Single Use Plastic in the Workshop and Beyond

 Many folks are making an effort to reduce the amount of single use products in their lives, plastic straws being one of the things with a high media profile.  Single use items don't play a large role in wood working and a smaller than average role in my shop.  For example, I know many woodworkers that use disposable foam brushes rather than wash out a bristle brush, I'm cheap I wash brushes out.  Glue brushes are another throw away item I re-use over and over again.  Sand paper is disposable, but a crepe block extents sand paper's useful life several times over. Not to mention that I use planes, files and cabinet scrapers when ever possible, partly because I am thrifty and partly because I want to avoid fine dust.   

  If I am thirsty I drink water out the the tap and if I need to take it with me I put it in a reusable bottle.  I carried vacuum bottles ( thermos in Canada) of coffee to work long  after there came to be a "Tim Horton's on every corner, party cheapness and partly hatred of adding to the world's accumulation of trash.

  I think Dunkin Donuts is the American Version of Tim Hortons.

  On the topic of dust and dust collection I installed vortex dust collection systems years ago to reduce the number of filter and other bags that had to be bought and thrown out.  Money I believe to have been well invested.

   Connected with the single use theme, today I am going to drift up the stairs and out of the workshop.  

  Forty plus years ago I began to shave my face and very quickly my father made it clear he was not interested in sharing his razor.  You may remember razors from the 1970's they were generally heavy brass, or steel and used a single blade.  However, around that time multi blade razors made mostly from single use plastic came on the scene. The new razors proved conclusively how primitive and backward was my father, who never made the move to the modern era and so only owned one razor in his adult life.

single use, unnecessary 

  For about forty years I used razors like the one in the photo.  I usually wear a fairly full beard and so seldom shave why entire face, nor do I shave more than three times per week.  If I shave every day my face and neck quickly resemble ground beef, raw, regardless of what shaving products, razors, soaps, balms or aftershaves used. I even tried a couple of costly electric razors which not only abraded my skin but cooked it at the same time. ( it is only fair to say that my face is covered with closely packed heavy black (now grey) wire pretending to be hair. )

  Recently I began to think about the single use plastic thing.  I don't use a straw with drinking and usually carry a knife and spoon with me for road side eating.  I hated plastic utensils long before they became an environmental issue.  So what was a further unnecessary throw away plastic thing....razors.  Over the course of forty plus years I have thrown more than two thousands into the trash. 

 What to do? Consider what my Father did.  The old man was smarter than I gave him credit. 

  I now have a razor which I expect to last me as long as I shave myself and it came with a selection of blades all of which seem to do an equally effective job.  One make is in a paper box and so will be what I order in the future.  (Astra)  I have found that there are a couple of weeks shaving in each razor blade thus far.

  

  After all the hype my single blade razor does a well as any of the three, four, five blade super duper plastic wonders I have used for the last forty years.  Eventually the single razor blades with be recycled or at least biodegrade in time as will the steel razor.

  As my Grand children grow and fill my life with joy and light I want their lives to be long and happy too.

 cheers ianw