Plastic free, minimal waste has been something I have done on and off for a few years, but recently I've discovered the zero waste movement which has loads of top tips and support. We have made small changes over the years, but from time to time we have slipped. Having watched a few Ted talks, and been on a few websites, I'm really pumped to start making bigger changes in our day to day life. Im going to document my journey and hope to inspire others who are also going down this road towards zero waste.
Rule 1 is "Refuse", this made me realise that just because something can be recycled doesn't mean I should buy it and use it once then throw it away. The production of these things uses a lot of energy, making plastic, coloured cardboard, and paper. Someone has to come collect my bin full of these things and I cannot guarantee they will recycle any of it. So refuse, make your money as a consumer speak for you, refusing someones business because they're using too much packaging is a really great motivator for change.
Everywhere I look I am advised about the top 5; reusable coffee cups, reusable bags, bamboo tooth brushes, metal straws and a reusable water bottle. I've been doing all these things for a while, but lets be realistic, its only scratching the surface, unless you buy a coffee at Starbucks every day you're unlikely to make that much of an impact. If you really need that coffee, just drink it in the cafe, take 10 minutes for yourself that day. For us making swaps that affect what we do, and the food we eat every single day is going to make the biggest impact. The most important tips are to be prepared and to be vigilant, don't give into 'consumption', society and supermarkets telling us its ok to buy everything so heavily packaged.
Here are the 7 biggest changes we have made to start reducing our waste, our impact, our consumption. I will be looking to make more changes as we continue down this path.
1. Veg Box: in our case this is local, organic, very little food miles and seasonal. We hardly have any waste and the box it comes in, gets collected at the next drop off. We even visited the farm, ate bbq'd corn on the cob and dug up some potatoes. This doesn't account for all the veg we eat, as we only have a fortnightly box, but its a great basis which we can top up.
2. Plastic free fresh produce shopping: explore you local supermarkets and find what they do that is plastic free. In Lidl I could pick up; sweet potatoes, red peppers, courgettes, aubergines, limes, bananas, apples, onions, swede. Some fruits and veg will always be easier to find plastic free, and you can take your own canvas or produce bags, not just for the check out, but to fill up as you pick too.
3. Bulk items: so far I have found Pasta by Barilla whole wheat fusilli is in cardboard with a tiny plastic window, not sure why so many foods need windows, they cant see us! Oats, and flour can also easily be found in paper bags. Otherwise you can go to a whole-foods type store and buy loose amounts of what you need. Once we get though our existing rice and quinoa, we will be looking to top these up from a food co-operative. Our nearest bulk/loose food store is about 30 minutes away by car or train, so we haven't yet made the trip, once we reduce what we have though, we will be looking to top up. Hopefully over time, zero waste and low packaging food options will become more common in every town.
4. Home made: so far we have learnt to make and switched our hummus, granola, nice cream, nut milk and seitan (gluten meat), soon to try tortilla wraps, bread, maybe noodles. Hummus is likely to big one of the best packaging savings, we usually eat at least a tub a week, but now I can buy loose chickpeas, soak and boil them, (freeze any extra I cook), blitz it up with some lemon juice, tahini and olive oil, and it tastes really good. That could be as much as 52 plastic pots, with cardboards sleeves each year not being produced!
5. Kitchen and Bathroom: toilet roll, we have just received an order of Who Gives A Crap! the trial box from this awesome company that I've been hearing about for a few years, they use recycled paper, and donate 50% of their profits to build sanitation in places which done have working toilets. I was really excited to try them, each roll is wrapped in paper and delivered in one shipment of 48 rolls every few months (depending on your usage), the trial box is 3 rolls, plus kitchen roll, and tissue box. I will report back on this once I've used them. Kitchen wise, try swapping single use kitchen roll for dish clothes, or tea towels, and instead of cling film, try just using pots with lids. Just move away from the idea of single use, including things like foil too.
6. Buying second hand; from kitchen implements, garden furniture, clothes and shoes, anytime you purchase something second hand, its cheaper, mostly less packaging, and much better for the planet. We recently bought a smaller Vitamix jug, so we can make more small quantities of homemade sauces, and it was half the price second hand than it was on amazon or Vitamix. Then my giant water bottle smashed as I arrived at training, someone suggested replacing it, which usually I would do right away, but I realised I have two smaller bottles in the cupboard that I'm not using, so rather than continuing to consume, why not use what I already have? Again saving money, as well as energy, and making use of what I already have.
7. Borrowing; how many times do you mention having just bought something, and someone says they have one they aren't using in their home. Recently we mentioned not having a lawn mower and found my parents have an unused push mower in their shed, too small and laborious for their very hilly bumpy garden, but perfect for our small flat garden, and a bit of fitness for us too. We wanted some garden furniture but didn't want to buy anything plastic, new or second hand, luckily my parents had a load of wooden chairs in the shed, so we have take just 2 for our garden, we have a few camping chairs from years ago we can bring out if more guests come over. Equally if I have an event coming up, I'll ask around if anyone has a dress or a purse I can borrow. Ask your friends, and make do. We washed our car this weekend with a sponge and a watering can, we don't own a hose pipe, and we don't need one. We don't have a clothes line, we have a clothes horse, when the weather turns we can bring it all inside in few moments.
Check out Bea Johnson and so many more zero waste videos on you tube, and instagram. Remember its about what the biggest changes you can make are, also its a gradual process, you probably wont be going zero waste overnight, but incrementally day by day.
Rule 1 is "Refuse", this made me realise that just because something can be recycled doesn't mean I should buy it and use it once then throw it away. The production of these things uses a lot of energy, making plastic, coloured cardboard, and paper. Someone has to come collect my bin full of these things and I cannot guarantee they will recycle any of it. So refuse, make your money as a consumer speak for you, refusing someones business because they're using too much packaging is a really great motivator for change.
Everywhere I look I am advised about the top 5; reusable coffee cups, reusable bags, bamboo tooth brushes, metal straws and a reusable water bottle. I've been doing all these things for a while, but lets be realistic, its only scratching the surface, unless you buy a coffee at Starbucks every day you're unlikely to make that much of an impact. If you really need that coffee, just drink it in the cafe, take 10 minutes for yourself that day. For us making swaps that affect what we do, and the food we eat every single day is going to make the biggest impact. The most important tips are to be prepared and to be vigilant, don't give into 'consumption', society and supermarkets telling us its ok to buy everything so heavily packaged.
Here are the 7 biggest changes we have made to start reducing our waste, our impact, our consumption. I will be looking to make more changes as we continue down this path.
1. Veg Box: in our case this is local, organic, very little food miles and seasonal. We hardly have any waste and the box it comes in, gets collected at the next drop off. We even visited the farm, ate bbq'd corn on the cob and dug up some potatoes. This doesn't account for all the veg we eat, as we only have a fortnightly box, but its a great basis which we can top up.
. 
3. Bulk items: so far I have found Pasta by Barilla whole wheat fusilli is in cardboard with a tiny plastic window, not sure why so many foods need windows, they cant see us! Oats, and flour can also easily be found in paper bags. Otherwise you can go to a whole-foods type store and buy loose amounts of what you need. Once we get though our existing rice and quinoa, we will be looking to top these up from a food co-operative. Our nearest bulk/loose food store is about 30 minutes away by car or train, so we haven't yet made the trip, once we reduce what we have though, we will be looking to top up. Hopefully over time, zero waste and low packaging food options will become more common in every town.
4. Home made: so far we have learnt to make and switched our hummus, granola, nice cream, nut milk and seitan (gluten meat), soon to try tortilla wraps, bread, maybe noodles. Hummus is likely to big one of the best packaging savings, we usually eat at least a tub a week, but now I can buy loose chickpeas, soak and boil them, (freeze any extra I cook), blitz it up with some lemon juice, tahini and olive oil, and it tastes really good. That could be as much as 52 plastic pots, with cardboards sleeves each year not being produced!
 |
| Homemade hummus |
5. Kitchen and Bathroom: toilet roll, we have just received an order of Who Gives A Crap! the trial box from this awesome company that I've been hearing about for a few years, they use recycled paper, and donate 50% of their profits to build sanitation in places which done have working toilets. I was really excited to try them, each roll is wrapped in paper and delivered in one shipment of 48 rolls every few months (depending on your usage), the trial box is 3 rolls, plus kitchen roll, and tissue box. I will report back on this once I've used them. Kitchen wise, try swapping single use kitchen roll for dish clothes, or tea towels, and instead of cling film, try just using pots with lids. Just move away from the idea of single use, including things like foil too.
6. Buying second hand; from kitchen implements, garden furniture, clothes and shoes, anytime you purchase something second hand, its cheaper, mostly less packaging, and much better for the planet. We recently bought a smaller Vitamix jug, so we can make more small quantities of homemade sauces, and it was half the price second hand than it was on amazon or Vitamix. Then my giant water bottle smashed as I arrived at training, someone suggested replacing it, which usually I would do right away, but I realised I have two smaller bottles in the cupboard that I'm not using, so rather than continuing to consume, why not use what I already have? Again saving money, as well as energy, and making use of what I already have.
7. Borrowing; how many times do you mention having just bought something, and someone says they have one they aren't using in their home. Recently we mentioned not having a lawn mower and found my parents have an unused push mower in their shed, too small and laborious for their very hilly bumpy garden, but perfect for our small flat garden, and a bit of fitness for us too. We wanted some garden furniture but didn't want to buy anything plastic, new or second hand, luckily my parents had a load of wooden chairs in the shed, so we have take just 2 for our garden, we have a few camping chairs from years ago we can bring out if more guests come over. Equally if I have an event coming up, I'll ask around if anyone has a dress or a purse I can borrow. Ask your friends, and make do. We washed our car this weekend with a sponge and a watering can, we don't own a hose pipe, and we don't need one. We don't have a clothes line, we have a clothes horse, when the weather turns we can bring it all inside in few moments.
Check out Bea Johnson and so many more zero waste videos on you tube, and instagram. Remember its about what the biggest changes you can make are, also its a gradual process, you probably wont be going zero waste overnight, but incrementally day by day.
This was a super helpful read, thank you for posting about your journey. I just got back from my travels and plan to live a more eco-friendly (I don't think I can start calling it zero waste yet!) lifestyle and I can't wait to start making more of my own staples like vegan margarine, granola, and hummus once I move into my own place.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment, its something I've been quietly doing for years, but discovering the Zero waste movement (I prefer Journey to zero waste) has really propelled me to make some changes, feel like there is so much more support. Welcome back to the UK too!
Delete