Last weekend everyone gathered at our favourite garbage zone, Ikeda Park, for Sunday Pick Me Up! I wasn’t able to make it because I was stuck in quarantine after my trip to Hawaii, but it looks like that didn’t slow you guys down one bit! In fact… you managed to absolutely SMASH our previous record, and collected over 135 kilos of trash in one hour!!
Maybe I should lock myself up more often, ay 
This month’s Eco-Habit is…
—
Simplify Your Souji!
We noticed something curious at the store – the countless varieties of household cleaning products in plastic spray bottles: one for the floor, one for glass, one for the kitchen, one for dishes, one for the bath, one for the toilet, one for the stove, one for furniture, and on and on…
Do we really need so many??
Historically, we only used three things to wash basically everything: fat-based soap, water, and a cloth rag. During WWII, rationing forced us to experiment with chemical-based cleaners, and soon after, they started to become marketed for separate purposes and it became a status symbol for housewives to own several varieties of cleaner.
So what’s the problem?
Many of these cleaners come in plastic bottles and containers which contribute to the huge plastic waste problem we are facing at the moment. Modern cleaning products also contain harsh chemicals that enter the water system and pollute rivers and oceans.
What can we do?
Simplify! There are tons of recipes online for creating every household cleaner you need by mixing various combinations of dish soap, castile soap (olive oil-based), vinegar, and baking soda. If you’d rather not put in the effort, one bottle of multi-purpose cleaner can be used for, well… multiple purposes!
Consider your tools and steer away from plastic! Try using tools that are not disposable (eg. silicone-based) and disposable tools that are biodegradable.
—
I would like to say THANK YOU to Katrin and Kaja for leading the event in my absence, and to the Team Leaders Shehran, Shu and Bronté for holding everything together, and of course to all of you guys for continuing to attend, support Small World and keep our city clean!
We’ll be back on February 13 for the next Sunday Pick Me Up!
Everyone stay safe and we’ll see you soon!
– Matthew
