Steps towards zero waste - 2019

Nonnadiluca

Fab, thanks!

greenbee

I'm doing well with the filtered water/activated charcoal in the fridge. Sometimes it doesn't taste great, but overall it's fine, so I'm hoping this will result in a significant reduction in my consumption of bottled water, saving waste AND money.

Monty_Mouse_2

Also trying to do our bit to reduce our plastic. Recently discovered Bees Wax Wrap and absolutely love it. Haven't used any cling film since Christmas and it has probably saved on our food waste as well.

Also trying to move towards more eco friendly cleaning products, although devastated when they turned up wrapped in miles of bubble wrap, seriously its not like the items were fragile so don't understand the logic behind that. I hadn't thought of making my own cleaning products until I read this thread, so thanks for the inspiration.

I just wish supermarkets would do their bit to reduce on plastic packaging. I don't understand why the bags for fruit and veg need to be plastic, if I shop at our local market then everything comes in paper bags and they work perfectly well.

dollypeeps

Still not used cling film here. :T

I will looking into beeswax wraps at some point when the funds allow. The family bring their sandwich bags back each night and we use them all week as long as there's no strong smells evident....

I bought brown paper lunch bags from Home Bargains, much like small handsized carrier bags. These have proved quite useful but not for unwrapped food, only to transport the whole packed lunch iyswim. These were wrapped in cellophane though so that was disappointing.

Noticed that Home Bargains were selling bottles of cleaning items without the spray trigger. Not used of the brand buy Flash sticks in the mind. The packaging on said item champions the fact that there was no trigger but to reuse the old one....therefore saving on plastic.....I suppose it's a small step. I'd certainly never seen these before.....

Some time back I bought Astonish cook and over cleaner. It's in a small blue plastic (:eek::eek: I know I know) box and is a firm paste ...marketed with 'no harsh chemicals'..... Anyway cleaned the shower with it yesterday ....absolutely fabulous ....its abrasive but doesn't overpower you with fumes like a lot of shower cleaners....it lasts ages and is only 89p..... maybe this should be on the money saving thread :rotfl::rotfl:.....anyway just thought I'd throw that in there!!!!

Refuse collection tomorrow so bin is to be out out ....sadly it's full BUT hasn't been out for at least 4-6 weeks....our refuse collections are fortnightly with recycling and food waste weekly....working on reducing it. It's a slow proces but a good measure of how we are doing waste wise!!!!

GreyQueen

I'll second the wonders of Astonish Oven Cleaner, got mine from a Wilko years ago, a little goes a long way.


Re supermarkets and paper baggin' it, I think it wouldn't be too big an ask for them to switch out those filmy single use plastics which you can get to self-serve on loose stuff. Trouble is, veggies are coming into the supermarkets via something called packhouses.


Packhouses are occasionally small on-farm setups but are more likely to be serving a lot of farms in an agricultural area. Because of the nature of veggies (moist, especially those which the packhouse will be washing) I think they'd be too wet to be contained in paper for the journey to our supermarkets.


Still being frustrated by the extortionate prices of loose unpackaged veg in our local street market, which is beside a little tesco. Veg is x3 or x 4 supermarket prices. I simply cannot afford a price premium so steep for the privilege of not having it in a plastic bag.


I've got the weekly non-recyclable rubbish down to a very small bag, smaller by volume than a bag of sugar, but weighing only a few grammes. I'd love it to be nil, but can't see that being achieved any time soon.


Fortinately, I live in flats on a communal bin system so don't have to save my tiny morsels of rubbish up for months to make it worth putting a wheelie bin out.


My most recent 'offering' was contained in the little plastic bag which a savoy cabbage came in, thus saving the wanton use of a carrier bag. It's really great not having to buy binbags, have you noticed that they're creeping up in price recently, too?


Keep on keeping on, lovely peeps. GQ x

Lifeisforliving19

I agree Greyqueen, I haven't bought bin bags for ages. I must admit I am not happy about putting my rubbish in any plastic bag now and am trying if I can to use those little biodegradable bags for rubbish if I can, although I am weighing up the cost of those and seeing if buying them in bulk is a good idea. I already use them to save compost for my friend.
Might nip over to M&S later as I need a new bra, so while I am there I will drop off a load of plastic in their new recycling scheme. Don't know if everybody is aware, but they are trialling a scheme where they have put recycling bins in certain of their larger stores and you can recycle a lot of the plastic bags etc that you can't get rid of anywhere else....for example, washing liquid pouches, pouches that wild bird food comes in, frozen veg bags.....even the sleeves from individual wrapped t bags and the individual porridge sachets. I am getting a bit hooked on recycling these days....:rotfl::T

the_cross_rabbit

Probably been mentioned before but we use alot of food bags as poo bags, haven't had to buy any for about 6 months. However getting very low on bags for household rubbish.
CRx

euronorris

The Astonish over cleaner sounds similar to the Pink Stuff. Also very cheap, but can be difficult to find as it sells out very quickly. It is fabulous though!


Always working to get the non recyclable waste down as much as possible, but our bin is fuller than usual this week. Had a blitz of the house before the parents arrived at the weekend, and so there were quite a few odds and ends that made it into the bin that don't typically happen on a weekly basis.


Keen to try and source a breadmaker after payday. I've seen one at a decent price, fairly local to us (could get it on way back from DD's swimming lesson), but not sure if it would still be there by the time I have the cash available for it. Fingers crossed!

Twiggy_34

Hi all

New to this thread as it only just occurred to me today that one might exist. I've been trying to cut back on my plastic use for just over a year now and have been doing so in baby steps.

Main changes so far have included switching to shampoo and soap bars, only buying tinned goods where possible (I also freeze left over passata in ice cube trays which is ideal when recipes only call for a small quantity). We've had a soda stream for years now and if I'm out and fancy a cold drink I try to buy canned drinks wherever possible. We order our toilet rolls from Who Gives a Carp which has the added benefit of donating to water aid. Our recycling doesn't seem to have gone up by much but we barely fill one bag of non-recyclable waste per fortnight now compared to 2 previously (we're in an apartment so can't use wheelie bins). I've also used canvas bags for groceries for years as we walk to the shop and the shoulder straps make carrying heavy items much easier.

Next step is to sign up for milk delivery. I'm keen to see other people's finds. Deodorant is an issue as we're only a small town. But we do have a shop in the high st I might find an alternative in. I always buy the glass roll ons though to limit the amount of plastic. I know they have the option of refillable conditioner bottles but I've just been doing without so far... beeswax wraps are on the list but my remaining cling film seems never ending!

Edit: thought of a few other bits I'd not given myself credit for. Switched to boxed washing powder and, as one of those awful smokers, I'm also in the process of switching to biodegradable filters (only catch is that this is not very mse of me as i end up using more tobacco due to them being fatter!). I've tried biodegradable sanitary products but not found them to be quite right for me, so am tempted to try some washable/reusable products. When I buy crisps, I favour those in tubes (even if they do end up in landfill, they have to be better than most crisp packets - however crisps and carbs in general are my biggest downfall!).

ailz95

For the last 18 months or so I've been washing my hair with just water. My hair looks thicker because of it, but as we're in a hard water area I've been using occasional shampoo - about every 2-3 months. Last week I tried bicarbonate of soda and it came out really well. My hair - which is very fine - was full and fluffy. I gave it a vinegar rinse which also makes it shiny. Both mine & hubby's hair is below shoulder length, but he still uses shampoo and has to wash his more often than I do.