How to clean SIGG, Klean Kanteen and other reusable bottles

Wash your bottles with warm, soapy water at the end of every day and let the bottle air dry upside down with the top off.   This is very important to stop mould and other deposits forming in the bottle.

Should any mineral deposits or lime scale form inside, fill your clean bottle with Distilled White Vinegar (no other kind) and let soak for 24 hours. Then rinse with warm water and one tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda and let dry.   Spots that look like "corrosion" are most likely a mineral deposit.

We recommend using filtered water where possible.   It tastes so much better--but also because water contains different minerals in every area and this may affect what happens inside your bottle.

You can also try SIGG cleaning tablets and specially-designed SIGG cleaning brush on all reusable bottles.  Please only ever use a soft brush on SIGG so as not to damage the lining.  Stainless Steel can handle a hard brush.

While all bottles are technically dishwasher-safe, we recommend not putting them in a dishwasher.  The dishwasher can damage the external paint coating and tops and seals because extreme heat expands and deteriorates the plastic.

Never freeze bottles as metal can split even with only a little water inside.   Trust us, we have seen many bottles that expanded and split.  Water does not always expand in a predictable direction!

More about BPA and SIGG

This is our third post on the issue of reusable bottles and BPA. The two earlier articles explain more about SIGG & BPA and the exchange program.

Are SIGG bottles safe?
While SIGG should have been more transparent about the fact its bottles prior to August 2008 contained BPA in the manufacturing, the bottles are still safe based on independent tests that show no leaching of BPA or other toxins.

When most people purchased their bottles in 2008 and before, it was on the understanding that the bottles did not leach BPA or any toxins--and that has not changed.  It was only in 2009 that SIGG said the new bottles were BPA-free.

Is this a product recall? 
The exchange program being offered by SIGG and retailers is not a recall, because the bottles are not unsafe.   SIGG promoted the bottles as not leaching BPA or other toxins, and this is still the case.

SIGG has explained that while BPA was an ingredient in the lining, it was manufactured in such a way that it was polymerised, essentially locking in the ingredients.

See more details on the exhange program below.

What is BPA & how is it used?
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a plastic and resin ingredient used to line metal food and drink cans and to make hard and clear polycarbonate plastics.  Here is a summary of the Environmental Working Group study in 2007 which found BPA in over half of 97 cans of name-brand fruit, vegetables, soda, and other commonly eaten canned goods.

Its use is widespread, as is its permeation into the environment around us including drinking water and human breast milk.

BPA can leach into food from the protective internal lining of canned foods and from consumer products such as polycarbonate tableware, food storage containers, water bottles, and baby bottles.  The degree to which BPA leaches from polycarbonate bottles into liquid may depend more on the temperature of the liquid or bottle, than the age of the container.  (Source: National Toxicology Program).

This Z recommends article explains the great advances made away from unsafe polycarbonate bottles that contained high levels of BPA, but calls for putting BPA-free into perspective.

Canada was the first country to ban BPA from baby products, followed by several US States.

How to limit exposure to BPA?

• Do not heat or microwave food in any type of plastic container - use glass or ceramic instead. Heating plastics to high temperatures promotes the leaching of chemicals.
• Reduce your use of canned foods - canned pasta and soups contain the highest levels of BPA
• Avoid polycarbonate #7 and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) #3 plastics, especially for children's food. Plastics with the recycling labels #1, #2 and #4 on the bottom are safer choices and do not contain BPA. 
• Use glass baby bottles.
• Use high quality reusable bottles from trusted brands that publish results of quality control and testing.

Which bottles are safest to use?
In most cases, the old rule "you get what you pay for" is a good starting point.  There are many cheap metal bottles in stores to meet the consumer demand for moving away from plastics.  We recommend only choosing an established brand that you know and trust, that openly publishes independent test results, and that can be held accountable should there be a problem. 

Metal bottles can still leach toxins, whether an aluminium bottle with no lining at all or an unsafe lining, or a stainless steel bottle leaching nickel - particularly if there has not been a tightly controlled and monitored approach to the manfacturing.

SIGG bottles, Klean Kanteen stainless steel bottles and Nathan stainless steel bottles are long standing, high quality brands.

At the end of the day, you and your family are the ones who drink from the bottles and need to feel comfortable with whichever choice you make.

Year of the Gorilla

Mountain Gorilla Silverback Titus and Family, Virungas National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (Picture by Ian Redmond, GRASP).

Article updated 4 November 2009
When we first published this post, we said that recycling mobile phones helps relieve pressure on Gorilla habitat due to the recycling of a metal called Coltan, as reported on Channel 7's Sunday Night program.  Mobile Muster has advised that is not actually the case because Coltan is not recovered.  Coltan is only used in a small number of phones that are specifically for people with hearing impairments.  They say it would be too expensive to have a system for recovering such a tiny amount of metal.

Channel 7's Sunday Night program ran a story by Grant Denyer on the Mountain Gorillas of Kahuzi-Biega National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Grant showed the complex threats facing the gorillas from armed conflict, habitat loss, the bushmeat trade, diseases and the mining of coltan used in electronics and mobile phones.

2009 is actually the Year of the Gorilla.  It is difficult to understand how the catastrophy in these regions can ever be solved for the people and animals.  Most of us can only take solace from knowing about the amazing partnerships of organisations working to save the gorillas.

The Year of the Gorilla is a collaboration between the UNEP/UNESCO Great Apes Survival Partnership and other incredible groups.  This excerpt from the Year of the Gorilla website explains:

Why are gorillas so important?
Great Apes, and especially the largest of all, gorillas, have always been a source of inspiration and fascination for humans. Their close kinship to humans makes them stand out in the animal kingdom. Gorillas have been shown to possess self-awareness, remarkable intelligence and an ability to communicate with signs and symbols as well as use some basic tools. They express emotions such as joy and distress in a way similar to humans.

Gorillas are endangered and continue to face severe threats. All the great ape species of Africa - the bonobos, chimpanzees and gorillas- and the orangutans of Southeast Asia are in steep decline, and the rate of loss is increasing virtually everywhere. The conservation of viable wild populations of each species, necessary to prevent their extinction, represents a difficult challenge to humanity. Not only are these species humankind’s closest relatives, they also play a key role in their forest homes, which in turn regulate the global climate.

Read more at the Year of the Gorilla Blog

Lunch time talk - "Eco Angels & Demons" on Friday, 23 October at the Biome City Store

Help celebrate National Organic Week.
Join Biome founder, Tracey Bailey for an inspiring, informative talk from personal perspectives on companies who behave badly, and those that shine in the field of organics and eco friendly alternatives.

Join from 12:30pm for the whole session, or feel free to drop in any time until 1:30pm to listen in on various case studies.   It will be a casual affair and we welcome your questions.

As we have limited space, we would greatly appreciate your RSVP should you be thinking of attending.

Where: Biome's Brisbane City Store, 215 Adelaide Street

When: Friday, 23 October 2009 ~ 12:30pm - 1:30pm

More info about the Biome Brisbane City Store and how to get there

Zaishu: art function eco

Zaishu's latest slot-together seat/table features artwork by acclaimed Australian textile designer, Nicola Cerini. The inspiration for this work evolved from an ecology camp about rare, native and vulnerable plants of East Gippsland. The Baw Baw Daisy is from that body of work and the Waratah is also endemic to that region.

Zaishu Studio designers, Matthew Butler and Helen Punton, create beautiful and meaningful designs often in collaboration with other artists around the world. They use only certified sustainable materials, handprinting the designs in their coastal studio.  Both artistic and functional, Zaishu's signature creation can be utilised as either a seat or a table.   See the full Zaishu range at Biome.  Here's a sneak peek of their new creation for the boys...or girls...arriving at Biome mid-October.
Gaskets & Gears...

Recipe: Lemon Myrtle baked cheesecake with Finger Lime marmalade

From Briony, our Biome City Store Manager
After the hectic week of a working eco-Mum, including one too many take-away meals, I needed some good, old fashioned home baking therapy!  It was also the weekend of a visit from my mother and sister so I intended to dazzle them with my cooking skills in the hope they would not notice the unmade beds or piles of ironing.

Well, the outcome was an AMAZING Lemon Myrtle baked cheesecake drizzled with Finger Lime Marmalade.  Biome's Australian native food corner was the inspiration for the Oz Tukka Lemon Myrtle and Finger Lime marmalade.  Did it do the job you ask? Oh yes...

Lemon Myrtle baked cheesecake drizzled with Finger Lime marmalade

150g plain sweet biscuits, crushed (I use half gingernuts - half digestives)
75g Butter, melted
500g Cream Cheese
3/4 cup castor sugar
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp ground Oz tukka Lemon Myrtle
3 eggs
300ml cream
Finger Lime Marmalade

Combine biscuits and butter. Press firmly into springform pan. Refrigerate until firm.

Beat cheese and sugar together until smooth.
Thoroughly beat in lemon rind, juice and eggs. Gently blend in cream then Lemon myrtle.
Pour into pan. Drizzle with warmed Marmalade.

Bake at 160 for 45 minutes. Turn oven off. Leave to cool in oven undisturbed for further 1/2 hour.
Cool and serve with double cream if you dare!

Wild Hibiscus Flowers and other Australian native foods

Pure and Green - achieving "real" organic skin care

We have looked closely at many natural skin care brands and as you may know many are just “bulk purchased bases” that are custom branded.  Further, many brands claiming to be organic are either not certified, or they use a certification that allows fairly small quantities of organic ingredients.

Unique skin care formulations are few in number and certified organic choices with close to 100% organic content are rare.   Newcomer Pure and Green Organics is an exceptional Australian creation that has ticked all the eco-credentials, led by an enterprising young businessperson wanting to achieve something special.

In June 2009, Pure and Green was the first company in the world to have every product in its range from face, body, dental and hair care to be certified organic.  You can usually tell when an eco company is "for real" by the extra steps taken that set them apart.  Pure and Green has shown deep consideration the whole way through to the packaging, using innovative ingredients and mixing their own formulations in a custom built kitchen.

ACO certification
We have learned that there are very different standards applied by organic certification bodies.  Pure and Green chose to be certified by Australian Certified Organic (ACO), the gold standard for high-level cosmetics certification.  It requires:

• at least 95% of ingredients by mass to be certified organic (other certifiers accept as little as 20%);
• no use of synthetic vitamins (eg. pro-vitamin B5) or synthetic surfactants (eg. coco glucoside, coco betaine), which other Australian certifiers will allow; and
  
• no toxic solvents to be used as ingredients or used in the extraction of any other ingredients. Other certifiers may not check, creating a loophole for toxins to silently enter products which still get labelled 'certified organic'.

Palm oil free
Palm oil is often hidden in derivatives like sodium lauryl sulphate, sodium palmate, stearic acid and glycerine without mentioning it on the label, or it is labelled as palmitate or simply "vegetable" oil.  Pure and Green has gone to lengths to ensure there is no palm oil in any ingredient.

Certified vegan and cruelty-free
The products carry independent certification of this, again taking it that extra step.

World leading packaging

• The first cosmetic company in the world to use 100% post-consumer recycled cardboard caps for its bottles. Not just recycled, but they have even ensured it is post-consumer, which is the true standard for recycled paper.
  
• The first company in Australia to use BIOpack bottles made from plant sugar.  This was not an "off the shelf" packaging option -- they achieved this with persistence, and they are custom manufactured for Pure and Green in a carbon-neutral factory.
  

We have been so impressed by the creators of Pure and Green with their responsiveness and openness to questions.  They are small business people who have fought every step of the way to make things happen that most others accept are not possible, like the BIOpack plastic bottles and eliminating palm oil.

National Organics Week will take place from October 16 - 25.  Stay tuned for organic-themed events and specials in the Biome stores.

Achieving a truly 100% biodegradable nappy is possible : Eenees has done it

The disposable nappy market is another that has been green-washed so many times it has surely turned black.  The fact is that there is no 100% plant-based disposable and biodegradable nappy on the market...until now.

Despite what an “eco nappy” may claim, they all contain some amount of plastic parts.  The greatest problem is, however, that irrespective of what they are made from, none of them “biodegrade” once they are sent to landfill. Once something goes to landfill it is essentially mummified for ever.

Many years ago, the Tasmanian company Eenees invented a 100% plant nappy pad and incontinence pad system that is flushable (and compostable, except for the hygiene issue).   That Eenees nappy pouch pants and pad system still has a very loyal following.  Excitingly, they have just launched a zero-waste Eenees disposable nappy that is accepted by commercial composters.

Even when a nappy claims it can be composted, it is unacceptable public hygiene to compost a soiled nappy in your backyard. The only real solution is commercial composting, which diverts the nappies from landfill and deals with the hygiene problem of composting in your backyard.

Eenees is endorsed by Compost Australia as the first and only disposable acceptable for commercial composting. There are already several areas in Australia where commercial composting is underway.

Even if you are not able to send the nappies to compost, they are absolutely the best choice for the environment because they use no petrochemicals and they are made right here in Australia – Eenees should be congratulated by the Prime Minister of Australia for this achievement. Most nappies are made overseas.  Disposable nappies take up so much volume, imagine the green house emissions alone in shipping them here.

Can you imagine the hurdles that Eenees had to clear to make this dream a reality. Yes, they are a little more expensive than supermarket brand disposables. But don’t they deserve to be? The supermarkets sell nappies at ridiculously low margins to get parents into their stores, distorting the perception of what a disposable nappy should cost (plus, there's no accounting in the price for the environmental cost).

Eenees are made in Australia, they are made from 100% plants, and they can truly be composted with ZERO waste. In fact, the Prime Minister should mandate their use!

Diverting shower water to the garden in Brisbane

For a small patch of sloping earth, our native garden brings me a disproportionate amount of pleasure. While I wonder how a simple flowering shrub can bring such joy, I suspect most gardeners would be well-acquainted with this emotion – one that keeps us coming back for more digging, planting and fussing.

Several years of occasional efforts have produced a mediocre result in our garden, certainly when compared with others I have seen flourish in the same time. So I called upon Satya the organic gardening expert (and fellow Paddington Green Precinct member). His analysis? A lack of water. That should not have been a surprise given the drought that Brisbane has endured in recent years.

Satya encouraged a revamp of our bathroom water diversion. Our previous attempt failed because the water kept coming back up the pipe into the bathroom. It was simply because the pipe was too narrow for the volume of water Satya said, so he showed me how to fit a larger diameter pipe into the downpipe diverter.

He also discovered a dry white fungus under most of our mulch layer. This was actually stopping any water that did fall from soaking through the mulch into the soil. Fixing this will take a lot of digging the mulch into the soil layer and applying water (from the shower diverter), so that the natural soil organisms are able to go to work and take back their territory. We use minimal soap and only natural shampoo, so our water from the shower is safe for the native plants.

As we investigated some sooty pest problems on the Grevillea bushes, I was fascinated to learn from Satya about a company called Bugs for Bugs that supplies good bugs to eat bad bugs – via mail order! Imagine, to combat red scale in citrus trees you can buy "a cup" of Aphytis wasps (that's 10,000 wasps in a cup!) for $44. Having never heard of this before, just a few days later Bugs for Bugs was mentioned again when discussing organic lettuce growing with a stallholder at the Kelvin Grove Village Markets.

We can also help the garden by using our Bokashi compost bin more often and digging in the compost scraps (the Bokashi micro-organisms turn the scraps into highly enriching soil conditioner).

Forty metres of grey water pipe winding through our yard is not particularly pretty (photo above), but I’m happy. Not only can we enjoy the flowers in passing each morning, we can take extra pleasure from a shower, knowing that the water is on its way to those thirsty plants.

Parking Day at Paddington Green Precinct

What a great sight this morning as people chatted over coffee, reclaiming some road space for people.

Bliss Ecowear and Sol Breads organic cafe set up parks opposite each other on Latrobe Terrace, the epicentre of the Paddington Green Precinct! We were just two of hundreds of parks taking place across Brisbane and the world as part of the movement that began in 2005 in San Francisco.  Sol Breads and the street were buzzing with people drawn to the community created by the parks.

Brisbane PARK(ing) Day is all about –

1. Calling attention to the importance for urban public spaces
2. Rethinking the way we use our streets
3. Creating diverse conversations about how we can make sustainable cities