Recycle Week: Re-use, Recycle and Save Money

good_advice · 5 October 2016 at 2:33PM

RE-use, re-cycle and save money is def. a way of life.
Having the time to craft, mend and home cook.
Garden. Growing flowers and food.
That's me.

It is surprising the things you do not need.
Quite high on my list this summer was the garden hose. Cost £'s as we are on a water meter. Our garden plants were mostly watered from a water butt and don't laugh! My washing up water.
Yes! Dishes washed and then the soapy water in bowl carried outside to water my plants.

My sewing machine was a good buy. I have loved making patchwork out of use to be sheets and old clothes.
Taking up the nets to fit our windows after our move.
Sewing cotton bags to store my things in. = hair up stuff, bracelets and bits and bobs.

Home made for the freezer. This morning I was preparing home grown apples and pears. Swapping with neighbours.
Crumbles are a family favourite.

Honeylife · 12 January 2017 at 9:13AM

I am a serious re-cycler for the outgoing waste. The local council have made it so much easier with the free bins and less sorting. I have 3 containers in the kitchen: Food waste, paper/packaging/plastic and finally things that cannot be re-cycled. My aim is the latter should only be emptied once a month, eventually two months. My kids did this for years - no problems. Lodgers train up quickly as most are young, environmentally aware and very keen.

However, my newest lodger of now five months cannot do it, she just cant get to grips with the whole concept. It is alien to her. She puts everything into the "cannot be recycled bin", food, paper whatever. It is driving the rest of us crazy and me in particular as I have to go through it practically every day to sort. :eek: eg she put her left over take away half a buritto in a paper bag entirely in the "cannot be recycled bin", because she was too LAZY to sort it into food waste and paper re-cycling. She smiles sweetly and says O sorry. But I am not sure I can last her 12 month contract! At 19 years old I thought she would have been keen and educated, but she said they never re-cycle in her parents home. It annoys me as its clearly stated in my room ad, and at the interview I really stressed that we are serious about re-cycling.

My daughter suggested we get rid of the "things that cannot be re-cycled bin"

Wizzbang · 12 January 2017 at 6:04PM

Honeylife wrote: »

I am a serious re-cycler for the outgoing waste. The local council have made it so much easier with the free bins and less sorting. I have 3 containers in the kitchen: Food waste, paper/packaging/plastic and finally things that cannot be re-cycled. My aim is the latter should only be emptied once a month, eventually two months. My kids did this for years - no problems. Lodgers train up quickly as most are young, environmentally aware and very keen.

However, my newest lodger of now five months cannot do it, she just cant get to grips with the whole concept. It is alien to her. She puts everything into the "cannot be recycled bin", food, paper whatever. It is driving the rest of us crazy and me in particular as I have to go through it practically every day to sort. :eek: eg she put her left over take away half a buritto in a paper bag entirely in the "cannot be recycled bin", because she was too LAZY to sort it into food waste and paper re-cycling. She smiles sweetly and says O sorry. But I am not sure I can last her 12 month contract! At 19 years old I thought she would have been keen and educated, but she said they never re-cycle in her parents home. It annoys me as its clearly stated in my room ad, and at the interview I really stressed that we are serious about re-cycling.

My daughter suggested we get rid of the "things that cannot be re-cycled bin"

She's being responsible for herself by putting waste in a bin and not on your floors! At the end of the day you cannot force your beliefs on others. However, you could insist she has a bin in her room and deals with her own waste how she wishes. Or you could give her a copy of Zero Waste Home and get her to read it. But, it's a bit extreme for someone who's completely alien to recycling. Can you not try to be around when she's likely to use the bin to guide her? I don't really think you can take the bin away altogether because that's what you believe in, however much a supporter I am of zero waste etc. I frequently have to take things out of our bin that I would either re-use or recycle, my husband doesn't always get it right either!

Honeylife · 12 January 2017 at 6:46PM

Wizzbang wrote: »

She's being responsible for herself by putting waste in a bin and not on your floors! At the end of the day you cannot force your beliefs on others. However, you could insist she has a bin in her room and deals with her own waste how she wishes. Or you could give her a copy of Zero Waste Home and get her to read it. But, it's a bit extreme for someone who's completely alien to recycling. Can you not try to be around when she's likely to use the bin to guide her? I don't really think you can take the bin away altogether because that's what you believe in, however much a supporter I am of zero waste etc. I frequently have to take things out of our bin that I would either re-use or recycle, my husband doesn't always get it right either!

To be fair no one would put a burrito on the floor now would they

If they did that they would be asked to leave pronto!
The Local Council have an excellent re-cycling handbook which I put on her desk when she moved in. We have had several chats about this matter and each time she is surprised to learn that I go bin digging and find her stuff in the wrong bin. I point out that food waste quickly smells thats why we have a separate small green bin at the sink for food waste, so its emptied frequently into the compost bins. Plus in all my many years of paying guests no one else has been so resistant to adapting to kitchen re-cycling. The bin in her room has also had food waste and she brings that down and puts it in the bin for stuff that cannot be recycled too!
If she cant fall in with the house rules she will have to be asked to leave. I am still baffled especially as she is a student nurse and said yes yes yes to all the re-cycling chat at the interview for the room. 'sigh'

I guess I am just disappointed. I really hope I wasn't forcing my beliefs just guiding her on what I figured most people are try to do these days. Basic re-cycling.
Its not going to happen is it

Wizzbang · 12 January 2017 at 7:20PM

Honeylife wrote: »

To be fair no one would put a burrito on the floor now would they If they did that they would be asked to leave pronto!
The Local Council have an excellent re-cycling handbook which I put on her desk when she moved in. We have had several chats about this matter and each time she is surprised to learn that I go bin digging and find her stuff in the wrong bin. I point out that food waste quickly smells thats why we have a separate small green bin at the sink for food waste, so its emptied frequently into the compost bins. Plus in all my many years of paying guests no one else has been so resistant to adapting to kitchen re-cycling. The bin in her room has also had food waste and she brings that down and puts it in the bin for stuff that cannot be recycled too!
If she cant fall in with the house rules she will have to be asked to leave. I am still baffled especially as she is a student nurse and said yes yes yes to all the re-cycling chat at the interview for the room. 'sigh' I guess I am just disappointed. I really hope I wasn't forcing my beliefs just guiding her on what I figured most people are try to do these days. Basic re-cycling.
Its not going to happen is it

How far into her 12 month contract is she? Good luck if you think you can ask her to leave over not putting the rubbish in the right bin. I wouldn't have thought that is a part of a standard contract and I would expect legal action if you do that.

Most people learn best by example, and frankly if she is a student nurse - I can well understand why she has plenty of much more important things on her mind. Do you have any idea how intense that training is? Having been through an allied health professionals degree myself, most adults on my course did not even have time to clean their house properly.

You can have rules in your house, but I would not ask someone to leave over something so minor! At the end of the day, your waste habits are down to personal choice and values, as I said. Even council's recognise that they can ask people to recycle, but they can't legally enforce it. Personally I'd be a bit more understanding to someone who is choosing to work in the majorly stressful environment that is our NHS, let alone being a student in it. There are much more important things in life, like she is doing by caring for sick and injured people, potentially the terminally ill and dying. I'd get a fresh perspective on your inanimate waste if I were you. As I said before, I wholly support the zero waste lifestyle, but even I recognise that it is difficult to achieve all the time and is down to personal choice.

Honeylife · 18 January 2017 at 7:14PM

My years of having lodgers they have been primarily been medical students and a couple nurses, and my son is a paramedic,so I totally get the NHS busy shifts lifestyle. As a lodger (not a tenant) it is written in the Licence Agreement to re-cycle, by signing it she agreed to recycle. Well my other lodger is a medical student and its driving him nuts too. If there are five people in a house of which four diligently re-cycle and one sticks two fingers up at it, well it creates disharmony. This may just not be the right place for her. I was hoping for suggestions on educating her but thats drawn a blank.

mcculloch29 · 25 April 2017 at 2:48AM

Honeylife wrote: »

My years of having lodgers they have been primarily been medical students and a couple nurses, and my son is a paramedic,so I totally get the NHS busy shifts lifestyle. As a lodger (not a tenant) it is written in the Licence Agreement to re-cycle, by signing it she agreed to recycle. Well my other lodger is a medical student and its driving him nuts too. If there are five people in a house of which four diligently re-cycle and one sticks two fingers up at it, well it creates disharmony. This may just not be the right place for her. I was hoping for suggestions on educating her but thats drawn a blank.

I just came across this thread and it seems a shame that it has ground to a halt on a note of disharmony. How are things going now, Honeylife? Has the reluctant recycler picked up any habits?

We have had recycling bins for years but one of my friends never ever used hers. Then she moved and her wheelie bin was half the size, and the council now collected fortnightly. She wrote down what could and could not be recycled when I told her and does use the recycling bin now. It is possible to pick up the habit.

My daughter only lives a few miles away but her local authority has a totally different recycling policy to mine. Consequently she often puts clear wrap, kitchen roll etc in my recyling and I have to fish it out. I don't mention it as she is over 1-2 x a month to do this and life is too short. I don't want her to feel she has to monitor her every move when she is a guest in my house.

Your lodger isn't a guest, so I hope she got to grips with the way you do things, however I did feel uneasy that you would consider making her homeless over the issue.

Former_MSE_Andrea · 19 September 2017 at 12:11PM

Recycle Week is on again next week, starting Monday 25 September.

Tell us what and how much you recycle - SHOW us if you can - and you'll get a Rampant Recycler forum badge!