Reducing household waste

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Reducing household waste

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wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 6:59 pm Post subject: Reducing household waste

Every year I have a big project (Like a new years resolution!) and this years is reducing our landfill waste. I make small changes in line with my big project, as these are easier to keep to.

Does anyone have any suggestions for reducing household waste - or have any tips from any of the CAT books or similar.

I already recycle all our paper, glass and plastic bottles. We don't use many tin cans, but one of my little changes is going to be to start recylcing those. newspaper we can't get enough of for lighting fires (wood ash goes on the garden, and next year will try soap!) and jars get saved for jam.

I'm having a worm bin for my birthday in March (and will start a bean trench before then) so that will take care of the greens

A lot of plastic gets thrown, but I save plastic trays (that mushrooms come in) for seed trays and bottles for cloches and slug protection. Loo rolls are very good for peas to start off in.

One thing I want to try is getting a paper shredder (we both work from home) and maybe we could light fires with shredded letters and things!?! Carrier bags are an enormous problem - at the moment I recyle them at tesco's.

I'll be having a closer look at what is actually left in the bin throughout the year, and trying to think of more ways to reduce it, but any ideas and tips will be welcome. There must be loads!

PS - no kids here (which I think reduces our rubbish itself!) so I won't be building castles out of egg boxes!

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45674
Location: Essex

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 7:01 pm Post subject:
We reuse most of our glass jars, nearly all our dried/preserved foodstuffs are in reused jars

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28237
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 7:18 pm Post subject:
I'll be interested in all tips in this area, as it is one we do not do well on despite recycling paper, glass, card and composting green waste. I just don't know what all the dustbin bags fill up with, but fill up they do jema

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 7:30 pm Post subject:

I always forget, but some of the shops I go to often use bags from other shops (a one off shop will have Tesco, snsbry etc...). It may be worth asking if anyone would like a collection of clean carrier bags, especially strong ones. I'm not sure what Tescos would do with theirs but reuse would be better.

We've recently found 2.5kg tomato tins in Safeway and they will mean less recycling, especially if I can find a good use for them.

Some plastic bottles can be used for beer and cider (take care over the ferment pressure).

I wish they would recycle plastic in our area.

alison
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Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 12918
Location: North Devon

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 8:03 pm Post subject:
Outside our local Tesco they have a collection centre for carrier bags.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 9:11 pm Post subject:

Tahir wrote:

We reuse most of our glass jars, nearly all our dried/preserved foodstuffs are in reused jars

I save most of the jars - funnily enough it seems to be all bottles in the glass bin! Can't think why.

Jema - I don't what my dustbin bags fill up with either! That's why this is next years big project.

mrutty

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1578

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 10:48 pm Post subject:
If you get the bags for life instead of carriers you save twice. Once by not using carriers and twice that most stores will swap out each others. If it wasn't for the nappies (soory everyone) then we'd be down to one bag a week. Will be swapping to a local milkman soon to cutdown on plastic

jema
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28237
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Mon Nov 15, 04 11:16 pm Post subject:
I don't fuss about carrier bags, they get resused as freezer bags etc, and we tend to find ourselves running out of them, rather than chucking them. jema

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 04 10:30 am Post subject:

What I tend to do is look at each item before I throw it and think yes but what else can I use it for?

Although you don't have kids its worth perhaps getting in touch with your local playgroup or school ( or a ask a friend with kids) as they may be happy to have all you can spare in the cardboard box and container dept. ( won't want loo rolls or egg boxes though)

People save me egg boxes for our eggs as I can't buy small of boxes anywhere.

Loads of things can be used on the veg garden as bird/animal scarers. The kids draw faces on the polystrene circles from frozen pizzas, and with a hole made in the top we hang them from canes on the plot, make a gentle noise. Plasitc bottles of all sorts can be used to protect the ends of canes for safety and they again rattle in the wind. I have in the past also used the foil type bags that Tesco's bread comes in, lightly blown up and securely tied to a cane they glitter about quite nicely.

All plastic pots are good as plant pots, as long as you make holes in them, I also save them for kids paint and water pots.

Carrier bags are a problem I agree. I use them as bin liners, which although not a brilliant thing at least means they get used once more before binning. I do chuck a load back when I go to Tesco's as well.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 04 12:21 pm Post subject:

jema wrote:

I don't fuss about carrier bags, they get resused as freezer bags etc, and we tend to find ourselves running out of them, rather than chucking them.

jema

What else? - I have my shopping delivered, and can't have bags for life, and I just take loads of them away for recycling. I do use them for putting fish and onion skins in before they go in the bin, and binliners for other bins around the house but thats it.

At Christmas they are great, becuase ocado give you purple, yellow and red ones, so I can coulour code pressies for different families. Still can't use them all up though

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 04 12:23 pm Post subject:

I think perhaps an important part of this is avoiding waste in the first place, so I'll have to give that some thought as well!

The other thing I buy loads of is plastic sandwich bags - for the freezer and stuff in the fridge and stuff. I'm trying to use paper for sandwiches, and containers in the freezer now, but other than buying all of lakelands lock n locks, does anyone have anyideas for these!

Tupperware party, anyone?

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 04 12:30 pm Post subject:

Tricky issue. Not getting packaging in the first place is probably the way to go. Being able to do a daily local shop has cut our waste massively, though I appreciate that isn't practical for most people. Using people like Lakeland and home delivery from supermarkets adds massively to the problem. My only thought is to try to save up and place a few really big orders, rather than a series of small ones. Could people club together to place a really big order and then divvy it out.
Cheers, Sean

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 04 9:05 am Post subject:

Years ago I did a textile design course from home and although my knitting is basis in the extreme, I did do a small experimental piece using strips of carrier bag - i have since wondered if I could perhaps weave them ( a peg loom?) in to a door mat of somesort, or another bag - possibly a question for Lowlander!

I do try and take a cotton bag shopping, or a basket, but invariably it rains or the items i want don't fit in to them, so I end up with the carriers anyways, which is frustrating. I know there are those shopping bags on wheels - but first I have to get over the age thing and then work out how to get them on the Park and Ride!

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Nov 17, 04 9:54 am Post subject:

You can now get very clever little rucksacks on wheels - they look just like rucksacks, but when you get fed up of them, a magic little handle exteds out of the back, and you wheel it home - fantastic. They are expensive over here, but sometimes you see them in sales and on markets and things.

Lakeland are the best I've found for packaging - they pack all their stuff in recylced paper (no plastic at all) with silly cartoons on! Every so often they ask for feedback on of your order was over packed, etc. I don't know what to do with supermarket bags. I'm thinking of trying able and cole, but it will have to wait until the summer, when I've time to deal with the (inevitable) mistakes (mine that is, not theirs!)

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