Zero Waste

"Zero Waste" is a concept, a goal, something to aim towards, but I don't think it is possible to achieve it and still live a normal life. However, this doesn't mean we shouldn't try.

I had been wanting to reduce the household waste, and was delighted when the recycling boxes were delivered by the local council. It was great, it was brilliant, look how I'm doing my bit and protecting the planet... And then I realised how much non-recyclable plastic was going into my kitchen bin, not to mention the veggie scraps. The veggie scraps were easy to deal with as all most all of them could be tossed into a compost bin, as could some paper, egg shells, and garden weeds.

The switch to Lush shampoo bars was great. One bar lasts us about 3 months, and the packaging is one paper bag. A little while later, a local shop started a re-fill service. You bring your empty bottles, and they fill them. We are now using this for conditioner, body wash and washing up liquid. We've bought some gluten-free flours this way too.

This month, I wanted to try get through the month without buying any plastic bottles. This was revised slightly to 'no single use plastic bottles'. I had been trying to get the lid of a plastic bottle to refill it, and was failing. The shop had some bottles designed for re-use, and the easiest thing to do was buy a couple of them. The hard-to-open bottle ended up in the recycling. This has been a little tricky as so many products are sold in plastic bottles. We've tried a new sauce, simply because it was a sauce in a glass bottle. I prefer my previous sauce, but haven't seen it in glass. We had a few fizzy drinks from cans instead of bottles.  We'll see how this works out.

The plan had been to try one new way to combat waste each month. Those that made the grade would be included. It's only the beeswax wraps we haven't kept. 

Earlier this month I realised our washing tablets were wrapped in plastic, two to a packet. Why I had never thought of it before, I don't know, but now I had noticed, I wanted to do something about it. A recommendation for 'soap nuts' was made. I've used them in seven washes. Nothing has been washed twice, so we are still in the testing period. 

The soap nuts were meant to be February's change, but I was impatient. I'd also been wanting to try using vinegar as a surface cleaner. In the pantry, there's currently a jar of citrus peels steeping in vinegar. This will be March's test.

Zero Waste is a pipe dream for us. But I can honestly say these little changes have been adding up, and I've barely been noticing. They are simply the way we do things now.