By Brett Jones
Since Plastic-free July is nearly on us I thought we could look at ways to start to reduce plastic waste. On of the greatest inventions in many peoples eyes are the zip lock plastic ties. They are everywhere and I once used them with gay abandon on engineering projects. Unfortunately they are one use and eventually fail, especially in UV light.
I decided to reduce my use of them as much as possible so I am sharing what I do to achieve this.
The first secret is that 99 percent of cable ties are actually not single use. If you look at Image 1 the cable tie has a hidden release tab. If you place a fine blade such as a fine screwdriver tip or a steak knife tip between this tab and the cable tie strap it will release. Image 2 shows a cross section. If the tab is moved away from the strap the ratchet will release and the tie can be pulled apart and used again.
The second trick is that you can buy reusable cable ties. If you look at Image 4 you will see the release tab on these ties has a tab for your finger. Press it down and the tie releases.
This simply reduces plastic use however. To eliminate it I went back to the days of my youth in the middle ages when we used tie wire. No plastic but it is not as easy as a cable tie nor does in pull up as tightly as a cable tie without pliers and force. Fortunately there is an answer. A tie wire twist tool. Some of you will know about these if you have done any reinforcement work for concrete or may have used them for tying up chicken wire on cages. If you have not this tool is great.
Image 5 is of a simple hand tie. Crude and not very tight. Image 6 is the tool itself. To use the tool loop a length of tie wire around and hook into the hook of the tool as in Image 7. Bring the other two ends around to meet the hook and wrap them around as in Image 8. Now when you pull on the tool it will rotate the hook and twist the wire and complete the tie as in Image 9. The tool twists the hook automatically as you pull the handle. it also ratchets back ready to twist again as you release. There are now two lengths of wire to add strength and the twisting makes it nice and tight see Image 10. And no Plastic!!
When you get used to this it takes just a few seconds to do. Just remember you cannot use this technique for electrical work, wire ties and electrical cables are a no no!!
I use 0.9 mm wire for light duty work and 1.2 mm for the tough stuff. Both are available at your favorite hardware store quite cheaply and the roll lasts a long time. The tool I bought from E bay for $15.00 but is also available at most hardware stores. If you go to the section where they have concrete reinforcement bars and mesh that sell steel wire ties that already have a loop at each end and are very easy to use but cost a fair bit more than a roll of wire.