Do a Peg Audit
When was the last time you did an audit of your peg basket? Do you have an abundance of strong, capable pegs waiting to do their job? Or do you have a basket filled with old, should have been retired a long time ago pegs, that are flat out holding a hankie on the line let alone a wet towel or pair of jeans?
While the thought ‘I need to get some new pegs’ might very occasionally and very fleetingly flit through our minds while we are hanging the washing out, generally they are not something that we think about very often, yet, they are a perfect example of how a small change can make a big impact!
Over time, plastic pegs become brittle and break and without even giving it a second thought, we toss them into the rubbish bin. Individually, throwing out a few broken pegs each year doesn’t sound like a big deal, but on a global scale it adds up to a huge amount of landfill
In 2015 Australia had a population of almost 24 million people. Even if I’m really conservative and say that just a quarter of them tossed out 10 pegs a year, there would be a staggering 60 million pegs going into landfill every year. That’s over 327 tonnes of non-biodegradable plastic being dumped into landfill, every year, just in Australia … and that’s being really conservative!
Bamboo pegs are made from sustainable, biodegradable bamboo and are an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic pegs. They are durable under Australia’s harsh sun and will last longer than their plastic nemesis and once they have reached the end of their life all but the metal spring can be returned to the earth where it will completely biodegrade.
Timber pegs are definitely a better alternative to plastic, however, there are a few reasons I would still choice bamboo first, for example:
Bamboo is faster and easier to grow than timber, requiring no pesticides or fertilizers and little to no water.
Bamboo is stronger, lighter, more durable and more water resistant than wood.
Compared to timber, bamboo contains very little tannin, which means bamboo pegs won’t discolour clothes the way some timber pegs can.
I challenge you all to do an audit of your peg basket this week, toss out any pegs that are way past their use by date and if you need to replenish your stock, I strongly urge you to choose BAMBOO!!
Sure, it’s going to take more than just transitioning from plastic to bamboo pegs to save the planet, but it’s a small, easy and affordable change that is totally doable and when done by enough people will have a BIG impact!
Get your environmentally friendly bamboo pegs from the Healthy Clean and Green shop today