“What we found really interesting about Glass Guardians is that it prompted the children to discover for themselves all the ways that glass can be reused. They really enjoyed researching the ideas”. Tamsin Nellist is Head of Infants for Years 1 & 2 at Ysgol Maes Y Felin primary school in Wales. She explains that while the children understood about the three ‘r’s – reduce, reuse, recycle, they didn’t really know much about how glass could be reused.

“The children enjoyed finding out that things like glass jam jars can find a new life as candle holders, vases and even bird feeders” says Tamsin.

“They loved the research element and all the practical exercises. She also says that the project booklets supplied to each class member helped give the children real ownership.

“We’ve done lots of posters, plus some tips and tricks to share with local businesses on how to make the most of reusing glass, so the impact of their learning has extended to the wider community too. We even had a visit from the local Mayor who was very impressed with what the children had done” she explains.

Glass Guardians is an initiative from British Glass and the National Schools Partnership created to educate children about the 100% recyclability and sustainability benefits of glass. The activity fitted perfectly into Ysgol Maes Y Felin’s theme for the year, which is simply ‘Our World’. The children decided to use the theme to focus on recycling and looking after the environment.

Tamsin believes that Glass Guardians helped give real purpose to their learning – and they are still keen to do more. “Our next activity is to write a letter to the local council asking that they install more glass banks as the children feel it is not always easy to find out where to recycle glass”

Hosted by chef and environmental campaigner Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and presenter Anita Rani, the show continued the channel’s refreshingly frank stance on the state of our environment, tackling the issue of plastic pollution head on.

While the name makes no secret of the programme’s take on our relationship with the packaging material, it also presented workable alternatives to using single-use plastic, such as buying a reusable water bottle.

Glass is the perfect material for a water bottle as it’s chemically inert which means it won’t leach anything into its contents.

But did you know that glass can help you reduce your plastic use in other areas of your life?

Take a look at our handy list below on how glass can help you lead a more sustainable and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Use a reusable coffee cup

Whether it’s a cup of tea or coffee that gets you going in the morning, having it in a reusable glass cup instead of a single use one from your favourite coffee shop can have a big difference.

It’s estimated that 99.75% of single use coffee cups aren’t recycled due to their inner lining being made from a mixture of paper and plastic to ensure they’re heat and leak proof – which means the vast majority end up in landfill.

Therefore by buying your own reusable glass alternative, you’re not only preventing more cups from going to landfill, you’re also ensuring your brew is tasting great.

Get your milk in glass

Recently, dairy farmers across the UK have seen resurgence in demand for milk delivered to doorsteps in traditional glass bottles.

The number of houses served by doorstep delivers has risen by 25% in the last year with the number now reaching over 1 million thanks to environmentally conscious families turning their backs on milk in plastic cartons.

Bottles are returned when they’re empty so they can be reused up to 25 times before they’re recycled and even then there is no drop in quality.

So why not go back to tradition and get your milk in glass bottles.

Go to zero waste/packaging free shops

Waitrose recently became the first major supermarket to take part in a packaging free trial in an Oxford store and while this is a ground breaking move for a big supermarket, they’re not the only ones championing a packaging free approach.

Independent shops that are entirely dedicated to zero waste or packaging free shopping are located across the country where you can take your own jars and bottles to fill up with a wide range of goods.

They’re a perfect way to reduce the amount of packaging you use and the amount of food waste you create.

Buy glass jars instead of plastic squeeze bottles for condiments

Not only will you save money but you’ll create less food waste as you won’t leave as much product behind in a glass bottle and you can reuse your jars in zero waste shops.

That’s a three in one tip there for you.

Store your food in glass

Whether you’re buying in bulk and storing for later use or saving leftovers for tomorrow’s dinner, your food is better off stored in glass.

Not only is it best for taste but because glass is non-porous, it’s more likely to stay fresher for longer, which is a win-win in our book.

Catch up on the latest episode and news from ‘War on Plastic’ on the BBC website.

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See the previous blog post from Friends of Glass or sign up to our Glass Guardians programme for school children aged five to 11.

 

What does being a milk sommelier entail?

As far as I know, I am the first so-called Milk Sommelier. It started with a blog post for the Milk Story. As a milk addict (I drank 4 litres a day) I was asked to write something for them because I am a trained organic grower and passionate about soil. I wrote an article on the possibility that milk, just like wine can be a terroir product, which means a product that is connected to the soil. When Sietske Klooster, an artist who was working on the Melksalon read the article, she called me and referred to me as the Milk Sommelier, and the name just stuck.

A milk sommelier can be a person who tells you what milk to consume or use based on what sort of palate a person has, or what plate of food it is to be paired with. This can be quite complex, so I try to get my hands on as much milk as I can and discover information about the milk, such as like the soil type, feed, age of the cattle, type of cow, etc.

 

What is your favourite milk and why?

I have several favourites, but the type of milk I like the most is raw milk. This milk has the complete flavor with all its layers. It can be great or very bad, but you cannot say it is boring. The raw milk I prefer most is from grass-fed cattle. Their milk is more layered and most of the time with a fruity (almost raspberry-like) taste.

 

Do milk taste preferences vary across Europe?

On every farm, milk tastes different. Therefore people grow up being used to a variety of different tastes. That is what intrigues me most, and yes tastes do vary across Europe. What I really want to experience is milk from homogeneous cattle, fed by bio-diverse grazing on a very specific type of soil, such as the cows in the Alps or Icelandic cows.

 

What is the best way to preserve the taste of milk?

If you want to taste milk like a sommelier you definitely need to use glass as it keeps taste intact. The best way to preserve the taste of milk is to drink it as purely as possible. So it has to be raw and direct from the tank. The best temperature is 8 degrees Celsius. However, you need to be sensible when drinking raw milk, as there can be a health risk from bacteria. So ensure you always get this milk by a clean working farmer and use your senses!

 

What are the biggest misconceptions about milk?

The biggest misconception about milk is that it is white. If you look too closely at different sourced milk, you can see white, yellow, greenish or even blue hints. Milk isn’t just for the young either. Just like beer, cola, wine and juice, adults drink it because they like it!

 

Fore more information visit Bas’s website www.voordenwij.nl

You know that feeling you get when you buy something new and special? Maybe a new phone, or a car – something you’ve been saving up for, for a long, long time. And when you finally get it, you look after it ever so carefully – after all, it is brand new, and you don’t want it to get ruined!

Multiply that feeling by about a thousand, or a million, and that’s how parents feel about their new-borns. It’s no wonder parents feel protective about the food they feed to their precious little babies and cute children.

Glass is the best packaging material for protecting baby food. The packaging of your food and drink affects the contents within. When you think about how close the packaging is to your food, it’s not surprising that everyone – not just parents – is worried the impact packaging can have on the food or drink.

Glass packaging ensures that your packaged food and drink remains safe. It doesn’t migrate or leach into the contents – making it the perfect choice for baby food packaging. With glass, the health hazards of packaging for infants and babies are significantly less.

The benefits of baby food in glass jars are not only limited to health. Glass packaging helps with food preservation and keeping the original taste of the content!  Imagine how easy it is to prepare and store your own home-made baby food! Not only can you be 100% sure of the contents of what you’re feeding your child, but you can also be sure that glass jars will protect and keep it well! Glass jars – not just safe for the baby, but also practical for the parent!