Materials to Avoid
Asbestos
Submitted by Alchemist on Wed, 12/09/2007 - 09:48.
Asbestos is fibrous material used as insulation and as a fire retardant. It is a dangerous substance, the use of which is being phased out, but it still remains in many old buildings. Some asbestos release carcinogens when moved. It is best therefore, if you suspect you have exposed asbestos in your house, to contact your local council and let them deal with it safely.Top Tips - Reduce Your Use of Plastics
Submitted by Alchemist on Tue, 11/09/2007 - 11:10.Choose goods with less packaging
Take re-usable bags with you for your shopping (we use an average of 290 plastic bags per year each!)
Don’t automatically accept a separate bag from every shop – its just free advertising to them anyway
Before you throw a plastic items away, think what else you could use it for
PVC
Submitted by Alchemist on Thu, 19/07/2007 - 08:29.
PVC (poly-vinyl chloride) is just about the most hated (and widely used) plastic in our homes. To start with, the manufacturing process uses carcinogenic vinyl chloride (aka VCM) as the base material, and to finish with if it is disposed of by burning it releases other carcinogenic compounds – dioxins – into the atmosphere.
