• As you have probably gathered by now, Peartrees is trying to be just a little bit different to your standard Airbnb home. We will admit it is impossible to live plastic free entirely, but here is an outline to some sustainable concepts we have employed across the house you might be interested in knowing more about.

    Owner Nikki, wants to share her passion for saving the planet and ways this can be achieved. Rest assured, this is not house rules or a sermon - just some information that might be of interest to guests staying at the property.

CIRCULAR PRODUCTS

For us, this is one of the best concepts to look out for when purchasing new stuff. Circular products are made from recycled materials and when they come to the end of their life, the brand will take them back and recycle them again into something new.

Championed by the Ellen McArthur foundations, making
products circular is essential to conserving the use of our limited resources we have left on the planet. This concept is starting to be adopted well in the fashion and home furnishings sectors.

Our cushions within all the bedrooms are made from recycled materials and can be returned at the end of their life to Now Sit Down.

BIO-BASED PLASTICS

Bio-based plastics can help to reduce the dependency on limited fossil resources, which are expected to become significantly more expensive in the coming decades – well in fact we are already seeing this now! Bio-based plastics are made from renewable sources, predominantly annual crops, such as corn and sugar beet, or perennial cultures, such as cassava and sugar cane.

Bio-Based plastics have two key benefits, the materials used to make them actually help remove carbon from the atmosphere as they grow. And secondly, at the end of their life they biodegrade quickly and make compostable products that can be reused again.

Keep your eyes peeled as more and more products will be made from this type of plastic and are well worth purchasing. We love the Phillips Eco kitchen small appliance range and Viners organic range in the Peartrees kitchen.

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

When thinking about materials that are more sustainable, it is simple to look to nature to find these. Wood, Bamboo, Coconut, Straw, and Hemp are all great examples of this. A bit like Bio-Based plastics, as they grow they help to remove carbon from the atmosphere and at end of life, they biodegrade quickly or can be recycled and reused again in other products.

But we must strike a real balance between growing these crops and biodiversity as nature needs balance to survive. Just look at the impact Palm Oil has had in the Amazon rainforest. So yes, it is much better to buy products made with sustainable materials but these have to be ethically farmed as well.

INFINITELY REUSABLE

Alongside all the products we have purchased that fit the list above so far, we have also focused on buying items that are made from infinitely recyclable materials, our top favourites include glass and metals. These two can both be melted down, remolded, and still come out as high-quality as ever, time and time again.

The key here though is disposing them in the right way. As I have already mentioned on our Recycling and Waste page, the UK’s mixed recycling approach does not work because it is not possible to separate materials easily. Thus, lots of the recyclable waste is just burned, sent to landfill or abroad to be dumped somewhere (often in the ocean!) So this is why we offer the opportunity at Peartrees to sort waste as it is made. We then take it to the local tip, which allows you to place waste materials together so it can be recycled and reused.

RECYCLABLE & EXISTING PLASTIC

Then lastly, whilst here at Peartrees we do dislike plastic entirely, a simple toothbrush can take over 1000 years to decompose. It does have a long shelf life and if you have already got a plastic item that is still more than usable, it is way better to keep hold of it and use it than it is to get rid of it because it is plastic. Note the plastic plant in the Pool room is over 15 years old!

Additionally, when recycled properly plastic can be reused to make more plastic things. For our single use plastic bin, we send this plastic to Reworked who have developed processes to turn it into something new. Then wherever possible, any other plastic item in the house is made from recycled not virgin plastic. So the bins we have placed in the utility room are made by Addis – which offer an eco range of kitchen and household items made from 100% recycled plastic.