Reducing plastic waste with the help of our bees!

Over recent months, the children have been using the wax we harvested after our shook swarm to make 'bees wax wraps' We hope to make enough wraps, so that every child can use a wrap for sandwiches, hopefully reducing the amount of cling film and plastic we use in school. 

Beeswax wraps are great! With the warmth of your hands, they self seal over sandwiches, bowls, cheese, leftovers... almost anything, (not raw meat)  They can last up to a year if washed in mild soap cold water and dried... they are naturally anti-bacterial and of course, 100% recyclable...Environmentally friendly! 

So, if you are thinking of having a go, here is our recipe & method!

​ 

We use an old slow cooker to melt down the wax we harvested after the Shook swarm in April, the slow cooker, (or 'slop cooker' as my rude children call it) holds around a kilo of wax. 

After MUCH experimentation with just wax...wax with jojoba oil...then with pine resin added... 
The mix needs it all! The pine resin certainly is the key ingredient making the resulting wraps pliable & adding extra antibacterial properties. 

ROUGHLY, two tablespoons of jojoba oil and  pine resin powder added to the melted wax, stirred with a wooden skewer (we then use to light the smokers!)  Stir and wait until all melted.  

 We then use a paintbrush to QUICKLY paint the wax over the material... using grease proof paper as a background.  It hardens really quickly, they are then put in a warm oven, on a baking tray, 100 degrees, only for a minute until 'wet looking'.   Once brought out, they are picked up & held until the wax hardens and they can be placed on another piece of grease proof paper to cool. 
​

Beeswax wraps make super presents, so we hope to have lots made in time for Christmas!
Great fun to make yourselves, but make sure you put some paper on your kitchen floor, as the wax seems to 'travel' considerable distances! Enjoy!