reducing packaging challenge???

tinkerbellsmum_2

hi have u got a reducing packaging challenge?
my bins r over flowing and even though i recyle i still get aleast 6 bags of them a week to.

Nicoll

I do try to avoid overpackaged things but the supermarkets do their best to make it hard for us. What with checking for fat/salt/calorie content, no animal products (I'm veggie/mostly vegan), where stuff has come from, price, value for money against other products and then which has less packaging, my shopping seems to take longer and longer but unfortunately isn't getting any less expensive

greenbee

Have a look at this.

Hopefully it will give you some ideas.

If part of the problem is that you don't have enough room in your recycling bin, then ask your council to let you have a bigger one - most don't limit recycling, although they do limit waste.

Can any of the packaging be usefully reused? E.g. plastic bottles for cloches in the garden, bits & pieces for crafts etc.

I get my fruit & veg at a farm shop, so the punnets, jam jars, paper bags etc. are returned there.

When I shop in the village I use a rucksack to put my shopping in - stuff from the butcher is wrapped in paper which is recycled. Plastic wrapping from loo paper, rice, pulses etc. is used to wrap kitchen scraps from the bin - if I get paper-covered stuff it is obviously recycled.

Try doing things like buying yogurt in pint pots rather than individual ones (a lot of the big pots are now thin plastic with cardboard wrappers).

At the farm shop and in supermarkets I use folding plastic crates, and in town I have jute/canvas bags. This means I can refuse carrier bags which add to the waste problem.

I collect up my bottles & tetrapaks (rinsed & flattened) in crates in the garage (along with foil, batteries and other electricals) and take them to the tip when I'm passing/they're full, as we don't have collections for them, only banks at the recycling site.

I still have far more waste than I would like, but its slowly going down. It is one of the things I consider when buying things, along with the local/organic/fairtrade/synthetic chemicals etc that influence my decisions!

mama67

I'll second here as a very good resource.

I have been an avid recycler for years, but recently took it a step further and started sorting more things that can be taken to the recycling centre, as well as re-looking at the packaging on the things I buy.

To that end my landfill rubbish is usually a small carrier bag or approx 200g per week. I only put my bin out once every 3 or 4 months.

There are alternatives out there for most things it is just whether finances come into play as well.

L!dl do a cardboard box of basmati rice so fully recyclable packaging, but nowhere as yet has been found for pasta in a fully recyclable packaging.

hth