Steps towards zero waste - 2019

miss_empty_piggy

LoveOurPlanet - I've been to the CK shop in Birmingham. Although I live in Yorkshire DOH has family in Birmingham and we visited and I bought loads of things waste free from there. I loved it. wish we had one nearer us - I'd love to bite the bullet, leave work and set up my own here.

really looking forward to seeing how the beeswax wraps go - good luck to you both.

miss_empty_piggy

Had a "waste management" hour tonight and got DOH and DD2 ripping/cutting up cardboard to put into the compost bin whilst they watched TV. Sorted glass to be recycled at the weekend too. Had a lot of squash bottles but have seen lots of uses for these on Pinterest for in the garden. Any plastic containers will be used for propagating seedlings including washed and dried empty eggshells. Everything was washed and dried and ready to Ecobrick.

Just been in the bathroom and the shampoo bar that was about disintegrated has been replaced so I think people are starting to get onboard which feels brilliant x

Ilona

Expensive walking boots that I bought years ago, covered many miles, are now not fit for purpose. Leaking, and heels worn down, leather cracked. I took the laces out, still some wear left in them, and replaced with a long old lace cut in half so much shorter. Threaded these through the bottom three eyes and tied loosely so they can be slipped on and off easily. They now sit outside my back door, ready for garden use. Will get another two years out of them.

ilona

jackieblack

Ilona wrote: »

Expensive walking boots that I bought years ago, covered many miles, are now not fit for purpose. Leaking, and heels worn down, leather cracked. I took the laces out, still some wear left in them, and replaced with a long old lace cut in half so much shorter. Threaded these through the bottom three eyes and tied loosely so they can be slipped on and off easily. They now sit outside my back door, ready for garden use. Will get another two years out of them.

ilona

And after that, they'll make great planters!
(Assuming that's not what you meant by 'garden use' )

VJsmum

Miss EP - what's the ck store in Birmingham? i only got calvin klein when I googled.

Now I am back from my hols, I am going to be really pro-active at reducing waste. My DD works for Lush so i really should be using their shampoo bars, i don't even wash my hair that often (every 4 to 5 days, it's really thick and curly and is better the less i wash it) so it wouldn't run out too often (and she gets it half price), their bar for afro hair doesn't even need conditioner, even on my hair.

I am definitely going to start making yogurt - we get through a couple of 500g pots a week so that would be a huge reduction in plastic. just need to get the live pot first..

I bought beeswax wraps and they are really good, have reduced cling film waste to almost none. i have a couple of rolls still in the cupboard but don't anticipate buying any this year at least. I also have a few of the silicone bowl / can lids.

My fruit and veg buying is going to change from tomorrow - going to start using the market and local farm shop rather than the supermarket.

It's a start...

Lifeisforliving19

Just come across this thread and have subscribed. Loving all your ideas. We are always trying to cut down on waste...well, when I say "We", I probably mean "I", as think OH still has a way to go to get totally on board. :rotfl:
I always shop locally where I can and the local greengrocers is plastic free....love it. I either take my own bag or he puts it in a box and then I return the box. Butchers is not so easy yet, as they insist on putting meat in plastic bag, although they are ok about putting bacon straight into a container, if I take my own. Might try it with the other meat next time and see what he says.
Am slowly trying to stop using shower gel etc and have gone back to soap....but OH, still likes shower gel....he will learn!
Been using white vinegar for a while for cleaning with bicarb, or lemon juice etc.
There are loads of other ways I am trying to cut down as well.

My biggest gripe is when OH buys something from Ebay....which he does quite often, and it arrives in a large plastic bag!!! Why? Remember the old days when people used brown wrapping paper? Can never find a use for the bags, well apart from bin bags, but then it still ends up in the general waste bin. So anybody got any tips there?

Good luck everybody,.I will be following and joining in with interest.

Lifeisforliving19

Just had a good read through all the posts on here that I hadn't read this morning.
Love the idea of making little bags from net curtains.


Am I reading correctly that you can put pyrex in a freezer? I presume that is only with an airtight lid though and not the old fashioned lids that just sit on the top?

Dark_Star

I use Pyrex in the freezer. If it has a glass lid then I sellotape that ( not yet found eco sellotape). If it doesn’t have a lid then I put a large bit of tinfoil on it & write Apple crumble/ shep pie or whatever the contents are on it. Glass lids labelled with wash off markers.
Not dead yet. 🙂
If there is no gilt in the pattern then Pyrex will survive the oven/freezer/microwave/dishwasher. At least mine has so far. Much better than £land type plastic storage which crumbles after a few uses.

Lifeisforliving19

Dark_Star wrote: »

I use Pyrex in the freezer. If it has a glass lid then I sellotape that ( not yet found eco sellotape). If it doesn’t have a lid then I put a large bit of tinfoil on it & write Apple crumble/ shep pie or whatever the contents are on it. Glass lids labelled with wash off markers.
Not dead yet. 🙂
If there is no gilt in the pattern then Pyrex will survive the oven/freezer/microwave/dishwasher. At least mine has so far. Much better than £land type plastic storage which crumbles after a few uses.

Brilliant, thanks

bargainhunterss

GreyQueen wrote: »

My latest thing is umbrellas. In my city, every blustery windy day sees crippled umbrellas abandoned on the city streets. I have harvested a few of these. The fabric isn't organic or biodegradable, of course, but it has the advantage of already existing, being lightweight and pretty water-resistant and makes really good re-usable shopping bags. If you don't want to work out your own method, google will show you some patterns. Most sewing patterns can be created from newspaper, sheets taped together if needed. This makes sewing a pretty economical hobby.

You can also dramatically extend the life of household textiles and clothing by sewing, leading to less waste going into landfill. HTH.

ETA; How to harvest an umbrella:

1. With a stitch-ripper or a sharp pair of scissors, snip the threads which hold the tip of the ribs to the cloth, and the 1-2 polints of attatchment along the ribs. The cloth part is now held exclusively at the centre top by the spike or boss.

2. Sometimes you can prise the boss off with a screwdriver, sometimes you can break it off by walloping it with a hammer. Sometimes it won't budge and you will need to cut the cloth around the boss.

3. The umbrella shaft and ribs may be metal, or plastic or some and some. Try to get the metal bits off and to recycling (Red Cross charity shops can do this).

4. If the umbrella has little plastic doo-dads where the tips of the ribs joined the cloth, it's probably a good idea to remove these in case they come detatched in the washing machine.

5. Launder brolly cloth on your next washload and you now have some project fabric for free.

Oh, and if you have a full-size brolly, you can slit it along one side and have a rain cape for a small child. Rainbox brolly capes and small children are a particularly winsome festival combination.

Thanks for this GreyQueen! I'm always breaking umbrellas, so it's great to know what to do with them afterwards!:T (had to google 'HTH' as I've seen it appearing in lots of threads – it has indeed helped! Thanks!