moment. But plastic is also everywhere in the garden and on the balcony. Yet we should be focussing on naturalness, especially in our green oasis.
The word "plastic" is on everyone's lips. In recent years, plastic has increasingly fallen out of favour because it contains harmful additives and pollutes the oceans. Just a few days ago, a whale with six kilos of plastic in its stomach washed ashore in Indonesia. Reports like this are alarming . I realise that something is happening in the minds of my friends and myself. After all, I go shopping with my own bag, take my fruit and vegetables with me unpackaged and no longer buy new Tupperware. My editorial colleagues are also concerned with the topic. My colleague Raphi recently looked around for plastic-free alternatives for the kitchen. Colleague Natalie wants to ban plastic from her beauty routine since her visit to zero waste advocate Carla Opetnik.
What I had hardly thought of before: The garden and balcony are also affected. Ironically, plastic is piling up in the very place that serves as an oasis of nature for many of us. Plastic packaging is flying around everywhere, and organic products are no better. Just like in the supermarket, where almost all organic vegetables are individually wrapped in plastic film. That doesn't have to be the case. I looked for alternatives in our range and found something in almost every area.
Tools
Beautiful gardens and balconies don't happen by chance, they are the result of a lot of passion and hard work. However, most garden tools have a high rubber content. This is often found in the handle of hand tools. It is therefore better to use shovels, rakes and the like with a wooden handle.
Flower pots
Flower pots add the finishing touch to your plants. They come in all kinds of shapes, colours and materials, including plastic. However, you can simply do without plastic because wood, stone and cement look better than plastic pots anyway.
Plant protection
If you care for and nurture your plants, you also want to protect them from external influences. You can use natural materials to do this. Use natural fleece or jute as frost protection. Sheep's wool fleece not only keeps your plants warm, but also protects them from snails. Corten steel also has a deterrent effect on molluscs. The small amount of copper in the material oxidises through the snail slime and causes skin irritation in the animal.
Winter plant protection + Garden fleece
Quantity discount
CHF6.80 per piece for 3 units
Windhager Mulching disc Cocodisc
Seeds and plant labels
Many seed packs are already plastic-free. The ones from Gorilla Gardening certainly are. You can simply tear up the cards and plant them. Plant tags don't have to contain plastic either. Just use wooden or chalkboard ones.
Plant breeding sets
Quantity discount
CHF14.70 CHF7350.–/1m
Securit Kreidetafel Gartenstecker
0.20 cm, 49.20 cm
Growing
If you grow your own plants, you can not only watch your green favourites grow. You also have a free choice of growing containers. Use biodegradable pots or sow the seeds directly in the bed if the temperatures allow it.
Potting soil, fertiliser and seedlings
These three things are hard to find in shops without plastic packaging. I couldn't find them in our shop either. At the garden centre, you could at least remove the seedlings from the plastic pot so that the plastic remains in the shop. But that's not the solution either. What helps is to do it yourself. Instead of buying seedlings, grow your own plants. Then you can use the products shown above. You can use your own compost for fertiliser and potting soil.
Reuse
If you have plastic at home, reuse it instead of throwing it away after one season. You can use growing pots more than once and your gardening tools anyway. Gardening tools in particular are almost impossible to get without plastic and should therefore be used until they no longer work.
Have I forgotten something? Have you discovered the ultimate alternative product? Or do you simply have a question? Then let me know in the comments column. <p
My life in a nutshell? On a quest to broaden my horizon. I love discovering and learning new skills and I see a chance to experience something new in everything – be it travelling, reading, cooking, movies or DIY.
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