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Steps towards zero waste - 2019

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  • VJsmum
    VJsmum Posts: 6,951 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic First Post
    So, I made a point of going to the farm shop for my veg instead of buying plastic wrapped stuff from the supermarket (which is Ald! so nearly all plastic wrapped). i'm not sure i gained a whole lot - there is still a lot of stuff that only comes in plastic, plus the fuel to get there and back means that the overall gain might not be that great, for the additional effort.

    I can't even really say it was much better quality...

    Hmm, i'll have to work a bit at it. We have a market on a Tuesday so i could walk there with my wally trolley and it could be one of my exercise walks for the week (it's a 2 mile, round trip walk). i'll try that next week.
    I wanna be in the room where it happens
  • Lifeisforliving19
    Lifeisforliving19 Posts: 337 Forumite
    VJsmum wrote: »
    So, I made a point of going to the farm shop for my veg instead of buying plastic wrapped stuff from the supermarket (which is Ald! so nearly all plastic wrapped). i'm not sure i gained a whole lot - there is still a lot of stuff that only comes in plastic, plus the fuel to get there and back means that the overall gain might not be that great, for the additional effort.

    I can't even really say it was much better quality...

    Hmm, i'll have to work a bit at it. We have a market on a Tuesday so i could walk there with my wally trolley and it could be one of my exercise walks for the week (it's a 2 mile, round trip walk). i'll try that next week.


    Its hard getting the perfect balance for F&V if you don't grow your own isn't it? you want to reduce waste but not by spending a load more. We are lucky, our independent greengrocer in the village sells everything loose....except bags of spinach..:( and he buys from local farmers where he can and if not, then he get is from local wholesale market. He even does locally produced honey and jam etc which is great. His prices are very good and as the quality is so much better, it lasts longer so even if it is a few pennies more, I know I won't be throwing any away. So I can either take my own bag or he will put it in a box which I take back next time. He is talking of starting doing cold meats and cheese soon as well. :T
    DMP 2015 £57,549, now £36,112 (37% paid)
    EF £200 Mortgage OP's this year £115

    There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the End of Every Day!

  • RosyRed
    RosyRed Posts: 3,080 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Im loving the ideas on this thread.Ive always tried hard to recycle etc but upped the ante last year.Started using a local butcher and today I've had my first doorstep milk delivery from the local farm who have just started delivering their own milk in 2 l glass bottles.We always had a milkman until we moved here 3 years ago,and had to get it from the supermarket.Those big plastic bottles are my pet hate.
    My local Morries does a wonky veg box which comes in a cardboard box so Ive had that a few times,and made some net bags for other loose stuff.
    I use handmade soap from a local business.( have had a go at making my own too but his is nicer :D)The rest of the family still like their shower gel so I get that in biodegradeable bottles from faith in nature.
    Im lucky that I can sew & have a machine so I can mend things if needed to extend their life,but there is a long way to go before I can say Im zero waste.It does shock me sometimes when I see what other people throw away :(
    :heartsmil 'A woman is like a teabag: You never know her strength until you drop her in hot water'. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
  • Ilona
    Ilona Posts: 2,449 Forumite
    Have you noticed that at this time of the year, Christmas wreaths are being removed from the gravestones and binned? We have three wheelie bins at the gates of our church, and I look in them to see what has been thrown. I remove the plastic flowers and anything else that can be used again, then I stick them into the borders and pots in my own garden to brighten it up.

    My friend strips the foliage off the wreaths leaving the frame, and uses them the following year to build them up again with fresh foliage.

    Why do they bin the whole wreath, so wasteful. Some may think it is disrespectful to do this, but I think it is a tragedy to bin perfectly useful things.

    ilona
    I love skip diving.
    :D
  • Lifeisforliving19
    Lifeisforliving19 Posts: 337 Forumite
    Just went on to Terracycle website and discovered that there is a lady who lives reasonably close to me who has set up recycling for all sorts of things and we can just drop off or post to her and she will then send it on. She is currently collecting all crisp wrappers, biscuit wrappers, Tassimo packaging, toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, disposable contact lens packaging, any pens, felt tips, marker pens etc, personal care items such as pots and tubes and roll on deoderants, milk bottle pastic tops etc. You wouldn't believe how excited I have got at the prospect of being able to recycle all these extra products:j Going to try and get my daughter and couple of local friends onboard as well. DD gets through loads of rubbish with 3 boys, and I'm sure she doesn't think about anything other than the normal stuff that the council recycle.
    DMP 2015 £57,549, now £36,112 (37% paid)
    EF £200 Mortgage OP's this year £115

    There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the End of Every Day!

  • bargainhunterss
    bargainhunterss Posts: 792 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary Photogenic First Post
    Just had a quick search on local zero waste shops (thinking there weren't any), and I'm ashamed to say that there is one right in my town centre I didn't know existed! There goes that excuse for me!

    I'll be popping in there at the weekend to see what's what. It'll be a big change as DH works in As*a so we get a discount, so we tend to buy everything from there. Our budget isn't huge, so I'll have to take costs into account too. However, if the difference isn't enormous we might make use of this new shop!
    Every act of kindness, no matter how small, isn’t wasted ❤️
    "It’ll be alright in the end, and if it’s not alright - it’s not the end"
    Every pound we spend is a vote for the sort of world we want

    2021 wins - 1
  • maryb
    maryb Posts: 4,660 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    Re cloths, I find it helpful to colour code so uninterested other halves have no excuse.
    Blue for the loo (ie dirty jobs) and pink for the sink (requiring hygiene)
    It doesn't matter if you are a glass half full or half empty sort of person. Keep it topped up! Cheers!
  • Linda32
    Linda32 Posts: 4,385 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    To further help to remember which is which, I cut the corner off old ones to use as floor cloths.
  • Lifeisforliving19
    Lifeisforliving19 Posts: 337 Forumite
    Good ideas there for the cloths.
    DMP 2015 £57,549, now £36,112 (37% paid)
    EF £200 Mortgage OP's this year £115

    There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, Shining at the End of Every Day!

  • RosyRed
    RosyRed Posts: 3,080 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    Lifeisforliving19 wrote: »
    Just went on to Terracycle website and discovered that there is a lady who lives reasonably close to me who has set up recycling for all sorts of things and we can just drop off or post to her and she will then send it on. She is currently collecting all crisp wrappers, biscuit wrappers, Tassimo packaging, toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes, disposable contact lens packaging, any pens, felt tips, marker pens etc, personal care items such as pots and tubes and roll on deoderants, milk bottle pastic tops etc. You wouldn't believe how excited I have got at the prospect of being able to recycle all these extra products:j Going to try and get my daughter and couple of local friends onboard as well. DD gets through loads of rubbish with 3 boys, and I'm sure she doesn't think about anything other than the normal stuff that the council recycle.


    Thanks for this post- Ive just looked too and I also have a collection point fairly near,they dont do everything but its a start, I can begin with crisp and biscuit wrappers and old toothbrushes :j
    :heartsmil 'A woman is like a teabag: You never know her strength until you drop her in hot water'. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
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