Trying to eliminate plastic waste

[Deleted User]

After succeeding maybe at 20% in zero-waste lifestyle in a year, I made a radical decision: yesterday I got rid of my bin. 24 hours later, I am feeling so frustrated. To start with, I gave up on sugar and now buy date syrup in glass bottles. I found out that recycling glass is also complicated so I found a recipe on how to make my own date syrup. Now, all dates come in plastic! Online retailers who ship them in boxes said they only can ship dates wrapped in plastic. I found on retailer, they ship in a "compostable film". Can I trust these compostable films that look like plastic? I am so confused and lost. Can anyone suggest a bulk store in London that sells dates with no packaging? 
Oh my, and this is just one of trillion things.

goldfinches

I suggest starting with this helpful list from Sally Butcher's Veggiestan website Some Helpful Stuff | Veggiestan. 

beckstar1975

Is there no way you can use sugar? Easy to get in both paper and at zero waste stores, date syrup is a really inefficient means of sweetening.

My local Turkish shop seeks loose dates (and fresh ones too, no idea what to do with them through), do you have any Turkish/Middle Eastern stores you could try?

MandM90

We sometimes buy them from our old local zero waste store but it's in East Belfast so not much help to you.

For anyone reading who still has a bin(!) but is trying to cut down waste, Jordan River dates at Tesco are cheap at £3.10 for 800g, delicious and come in a box with a small bit of film over as opposed to thicker plastic.

maman

Soft plastic like bags, film and wrapping can be recycled in many branches of Sainsburys and Coop if you have them locally. 

[Deleted User]

Wonderful ! Every single comment above is SO helpful, I have not thought about any of those things. Yes, and London definitely has Middle Eastern shops, I might try Edgware Road this weekend. Thank you all, so much appreciated. If Sainsbury and Coop recycle plastic bags FOR REAL, then it will be so much easier. Cutting plastic completely is so hard and frustrating.

[Deleted User]

beckstar1975 said:

Is there no way you can use sugar? Easy to get in both paper and at zero waste stores, date syrup is a really inefficient means of sweetening.

My local Turkish shop seeks loose dates (and fresh ones too, no idea what to do with them through), do you have any Turkish/Middle Eastern stores you could try?

Sugar and dairy products make me feel older and heavier. Have you tried date syrup from Meridian company? I put a little in my lemon tea every day, it's so sweet and delicious. I have too many glass bottles to recycle, so better to make my own at home.

I completely forgot to check Turkish / Middle Eastern shops, you are right! Oh London has plenty of them. Thanks for this!

maman

maman said:

Soft plastic like bags, film and wrapping can be recycled in many branches of Sainsburys and Coop if you have them locally. 

Where I am in the South East, it's the Coop shops with the turquoise livery that offer the soft plastic recycling. In Sainsburys it's the same bins they've used previously for carrier bags. HTH. 

GaleSF63

It's worth looking at Asian shops for unpackaged foods as well, which could also save money compared with the supermarkets. 

2childmum2

Tesco also recycle soft plastic which doesn't go in our recycling bin.  I find I have a full bin liner at the end of each week ready to throw into their recycling - I was surprised at how much of it there is!

[Deleted User]

than you all, really, really helpful!  I am so serious about it this time, no more bin - so I have to deal with it ) every single piece of rubbish is scrutinized.