Steps towards zero waste - 2019

s_glover

I find the consistency very similar to before it was frozen.

Usually freeze in a small clip lock tub. I've also frozen in I've cube trays and then tipped out into a bag, which enables me to defrost exactly how much I want at a time.

miss_empty_piggy

Has anyone else seen the spring water cans in Mr T? They are resealable and recyclable. It's a step forward towards getting rid of the flimsy plastic bottles. I was really impressed. x

cherie1122

They have them on the Amazon site too. They're very expensive compared with the plastic bottles but we wouldn't need many of them so I might give it a go (my grandsons take a bottle to school every day)

milasavesmoney

I have bee looking a recipes for beeswax wraps and many include pine resin. I wonder is this would infuse food with a turpentine smell and taste?

RicardaRacoon

I had a massive waste-fail earlier this week... Have a cold so wanted to get some Ricola. And just reached for the ones in a bag, individually wrapped in paper instead of the one lose in the cardboard box with a bit of plastic around the box... It would have been one of these very easy things to do, and I failed...


I realised lately that eating a plain, slightly old fashioned diet helps with packaging. My diet at the moment is highly inspired by WWII rations, so I buy very few different ingredients. Besides fruit and veg of which 90% come without packagine, my weekly food shop is usually bread (usually a fresh one in paper plus some sliced in plastic), milk, cheese and butter, a carton of eggs every two, three weeks and sometimes something sweet or the odd can or glass of something or frozen veg in plastic.

As long I stick to that I'm fine. As soon I fall off the waggon I can see how the amount of waste in the kitchen increases...



Round here, only clear plastic is allowed into recycling, so most food packaging still goes into the general bin...

atypicalblonde

Our recycling bin has been almost empty since starting this challenge. Rinsing & putting the glass bottles that our apple juice and milk come in back on the doorstep, same for the egg boxes, for the milkman to collect is so satisfying.

Bread from the bakery is delicious and we use the paper bag it comes in to help light the woodburner.

One bag of general gubbins went to the charity shop yesterday, having less *stuff* makes me feel so much lighter and more content. We may only be changing our small corner of the world, but if everyone did it....

ailz95

Hi All, I'd like to join you if I may. I've been trying to cut back on plastics for a while and seem to be finally getting somewhere. My main bugbear was bottled water. I've moved from the NWest to the SEast, I'm used to very soft water and find the water here in the SE disgusting, so I've been buying bottles sparkling water - at 25p for 2 litres it didn't seem much - but the number of bottles I get through is terrible. I've now bought some activated charcoal which takes the limescale/dull taste out of the water and makes it, to me, drinkable. A piece(s) for 2 litres is about £8, after 3 months you boil it in water for 10 minutes and after 6 months you use it for something else - in the garden perhaps, I've not looked into this yet:).

I've also listed everything in my cupboards and freezers - and rationalised storage by making some lazy susans so things are easier to find.

ailz95

Ilona wrote: »

I got these trainers out of a skip, wore them for a couple of years when they started to look very shabby. Solution, paint them with acrylics. I got another years wear out of them, still have them, but can only be worn in the dry, they leak when it's raining.



ilona

I've been assured that you can waterproof shoes with WD40 - not tried it myself though

ailz95

I reuse the plastic envelopes that come from ebay etc., and when they're too worn, the ones with bubble wrap in, I take out the bubble wrap and use that - it's a nice little baggy. All my waste bags are now biodegradable - and I'm also looking at using newspaper (my m-i-l still has a newspaper everyday) in the compost bin as it only goes on our own compost heap. Hydrogen peroxide is a good cleaner too - and being just one extra hydrogen atom (H3o2) biodegrades without doing harm - I use 3%. I also use borax, bicarb and washing soda and make dishwasher powder andwill be starting to make laundry liquid too. I found all these things online - there are a couple of good - though very American - sites, it can take a bit of finding out what they mean. Americans use Dawn soap a lot which is just a good quality dishwashing liquid - F*iry or the like.I also fast a couple of times a week which gives me more money to buy decent - organic - produce.

ailz95

Happy_One wrote: »

My biggest gripe are the plastic charity collection bags that come through the door, I keep a permanent charity shop bag,put things into it and take it with me when I go shopping to drop off at the charity shop. I never use these bags as even though I give to the charity shop I would never put bags outside for collection. Being a no waster I now have a pile of these bags in my cupboard!

I take them into a charity shop - the right one if there's one near me and if not one of the others. The ones that collect from the street - you need to check that there is a charity number as many just sell the goods to one of these rag places. At least living in the middle of nowhere nowadays we don't get those:rotfl: - or much else