Steps towards zero waste - 2019

GreyQueen

Hi dragonlily, it can seem overwhelming, can't it? I live in flats and carefully recycle and have very little landfill waste, mostly recycling and rotables which go to my allotment compost bin.

By volume, I'd say that the vast majority of my neighbours don't give an F and the (communal bin system) are full of recyclables and even re-usables which rightfully belong in the very many charity shops within 5-10 mins' stroll. I could weep for the waste, sometimes, or grind my teeth.

What to do? Doing nothing is not an option, for me. Every time we forgo purchasing an item new, we send a signal to the market. Every time we buy that cheap flimsy plastic storage crate (as just one example) which will be broken and in landfill in well under 5 years, we are also sending a market signal.

We tell the individual store (which may be part of a chain) that the consumer doesn't want X goods. Or doesn't want enough of them to make it worthwhile stocking that line.That gets fed back up the supply chain and these goods do not get created, or get created in much smaller numbers. If you're well on in your adulthood, cast your mind back a few decades, even 20 years or just over and think of things which used to be widely available and which you simply cannot get new any more. Or can only get with difficulty, expense and from a niche producer, not the mainstream.

I've told myself that I won't buy new plastic articles, so I don't send market signals which are not in line with my values. I have existing plastics, such as my useful collection of L&Ls (all bought in charity shops over the years) and my Add1s sandwich boxes, cast-off from the family home. I use these all the time.

I guess I could declutter them and make my home look more like something zero-wastey on Instawotsit etc, but these articles were already created and won't go away just because I get rid of them.

Diana2014

I'd never heard of Ecobricks but, since clear PET plastic bottles are so very easy to recycle, I'd rather they used a different and less or un-recyclable container - eg all those unnecessarily coloured PET bottles that apparently aren't so usable.

I buy minimal plastic and reuse every container that I possibly can, until it's worn out. Plastic cosmetic tubs are invaluable in the kitchen but are rarely freezer-proof, for instance, although usually microwave-proof. Their lids are useful even after the tubs themselves crack -some exactly fit cat-food tins, for instance.

So I'm presently more worried about unrecognised glitches in the plastic recycling systems that we already have and are encouraged to use as much as possible. Thanks to the campaigning efforts of Gardeners' World and others, we now know that black plastic isn't recognised by the optical sorters used in automated municipal recycling facilities, so it contaminates otherwise recyclable waste and ends up in landfill.

Some garden centres will collect black plastic plant pots and deliver those in bulk to the recycling facility (which therefore doesn't have to sort them from other waste) but our local one won't take black plant pot trays, let alone the vegetable trays used by too many commercial suppliers (especially for supermarket sales) or black plastic bottles.

Diana2014

I don't buy cheap plastic crates, although the council's food waste bins (which I never need, as I compost all food waste) come in handy for dry storage.

The local street market generates lots of perforated plastic vegetable crates, which the council's market recycling collectors are only too happy for anyone to take and use until they fall apart. They're not strong but very useful for some aspects of gardening, especially for storing dry bulbs in the shed or cellar during their off-season, or excess apples etc, carefully wrapped in newspaper and not kept too close together. I've also seen the local community garden lining them with lots of newspaper to use as temporary plant containers, especially when encouraging kids to grow their own. One could grow salads in them, too.

Treasurequeen

So far I have :

Dental changes
Bamboo toothbrush, mouthwash tabs, floss, toothpaste is natural brand in plastic though but I was using a well known brand with SLS in, now my toothpaste is chemical free. Mouthwash tabs and brushes bought in bulk, yearly supply.

B]U]Food and drink [/U[/B
Lose leaf herbal teas bought independently, mints now organic in a reusable tin,
Cordials in glass bottles instead of squash, filter coffee is plastic free packaging, tea bags plastic free.

Laundry and cleaning
Stain bar, soap nuts, essential oils with no plastic caps, soda crystals, vinegar.

Bulk buy bio d kitchen cleaner and hand wash and refil old bottles. Buy bathroom cleaner refill bottles as not in bulk yet.

Use bars of soap for hands and as a shower wash.

Beauty and health
Reusable sanitary products, zao blusher and concealer in bamboo packaging and is refillable.
Cleanser, foot balm, massage oil, nail varnish remover comes in glass packaging. Toner I use floral waters again in glass bottles and can reuse them.

Shave soap bar, still using up razor and blades then will swap to safety razor.

Vitamins buy in bulk for year does come in plastic pouches but by buying bulk less waste overall.

Make own body scrub, air fresheners/room sprays , Reed diffusers.
Will be making hand cream, nail oil, face mask once I have used my stash up.

Mee

Treasurequeen wrote: »

So far I have :

Laundry and cleaning
Stain bar, soap nuts, essential oils with no plastic caps, soda crystals, vinegar.

Bulk buy bio d kitchen cleaner and hand wash and refil old bottles. Buy bathroom cleaner refill bottles as not in bulk yet.
.

Just wondered where you buy or would recommend buying the soap nuts.
Has anyone tried Greenfrog - Laundry Soapberries?

greenbee

I bought soapnuts from Natural Collection Online. however, the inner bag was plastic Also they now provide little zipped bags for in the machine, which come undone. I've bought some that tie instead, which are fine.

If anyone has doubts about soapnuts, I wash my running stuff with them - and the stuff I had taken away on a work trip had been used for 3 days without washing, and then festered in a suitcase for over 24 hours during the work day and the travel home. It's fine now

Doom_and_Gloom

dragonlily wrote: »

Since I started the thread I am still trying and making little steps like:
- Buying cleaning products from Bio D in bulk - not getting rid of plastic but reducing the amount overall.

We do this. I looked through my posting history as I was curious. We received 2 5L bottles of the washing up liquid back in April last year, probably opened the bottle in May last year though. We have one full bottle still and about 500ml by my estimation left in the second; the 750ml bottle we decant it into was filled today! This is how concentrated the washing up liquid is. Yes it is just 2 of us but that is crazy. OH does the washing up and he doesn't skimp out on the amount he uses.

We've started using Loofco cleaning products; washing pads, scrubbing brush, vegetable scrubber and the body loofah. They are compostible/biodegradable and plastic free. The scrubbing brush does have a bit of metal but it can be recycled fully (better to recycle metals than mine new ones and much more sustainable than plastics) or repurposed easily. They come packaged in a sleeve that is recyclable (paper).

pinkladyvenus

Saw this on freegle

'Ive found somewhere to recycle video tapes. YES! You can box them up and send them to The Butterfly Garden,The Brambles, Bamfurlong Lane, Cheltenham GL51 6SL FAO Chris. His team of volunteers separate all the components of each video. Chris says that, "once separated the components are passed to Printwaste, who are a commercial recycler dealing in a hugely diverse range of materials. They issue very clear guidelines on how to present the product and we comply ensuring that all elements pass into the appropriate channels. The cartridge has 38 bits with cardboard, plastic, steel and film all being in the mix.