Saturday 4 October 2008

Day 26

On Fridays we have sandwiches delivered from a local sandwich bar (the Flying Frog). It's a welcome relief from the chore of getting up early to made a packed lunch, and it's one I didn't have to pass on in Zero Waste Challenge Week as they come wrapped in paper bags.

Which takes me neatly from yesterday's bathroom to today's kitchen, where I've been making a few changes to reduce waste. I've swapped my disposable dishcloths for washable ones. I still use kitchen paper, albeit sparingly, as the plastic packaging from Sainsburys can be recycled instore along with carrier bags. I used to use plastic food bags or clingfilm to wrap sandwiches, but I now use paper bags, which I buy in large quantities from a local stationers (Wyatt & Ackerman). Used kitchen paper and empty sandwich bags are torn up and added to the compost or brown bins. Aluminium foil is washed and reused until it tears, when it's recycled in the black bin. I use Ecover cleaning products which can be refilled at Windmill Hill City Farm. Simple little changes that have saved a lot of waste.

I bought fish for this evening's curry from the fresh fish counter at Asda. Although I've been shopping locally with my plastic containers it's the first time I've taken them into a supermarket, and wasn't sure how they'd be received. However I was pleasantly surprised to find that the assistant was quite happy to place my haddock and salmon fillets straight into the container and stick the price labels on the lid. However my search for plastic free toilet tissue drew a blank.

My younger daughter requested salad and naan bread to accompany her curry. The former wasn't possible as I couldn't find a 'naked' lettuce anywhere but I managed to provide the latter by making my own. They weren't quite the same as any I've eaten before but they tasted good and my daughter said she preferred them to shop bought, so they may well become a permanent fixture.

And this evening my bin was empty again - for the third day running!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Three days in a row - that's brilliant. Well done you.

I'm glad your dd preferred the home made naans :)

Mrs G x

just Gai said...

Me too Mrs Green. I'm afraid it's not always the case. I suspect it's an age thing. I remember being drawn to packet and tinned food as a child. Of course there was the novelty value in those days when it wasn't so widely available or so relatively cheap.

Anonymous said...

Hi Gai,

It was good to see the supermarket allowing container use for fish (meat). This could be the basis for commodity purchases which are a particular problem for waste reduction, though new practices would be required.

Commodities I would like to containerise include instant coffee, desiccated coconut, dried fruit, biscuits, herbs etc.

Maisie said...

I buy either Sainsburys own or Nouvelle kitchen and toilet paper, as both are recycled products, and the packaging is type 4 which is recyclable with carriers or can be sent to Polyprint.

Almost Mrs Average said...

Congratulations and doesn't it feel great. I might be after your recipe for naans. Mr A made a beef curry last night, they would have gone down very well. Hope you're enjoying the weekend. ;-D

just Gai said...

Thanks for the tip about the toilet tissue and kitchen roll Maisie.

The naan recipe came from Dorling Kindlersley's Curry Book, Mrs A. It uses baking powder and I cooked them in the oven. I have since discovered another recipe from Anjum Anand's Indian Every Day book which uses yeast and is cooked on a griddle. I'll email both recipes.