Kitchen Garden Forum

Hi

In Suffolk last July I visited the excellent Wooten's Nursery near Halesworth and noticed that they were wearing tight fitting gloves when potting out plants.

I got back and bought a hundred "examination gloves" for around £4. They are excellent. I have always preferred to hand weed without gloves because I need to feel exactly what I am doing. But these thin gloves let you do all this and keep your hands protected - you can also tune the radio, pick up animal deposits and sow larger seeds (not necessarily in this order) After a morning's work they wear out and you get another pair.

Really don't know why no-one has pointed this out before - highly recomended.

Most chemists stock these gloves to.
I always use them in the greenhouse.
Don't leave them in there though.It gets too hot and they split and disintigrate.

Beryl.

Just be aware of the possibility of developing an allergy to latex.

I too have taken to using these disposable latex gloves recently. I find that while they have the virtues Chris describes they cause my hands to sweat to an uncomfortable extent.

I am in the glove wearing gang. I however have an expert shopperholic who finds me 'bargins' like 20 gloves for a song on her daily bargin hunts!!
She is happy with the bargins and I am happy with the items and not having to shop for them - teamwork.
Another time a tube of gritty soap appeared, (too good a bargin), which has saved me when I forgot to glove up and needed to clean up before attacking my buttie. It works without water and rolls off when done, ideal for when the taps are turned off.

What does one do with finished gloves? Can they be re-cycled? I have just bought a roll of recyclable compost bags from a local Green shop, made from potato starch, so you put the rubbish in, chuck it on the heap when full and it all contributes. Since it is quite thin plasticy-looking stuff, I wondered if you could buy gloves made of the same sort of stuff which could be composted too?
Alison.

Nothing on my box to say if they can be recycled.
Says they contain natural rubber latex.
Have to say mine go in the household rubbish bin.

Beryl.

I am with Alison on this, I would be worried about landfill consequences, but if they are hundred percent latex they might decompose in the ground anyway, we used to have someone on here with a scientist bent, they might advise further.

???

Compo

What do hospitals, Docs. dentists etc. do with their's.? They must get through far more than any of us gardeners would.

Incinerate I suppose?

Beryl.

Incinerate is correct

Compo

You can buy non-latex versions quite easily for the allergic amongst us.

As ever, the electronic interweb is a valuable resource for finding out what you can do with old gloves... don't forget your 'three R's' - Reduce, reuse, recycle...

Check with your local council, they may happily recycle latex gloves in your domestic recycling collection.

Hi

As Mr PH says non latex i.e. vinyl golves are available - I bought vinyl simply because they were less expensive. In the scheme of things I don't think that the used vinyl gloves (which are useful) pose a significant threat to the earth compared with the masses of packaging (which is of no use except for the bags which my peat based compost comes in which are re-used year after year)

If you must use gloves, it's slightly better to use latex if you can, as these are at least biodegradable (just). None that I can find are considered very eco-friendly... perhaps using bare hands and a barrier cream might be a greener alternative? (Apart from handling the cat poo of course...)

There is a product you can buy now called "Gloves in a bottle". It coats your hands to retain moisture and keep muck out. Supposed to last for 4 hours and be shed along with the skin instead of being washed off. Available from Abbliss Limited . WWW.giab.co.uk
Could be a solution to the problem of disposing of used latex gloves etc.
Anyone tried it?
Seedling

If the criminal fraternity get hold of it that'll be the end to fingerprints...