White vinegar

Recently I've been trying to use non-toxic materials like baking soda and white vinegar to clean the house.

Hence I've also been looking for a good cheap source of bulk ingredients. Today I found 10L containers of white vinegar at Moore Wilson's for $6.55—by far the best option I've come across to date.

Otara

Work sent me to Manukau Institute of Technology for a book launch on Friday.

For notorious South Auckland it was nicer than I expected.
Down Otara Rd there were loads of citrus trees in front gardens.
Ngati Otara Kura Kaupapa had a splendid bed of winter vegetables (silverbeet and brassicas). That cheered me up immensely.

Then it was worse.
At the end of the road Ngati Otara Park backs on to Otara Creek. There was a sign up saying "Warning: Polluted. Do not swim, do not fish."

I felt quite shocked. Even worse, Manukau City Council says it's due to industrial pollution:
http://www.manukau.govt.nz/tec/catchment/otara_pages/otara_background.htm

Compost run

After days of rain it felt like a treat to take the compost scraps up to the community garden this morning. There was quiet sunshine, the worms were writhing merrily in the worm farm, my endive seedlings were thriving in the new cloche. Worth being late to work for :)

Plastic-free takeaways

I hate when takeaways come with extra guilt (like: I'm already being too lazy to cook, do you have to give me polystyrene boxes and plastic #5 containers to feel guilty about as well?) Sometimes even traditional old fish and chips spring surprise plastic on you.

So I want to make list of good takeaway places that result in no rubbish to landfill:

- Aro Valley fish'n'chip shop
- Pizza Pomodoro
- Hell Pizza
- Kapai
- Rice Bowl Burger Bar, Newtown [at least if you order fish & chips]
- most kebab places [at least if you order falafel]


Takeaway places with potential for plastic-free options:

- Offbeat Originals, Left Bank [if you get a burger, not a milkshake]
- Burger King [if you get a burger and/or fries and no drink]
- McDonalds [if you get a burger and/or fries and no drink]
- Nando's [if you get a burger, no drink and refuse the extra sauces in plastic packing]
- Burger Fuel [but watch out for the aioli with the fries—it comes in a wee plastic tub]
- Subway [if you can avoid the plastic bag they automatically put your paper-wrapped sandwich in]

And here's a list of takeaways to avoid because they have plastic elements:

- Chok Chai Thai takeaway in Newtown, much as I love the food
- Higher Taste, Old Bank Arcade
- Wishbone [most containers are nonrecyclable #5 plastic]
- most Chinese takeaways [though I'd love to know exceptions]
- most Indian takeaways [though ditto]
- most takeaway sushi [ditto again]

Help! Most of the ones I can think of are plastic-y. Any advances?

The Compost Chronicles #1

Late last year I made a proposal to my building's body corporate board of directors for an apartment-building-wide composting scheme. They turned it down. ("There's not enough space in the rubbish room for another bin.")
But I've talked to almost half the residents and a good two-thirds want composting.
So I'm going to the next board meeting to ask them to look at it again.

Feel the Heat

Oxfam has a petition to pressure the New Zealand government to agree to an effective climate change deal at the Copenhagen talks in December:

www.oxfam.org.nz/feeltheheat

Buying tissues

Trying to make conscious consumer choices can be hard work. For example, buying tissues. Once I would have just bought the ones with the least-ugly box, but now I'm in the paper-products aisle for twenty minutes, blocking the aisle with my trolley while I read the fine print.

But I think I've finally got it sorted. The last two times I chose Kleenex: Two-ply, not ridiculously huge. Made in Australia from "plantations and sustainably managed forests that meet appropriate forestry codes". Far from perfect, but seems to be the best there is.

Why aren't there any Made in New Zealand? Don't we have forests here?

Updated 28.5.09:

Perhaps I should switch to Sorbent ...

WWF report on this issue:
http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/how_we_work/conservation/forests/our_solutions/responsible_forestry/forest_conversion_agriculture/tissue_issue/

(This 2006 independent assessment of major European brands rates SCA best, Kimberly Clark fourth of five. The others were not assessed.)

Kleenex (Kimberly Clark)—Made in Australia; raw material sourced from "plantations and sustainably managed forests that meet appropriate forestry codes"; bleaching method not stated; recycled cardboard box.
Updated 10 June—Phone call to Kimberly Clark information line: oxygen (not chlorine) bleached; fibre is from pine plantations
website: http://www2.kleenex.com/au/
Updated 11 July—Follow-up phone call from Kimberly Clark: NZ and Australian tissues are made from pulp sourced from a mill in South Australia, or imported from Thailand or Italy. Most pulp is PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certified.
From corporate website: Wood is South Australian planation pine, South American eucalyptus and North American softwood. Around 10% is not certified.
Corporate website is: www.kca.com.au

Symphony "Sneezes" (ABCtissue)—Made in Australia; no info on source of raw material; "chlorine free"; great environmental claims on company website for other ABCtissue brands (Earthcare toilet tissue).
Updated 10 June—Emailed ABCtissue for information about bleaching method and fibre source 28 May 09; no reply to date. I'll let you know if any information comes through.
website : http://www.abctissue.com/web/nz/

Sorbent (SCA tissues)—large box = Made in Australia; small box = "Made in New Zealand from local and imported materials"; five-year plan to have all fibre from certified sources; oxygen (not chlorine) bleached; and some waste-reduction programmes in manufacturing process (see their website).
website: http://www.sorbent.com.au/
Update 11 July: Further digging on their website. SCA is a Swedish company. Certification internationally is FSC (Forestry Stewardship Council). Two mills in Australasia—Kawerau in NZ and Box Hill in Australia. At least some of the pulp for the Australian mill comes from Brazilian plantation eucalyptus.

Pams and Budget—Made in Malaysia and make no claims for greenness on the box.

And in all this—a simple, old-fashioned soft-on-the-nose reuseable cloth handkerchief is good! (Unless you have an actual cold and are germy ...)

Baby beets

I made my first purchase at the new organic stall at the Victoria St vege market last weekend. A bunch of baby beets—$2. They have a good variety of potatoes too.

Watties

I felt depressed in the canned goods aisle looking for actual canned New Zealand produce.
So I rang Watties to ask what "Made from local and imported ingredients" meant on the back of their cans of pears (they have the worst customer service line, by the way—you have to give a million personal details before you can even ask a question).
Hooray—they said that yes, they use local fruit, and (claimed) they would state specifically if they used imported fruit.

Home-dried fruit

I've been trying out drying fruit in the oven.
The result? The. Best. Dried Apple. Ever.
Tangy and full of flavour, way better than the stuff you buy. (What's up with that? Maybe it's fresher, or perhaps I just used better apples?)

Method:
Peel and slice fruit.
Lay out in a single layer on wire racks in the oven.
Turn the oven on as low as possible (< 90 C). (If you have it too hot the surface seals and moisture from the inside can't escape properly.) Wedge open the door with the handle of a wooden spoon.
Leave for ages until the fruit is leathery and you can't squeeze out any moisture (about 10 hours for the apples).
The Joy of Cooking says you should "pasteurize" the fruit once it's dry - bake at 80 C for 15 minutes.

Granny Smiths - highly recommended.

Here's the thing

So here's the thing:
I believe Jared Diamond and Hazel Henderson when they say (and I paraphrase) that when you shop you choose the kind of world you live in.
And I believe that I should try to be green and live more sustainably.
But what I want to know is: what does this actually mean for me, living here in my apartment in Wellington?