Steps towards zero waste - 2019

maryb · 6 January 2019 at 5:08PM

Chinese supermarkets or Asian grocers usually have them

thriftwizard · 6 January 2019 at 5:55PM

Makro do gallons of white vinegar very reasonably if you can get a friend with a card to get you in. I suspect Costco etc. would too.

dragonlily · 7 January 2019 at 12:09AM

Wort, I got two very cheaply from approved food in 5 litre containers last year and now onto no. 2 (I use quite a bit as in place of fabric softener). Though, they never have the same stock - I am wishing I got more now but at the time wasn't sure I'd manage the switch, but did.

You have had me watching tutorials on making beeswax wraps myself now! I actually have some beeswax pellets already as my daughter and I make home-made lip balm from coconut oil and beeswax (BTW that is well worth doing as is lovely!) so that is a Jan project to look at doing!

Grey queen

I have also come away with several burned down candles which will be chiselled down into bits and melted to be reborn as new candles. That way avoids a lot of waste. The containers of two of them (a glass one and a pottery one) will also be cleaned up and returned to her. A bit less waste in the world cannot be a bad thing.

You are a waste busting ninja

(ps - I have been reading the 'Productivity Ninja - so my favourite phrase is 'I'm a Ninja' as hoping if I repeat it enough I'll be one - so rest assured I mean that in a positive way lol).

Today has been lovely. Yesterday, I did the meal plan and the online food order as planned (2nd week in a row), and picked it up today. Currently spending less than we have in months and it is making me feel much more organised. I am back at work tomorrow though so hope it can last!

My dad and I took my daughter swimming, and then went and dropped off a full boot of charity donations. That was from my efforts in the dumping room yesterday. It has made it look somewhat worse though than when I started, which is crazy given how much was removed. At least it can be rehomed though (as opposed to landfill), and hopefully somebody will enjoy finding the item they wanted. There was very little rubbish apart from paper for the recycling, so that was a relief.

Two zero waste fails today. One was having a Subway for lunch, the Subway was very nice but as I was paying my dad went and got the drinks, and before I knew it there were three drinks complete with plastic tops and straws. I was going to just have mine in the paper cup with no straw or lid. The sandwich comes in paper anyway. I also realised they have no separate bin for recycling so I bet the whole lot goes into landfill.........

The second was the items I ordered 'loose' ie sweet potatoes, bananas had been 'substituted' for packaged ones *sighs*. Whilst we go to sewing club weekly, I am going to take some bags / containers and try out the town market, and see who will give me stuff packaging free!

Hope you all have a lovely week! x

-taff · 7 January 2019 at 1:30AM

GreyQueen wrote: »

This is very interesting to me as I feel bad about using a toxic product to clean the loo but live in an extremely hard water area and limescale is a huge problem. Can I ask the CA users how frequently they use it to keep on top of limescale? Any tips would be greatfully received.

We have two toilets and we usually use one each. The OHs is usually dirtier than mine, not because of use but just because it's much older and stuff seems to build up quicker in there. He puts bleach in his, then when I notice that it looks off colour, I chuck the CA down it.
The other one doesn't tend to be as bad, so again, when it looks off colour.

If you didn't want to use anything toxic and are happy with a little of elbow grease, pumice stones will clean the limescale off and not scrath the porcelain. You just have to get over the idea of arms down the toilet. Do a youtube search and be amazed

Katiehound · 8 January 2019 at 12:36AM

wort wrote: »

Can anyone point me to somewhere that sells large bottles of white vinegar?
The small bottles don't last long!!
At a low price!

Our local independent green grocer sells the 5 litre containers of malt / white vinegar- only spotted them in window display in the last ten days.
Just lately have bought small bottles from Aldi. (oops-plastic bottles- naughty)

Knittingcathy75 · 8 January 2019 at 7:35PM

I am going to try to cut down on waste a bit at a time, usually try to do everything at once and when it all gets too much give up as I feel like a failure. I have 4 kids so probably won't be able to get rid of plastic completely but reusing thing or multi use plastic will dramatically cut down on the amount of waste. Have started with packed lunches am looking into making reusable fabric sandwich bags. would love to get them metal lunch boxes but they loose them a bit too often for that to be affordable. Wouldn't be the first time that the kids have opened their boxes to find a their sandwiches wrapped in random packaging i.e the packet from the pasta.

ruxpin · 9 January 2019 at 12:15AM

Hi everyone, just come across this thread when searching to see if there are any other eBay sellers on the forum who use all re-used packaging (as I do) because as my ebay business is now full time I think I need a quirky way of explaining this to my customers in case they get upset at receiving their item in a repurposed box! (someone was once annoyed I used a paper bag from a pharmacy prescription, my daughter has severe eczema so we get a lot of bags and it seems a shame to bin them)

Any ideas on this would be very welcome xx

Also I noticed in Tesco yesterday that you can now take your own containers for anything at the fresh food counters! I thought this was excellent way to cut down on plastic waste which is something I too am passionate about

wort · 9 January 2019 at 12:44AM

Thanks for your replies re the vinegar. Unfortunately we don't have Asian supermarkets or even independent grocery stores. So I'll check if anyone has a costco card. And keeping checking approved foods.;)

dragonlily · 13 January 2019 at 9:39AM

Morning everybody, this week has flow by (as have been back at work) and I can't quite believe it is Sunday already!

Ruxpin, I think you might have got unlucky around the person complaining as I think most people don't mind as long as their item is packed well. I have always included a line that I recycle packaging material on the listing, as standard thinking if anybody said anything I could refer them back to that.

I didn't get to try the market this week, as went out to meet friends for the afternoon, but that is on my list for next week.

Knittingcat, let me know how you go on with sandwich bags. I am all set now for making Beeswax wraps, I have the beeswax, the fabric etc so am hoping it will be a fun activity for my daughter and I to do together

Although for school, my daughter has a black (plastic!) hello kitty sandwich box, that is just bigger than the sandwich, that goes inside her lunch bag. She has it now for about three years, and it must have saved so many one use bags. I think plastic can be good for that, if being repeatedly used, as is hard wearing.

Hope you are have a lovely and restful Sunday x

LoveOurPlanet · 14 January 2019 at 11:10AM

Hey guys,

I'm so glad I came across this post and that so many people are taking an interest in reducing their waste output!

I think the key thing is to not stress yourselves out about it. You're making a start on reducing rubbish to landfill and that's great but it will get easier the more you do it so if you find yourself buying something non-recyclable don't give up

I've been keeping an eye out for 100% recyclable and reusable bottles which I then re-fill at a zero waste supermarkets in Birmingham but I think you could also make a lot of stuff at home, like your own cleaning products for example.

I too am also looking to make my own beeswax wrap so dragonlily, let me know how it goes!

Ruxpin, I wish more people knew you could bring your own containers for the counters at supermarkets. There is so much single-use plastic wrapped around meat, fish other products that are also available at the counter.

Yes plastic does keep food fresh and reduces contamination but so do glass Tupperware boxes and you can buy exactly what you need rather than wasting food because you've bought too much in the packets.

Keep up the good work guys, excited to read more ideas and tips

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Steps towards zero waste - 2019

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