Reducing Plastic Waste - A Start

 In a previous post, I commented on several unintended consequences resulting from the move away from disposing of waste in landfill (not good) to the increasing use of EfW incinerators. For one thing, the incentive to sort waste and recycle it is diminished; operators are happy to burn as much as possible (within their permits) because they can charge local authorities by the tonne for disposal and generate more electricity which can be sold onto the power suppliers.

Photo 1: Doorstep Milk Delivery

The second unintended consequence was due to the change in the composition of household waste; less food waste (EfW via anaerobic digestion) and more plastic waste. This has turned these incinerators into a major pollution source, as bad as or worse than coal-fired power stations.

Most plastic is not recycled even when it would be fairly trivial to do so. Recycling rates worldwide are slowly improving but are still below 10%. To solve this problem, we need to use less plastic and recycle a much higher percentage of what we do use. Plastics is a versatile & cheap product with an almost infinite number of uses. It can be sterilised for single use medical supplies, turned into strong lightweight containers or thin films for food protection, and many other uses. It will not be easy to wean ourselves off it. Nevertheless, we should all make more effort to use less and recycle more.

One little step we have taken is to switch from buying milk from the local supermarket (plastic and TetraPak containers) to a doorstep delivery in reusable glass bottles (Figure 1). We have also taken the opportunity to switch to non-dairy alternatives as our local milkman offers oat 'milk' in pint bottles. Milk deliveries are twice a week and our milkman delivers at midnight or just after. For obvious reasons, we haven't met our milkman, Steve!

Video 1: Milk Delivery at 45 minutes after midnight on a winter's night

We have also switched to plastic-free dishwasher tablets and will be looking at more options to reduce our use of plastic.

First Garden Snowdrop of 2025

 Every January, I keep a lookout for the first snowdrop flower in the garden to open. This year it happened on 13th of the month.

Photo 1: First Garden Snowdrop of 2025 on 13th January

I now have 4 years of phenological data reporting on the first appearance of an open snowdrop flower in the garden. See here and here for 2023 & 2024 reports respectively. Figure 1 summarises the phenology data. There is no discernible trend or correlation with local weather/climate factors but the time series is far too short. For some reason, 2024 was very unusual.

Figure 1: Day of the Year When First Garden Snowdrop Flower Opens

As usual, I've uploaded my record to the Woodland Trust's Nature's Calendar phenology database.

Finally, this was Google's 'stylised' photo offering of the top-of-the-page photo ...

Photo 2: Stylised Photo by Google!

View from the Rear Window - May 2024

 May - the name derives from separate Greek and Roman goddesses who were both called Maia. The Greek version was the mother of Hermes; the root meaning of maia in Greek is maia  "mother, nurse, midwife". The Roman version was Maia Majesta, who was a goddess of fertility and spring, and the root meaning is considered to be "magnus" (i.e. great). Both versions seem appropriate for the month of May, the prelude to Summer and the onset of rapid growth.  

Just the one photograph from the back garden this month. The wisteria is blooming marvellous, the mountain ash (rowanberry) is in flower and there are roses in the Paradise Garden.

Photo 1: View from the Rear Window, May 8th 2024

The daily garden photos are collated in Video 1 ...

Video 1: Daily Photos of the Rear Garden, May 2024

May, as I recall, was a warm month if not especially sunny. With a reasonable amount of rain, it was a good month for gardening and the garden (see here, here and here). The Met Office recorded May 2024 as the warmest May since 1884. Certainly, there were some very good (dry, sunny and warm) days. The Northern Lights were visible over much of the country though sadly not here in Hereford. The weather stats for May 2024' are summarised in the table below.

May 2024
Weather Parameter	Value	Dates
Average Monthly Temperature	15 oC
Maximum Monthly Temperature	27 oC	9th, 10th, 12th
Minimum Monthly Temperature	5 oC	5th
Number of Air Frost Days	0
Number of Hot Days (> 25 oC)	6
Monthly Precipitation	51.6 mm
Greatest 24 h Precipitation	10.4 mm	25th - 26th
Number of Dry Days	17
Monthly Sunshine Hours (estimated)	187
Highest Wind Speed	31 km/h	23rd
Heating Degree Days	121.4
Cooling Degree Days	19.2

Daily maximum and minimum temperatures for May 2024 are plotted in Figure 1 (click once to enlarge). A cool start followed by a warm second week before settling down to average May temperatures.

Figure 1: Min/Max Daily Temperatures (May 2024)

Figure 2 plots the daily rainfall and sunshine (using solar radiation as a proxy for sunshine hours) data for May 2024. Cold & wet for the first week, warm and sunny for the second week and changeable for the remainder of the month.

Figure 2: Rainfall/Sunshine (May 2024)

In Figures 3 & 4, various weather parameters (sun, rain, temperature and wind) for May 2024 are compared with their equivalent in the previous 4 years. These confirm that May this year (2024) was indeed warm. From a gardener's point of view, it was nice to see the absence of frosts this month.

Figure 3: Temperature Data for May (2020 - 2024)

The observation (Figure 4) of low sunshine hours and moderate rainfall indicates a predominance of dry cloudy conditions throughout the month. This, undoubtedly, helped with the overall warmth by maintaining high night time temperatures. There has been a steady and consistent drop in the maximum wind speed experienced in May over the last five years. Fewer storms?

Figure 4: Rain, Wind & sun Trends for May (2020 - 2024)

The three figures below are taken from the Met Office's monthly report for May 2024. Not only was it warm in our back garden (Figure 4) but also in Herefordshire (circled) and, indeed, the whole of the UK (Figure 5).

Figure 5: UK Mean Monthly Temperature Anomalies (May 2024)

Meanwhile, May's rainfall was close to the average for the back garden and Herefordshire (circled) though much more variable over the rest of the UK.

Figure 6: UK Monthly Rainfall (May 2024)

As Figure 7 illustrates, much of the UK was dull, dull, dull this month; and our back garden (Figure 4) and Herefordshire (Figure 7, circled) were no exception. Natural vitamin D production, through exposure to UVB from sunlight, was probably down this month. I don't suppose there was an increase in rickets but I do wonder whether there is a business opportunity in selling Vitamin D supplements?

Figure 7: UK Monthly Sunshine Hours (May 2024)

Jobs in the Garden

• Plant cucumber and tomato plants into the Quadgrow planters in the polytunnel
• Harvesting asparagus (approximately 80 spears)
• Plant out French Bean (Cobra) and Sweetcorn plants; sow more seeds for succession planting
• Plant out Calabrese and Cauliflower plants sown in April.
• Plant out squash, courgette, celeriac and celery plants
• Slug attack with nematodes
• Sow Parsnip, Broad Beans and more French Beans
• Composting & weeding

Flora & Fauna (seen in the garden)

• 1 x Blackbird (male)
• 2 x Blue Tits
• 1x Buzzard
• 1 x Coal Tit
• 1 x Collared Dove
• 5 x Crows
• 10 x House Sparrows
• 1 x Magpie
• 12  Starlings (including young)

Photo 2: Young Starling on the Birdfeeder

• 3 x Swifts
• 3 x Wood Pigeon
• Red Admiral Butterfly
• Orange-tip Butterfly

Photo 3: Orange-tip Butterfly in the Garden (May 2024)

• Holly Blue Butterfly

 

Video 2: Holly Blue (recently emerged) in the Garden (May 2024)

• Gypsonoma moth, Common Cloaked Tortrix?

Photo 4: Common Cloaked Tortrix on Blackcurrant Flowers

And, finally, a few photos from the garden ...

Photo 5: Under the Wisteria Arch (May 2nd)

Photo 6: Poppy (May 4th)

Photo 7: Wisteria Arch from the Kitchen Garden (May 4th)

Photo 8: Secret Garden (May 7th)

Photo 9: Paradise Garden (May 9th)

Photo 10: Mountain Ash/Rowanberry Flowers (May 9th)

Photo 11: Rose, Paradise Garden (May 9th)

Photo 12: Rose, Secret Garden (May 16th)

Photo 13: Allium (May 16th)

Photo 14: Thalictrum, Meadow Rue (May 16th)

Photo 15: Clematis, Secret Garden (May 16th)

Photo 16: Honey bee on Allium (May 17th)

Photo 17: Cistus (May 17th)

Photo 18: Secret Garden (May 30th)

Photo 19: Dinah's Cactus (May 28th)

Spot the Robin?

 

Photo 1: Two Robins?

A chilly morning (0 ℃) around 10 am and I'm finishing off my cafetiere (home-roasted Kenyan coffee beans) when life started to imitate art. We are indeed lucky to have resident robins here in the city. They brighten up even the dullest day. Snapped through the window on my Pixel 7 Pro.

Photo 2: Now can you see the robin?

Ledbury - Poetic Black & White Town

Photo 1: Looking Down on Ledbury from Dog Hill

January has been colder than usual with the mean Central England Temperature (CET) in negative territory up to the 18th. 

Figure 1: Mean CET up to 18th January

This month's daily temperatures are shown in Figure 2, collected by our backyard Davis Weather Station. Nine air frosts (i.e. freezing temperatures) already by the 18th. 

Figure 2: January 2025 Daily Temperatures up to 18th (Min/Max/Average)

The forecast for the 17th January (marked) was a little warmer and, as we were both free of other engagements, decided to try a short walk (two miles) around Ledbury from this book ...

... a Xmas present from Mary.

Ledbury is a delightful town of around 10,000 though expanding rapidly. The centre is full of historic buildings such as the Market House, the Master's House, the Clock Tower, the Jacobean Ceremony Room, the 16th Century Painted Room and the Feathers Hotel. There are plenty of local independent shops and you are only a short distance from Eastnor Castle, the Cathedral City of Hereford and the Malvern Hills.

Photo 2: The Clock Tower, Ledbury

Famous residents of Ledbury include the poets John Masefield and Elizabeth Barrett Browning - which is as good a reason as any to have an annual Poetry Festival.

Ledbury has good rail links to Hereford, Worcester, Birmingham and London - it would have been a good alternative to Hereford when we left London in the early 2000s (I continued to work three days a week in London for a further 10 years before retiring). There is a small but excellent theatre that doubles up as a cinema, a swimming pool, leisure centre and a number of private gyms.

Black Mould Treatment of Silicone Sealants

Getting rid of the black mould that always appears on silicone sealant is a perennial problem (Photo 1). I've seen lots of claims for homemade remedies, usually involving either bleach or vinegar on their own or mixed with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). In my experience, these may work (partly) with relatively fresh mouldy stains but do not touch ingrained stains. I've always assumed this was because the black mould grows into the (water-repellant) silicone which is inaccessible to water-based remedies. I could be wrong on this and, certainly, you will find lots of testimonials on the efficacy of such products.

Photo 1: Ingrained Black Mould near the Kitchen Sink

 As a first step, you might want to give the homemade recipes a try; especially if you already have the ingredients. Long contact times (4 - 24 hours) are recommended so don't be in a rush to wipe off your weapon of choice.

If your homemade recipe doesn't cut the mustard, what other options do you have? I would say you have two: either use a commercial cleaning product or remove the offending silicone and reapply fresh silicone. As a general rule, fresh silicone does not adhere to old silicone which is why you have to remove the old stuff first.

1.    To remove the old sealant, you will need a silicon seal remover kit (Photo 2) available from all good hardware stores. The kit includes a brush with which to apply the silicone softening gel and a plastic scrapper to remove the treated silicone once it has softened (15 - 60 minutes later). It is worth removing any loose silicone before the first application and you may need to repeat the process.

Photo 2: One of Many Silicone Removal Kits

Once you're happy that you have removed as much as you can, use a wet cloth to clean the area of residual silicone softener and allow it to dry completely before re-applying a suitable anti-mould silicone product.

For small jobs, you can buy squeezable tubes of sealant but it is probably worth investing in a sealant gun and using the more cost-effective silicone cartridges. Be aware that even anti-mould silicone products will eventually need to be replaced - nothing is 100% mould-proof.

In the past, I have found this Unibond Special Sealant works well. It is less viscous than your standard silicone sealant and will adhere to old sealant. I still recommend you try to remove as much old sealant as possible though.

Photo 3: 'Special' Silicone Sealant

2.    The second option is to use a commercial cleaning product of which there are many sold on Amazon.

Photo 4: Successful Mould Remover

While the various products appear to be similar (containing a bottle of anti-mould gel, a brush, a cloth and a disposable glove, Photo 5) ...

Photo 5: Box Contents

... the ingredients in the active gel do vary. For example, the active ingredient in the Aticers product (Photo 4 & Photo 5) is N-(hydroxymethyl)urea, a biocide. The Glowpoint mould remover gel (Photo 6), on the other hand, is a chlorine bleach (sodium hypochlorite) based product.

Photo 6: Chlorine Bleach Mould Remover

So far, I have only tested the Aticers product and I was moderately impressed with the ease of use and the efficacy of this product. Photo 1, at the top of the page, shows the pre-treatment condition of the silicone sealant. After one application (12 hours between gel application and removal, Photo 7) ...

Photo 7: After One Application 

... and after a second application (12 hours between gel application and removal, Photo 8) ...

Photo 8: After Two Applications

The Aticers product did a reasonably good job despite the age of the mouldy sealant (8 years). Some mould stains reacted better than others to the treatment. When applied to a relatively new (1 year) sealant mould in a shower cubicle, the black mould was not visible after treatment.

I will report separately on the performance of the Glowpoint product.

The main advantage of the commercial cleaning product was that the shower/sink was not taken out of use for the cleaning process. After ensuring the sealant was dry by rubbing with an adsorbent paper towel, the gel was applied before going to bed and removed (wet cloth) first thing in the morning. Removing then replacing the silicone sealant (Option 1) not only takes longer and more effort, but the sink/shower/bath is out of action for a longer period (24 hours).

I have some tougher mould stains to try out these two products and will report at a later date. If the chlorine bleach product (Glowpoint) works well then I may need to rethink the homemade recipes!