Handy Environmental Hacks with Singapore's The Steve McQueens

We're very quickly coming up to that time of the year when BIGSOUND takes over the greater Fortitude Valley area of Brisbane - wonderful time of the year where the Australian music industry converges to find out the next hot act from not only Australia, but Singapore. Once again the southeast Asian country will be showcasing some exciting young artists at the now annual Hear65 Showcase, featuring Linying, Charlie Lim, Intriguant and The Steve McQueens (more info HERE).

Neo-soul outfit The Steve McQueens sent us a little piece covering just how they like to try and keep environmentally conscious, with the rather ingenious Bio Enzyme Cleaner. Check it out below, along with their silky smooth album from last year, Terrarium.

Going on tour sometimes means we’re buying tons of disposable and single use items, because it makes travelling convenient when you’re on the road and moving about every night. I always feel slightly ashamed of myself when I pack or unpack from a tour and find that I’ve got so much plastic waste (There’s only a finite number of times small travel bottles can be reused before your home starts looking like a museum of hotel toiletries).

So anyway, what better way to start this journey of going green, than to find the common denominator in most of my household items and make that the base of everything? Introducing… the BIO ENZYME CLEANER:

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1. Citrus Fruit Peels (3 units)
2. Brown Sugar (1 unit)
3. Water (10 units)

COLLECTING FRUIT PEELS:

I bring a bag out to collect my fruit peels/waste that I have over the day! If you want, you can also try getting your family or friends to keep their peels for you in the freezer till you pick them up!

THE MAKING OF:

The process is really easy and hassle free. All I do is cut everything up into smaller pieces (to fit them into old 1.5l plastic bottles- 1 recycling point!) and throw everything into the bottle in their set proportions.

WAITING:

I give the product a good shake and leave it in a cool dark place to ferment for 2-3 months. OR! You may also add about half a teaspoon of Baker’s yeast to reduce the fermentation process to 2-3 weeks if you’re running out. Over the first week or so, I release the caps to allow the gas build up to take a chill pill for a minute. Always keep the lid on to prevent flies from laying eggs in your little experiment. Maggots are not a pretty sight to behold when they’re in the cleaner...

TIP: Stay away from glass/metal jars as they may explode from the build-up of gases!

HARVEST

When the cleaner is ready, just sieve the pulp and pour the liquid into any storage container that you’d like to use! Oh, and you can add a few drops of your favourite essential oils to the liquid. If not, that’s fine too. The citrus base itself makes the detergent smell real good on its own.

TIP: I usually leave a little behind in the fermenting bottle to speed up the next batch’s fermentation process.

WHY IS THIS AWESOME?

I get to reduce packaging from purchasing separate household items, by using this cleaner to complete my household chores, do my laundry… and also as mosquito repellent! I simply dilute the liquid accordingly, depending on my use for it. Also, you get to re-purpose your food waste, and reduce the amount of chemicals going into the ocean.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT! All that’s left to do is to get the entire band to start eating more fruits so I get to collect the peels at a quicker pace. Hahaha.

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