Zero Waist

Freezer Roulette - Day Five

2012-01-14T19:45:00.000Z

On Thursday I learnt my lesson for failing to label items before putting them in the freezer. I removed two small containers which looked as if they both held bolognaise sauce. However, once defrosted, I discovered that the smaller of them was in fact chilli. Fortunately both of them went with pasta!

The project is on hold for a few days, mainly because I've not been cooking. (We have been eating but it's my daughter and husband who've been in the kitchen.) But also because most of the rest of what's in the freezer is either in single portions or requires more thought than I've had occasion to give it at the moment. Still, as I hope to spend try and spend some time this weekend planning next week's meals in advance, I should be back on track on Monday.

Top of my list is what to do with the considerable quantity of puff pastry I seem to have accumulated over the years! I was tempted by Paul Hollywood's sausage rolls which featured in the finals of The Great Sport Relief Bake Off, but they'll do nothing for my New Year 'intention' to shed a few pounds! Hey ho.

Freezer Roulette - Day Four

2012-01-11T23:00:00.000Z

This morning I removed the ingredients for this evening's dinner - a pack of lamb and rosemary sausages and a container of braised red cabbage. I think the sausages were bought at last year's Organic Food Festival. The pack had been opened and one eaten which was strange. I suspect that it's not advisable to eat cabbage that's been in the freezer for almost two years but I like to live dangerously!

We ate them with boiled new potatoes and sweetcorn. Proper winter grub!

Tomorrow, if I get up in time to make a bowl of porridge, I shall eat it with some blueberries.

They don't look very appetising in this photo but I'm sure they'll taste delicious.

Freezer Roulette - Day Three

2012-01-10T23:45:00.003Z

I have an annoying habit of rarely labelling the food I put in the freezer which has, on occasion, led to some 'interesting' discoveries. Today, however, I have found a labelled container, in my husband's hand!

This will do me for lunch tomorrow and the day after - perhaps with a crusty slice or two of Mark's bread.

Freezer Roulette - Day Two

2012-01-09T22:57:00.001Z

This evening's Cullen Spink was delicious. I tweaked the quantities, adding more potato and water than was required and I left the potato slices whole. The cayenne pepper provided a bite and the turmeric a pale golden hue. There didn't appear to be enough fish but its strong smoky flavour made up for it.

Today's discovery is a pair of chicken drumsticks, which will do very nicely for my daughter's tea tomorrow. She'll have them drizzled in olive oil, baked, perhaps with a couple of cloves of garlic smothered in IKEA gravy and served with a jacket potato.

Last night and again tonight I've also taken out a couple of wholemeal rolls for packed lunches.

Apart from a small loaf of interesting bread to mop up our soup I haven't had to buy any extra food today.

Freezer Roulette

2012-01-08T23:00:00.000Z

I don't know about you but my kitchen is bursting at the seams with food, in the fridge, in the freezer and in the cupboards. What's the problem with that, I hear you ask. Well, it's because some of it has been there for a long time. Instead of using it up I go out and buy more food, and the jars and packets and tins spread out over the surfaces until there's very little room left to work. It's got to stop one day and the New Year seems the best time to begin.

So, starting tomorrow, I've set myself the challenge of preparing a meal based around at least one ingredient from my stockpile. I'm beginning with the freezer.

For the uninitiated, this is an Arbroath smokie, a smoked haddock, originating from Auchmithie, a fishing village a few miles north of Arbroath. My smokie was one of two I bought at the Tobacco Factory market some time ago. We ate the first one the day we bought it, dotted with butter, flashed under the grill, with Mark's oaty groaty bread and diced beetroot. Its partner was frozen for a later date, which is now tomorrow.

A quick Google produced the ideal recipe, Cullen Spink, a variation on the traditional Cullen Skink. I have enough potatoes, onions and other ingredients to produce a meal for two. I know that my daughter will not eat so smelly a fish, and will be happy enough with yesterday's leftover sausage casserole.

Now that wasn't too hard, was it?

Ways with Stale Bread - 1

2011-04-17T18:12:00.004+01:00

I took half a 3-day-old baguette and sliced it lengthways. I brushed the slices with a couple of glugs of oil spiked with crushed garlic. I laid the slices of bread on a baking tray and grilled them until golden brown. They went perfectly with a bowl of vegetable soup, eaten in my sunny back garden.

The oil came from a jar of sundried tomatoes. I buy jars of sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and artichokes from Aldi. When I've finished all the vegetables I use the oil in dressings etc. It's full of flavour. Too good to throw away.

Why?

2011-02-18T23:25:00.005Z

Heinz have launched a new Fridge Pack. At 1kg it holds approximately the same amount of beans as 2 1/2 standard tins, and its purpose is to provide families with beans 'on tap'*.

However I don't get it. If a consumer finds it difficult to eat her/his way through 410g of beans at one sitting, why would s/he opt for 1 kg instead? Especially if there was no savings per kg to be made!

I don't know what kind of plastic the jar is made of, but even if it is recycleable, facilities for doing so are much less common than for aluminium cans. My guess is that most of them will end up in landfill sites.
Besides, what's so difficult about decanting the remains of a tin of beans into a sealable container and storing it in the fridge? Just as effective and a lost less waste.

* Paula Jordan, Marketing Director at Heinz

Aluminium Foil

2010-11-21T18:02:00.002Z

The production of aluminium foil is an extremely wasteful process.

Bauxite, from which aluminium is smelted, is mined in open cast pits in countries such as China, India, Guinea and Kazakhstan. Thousands of tons of waste rock are produced, villagers are often displaced and rivers and soil are polluted. Large amounts of energy are expended, almost half of which is generated from fossil fuels, contributing to the greenhouse effect.

So reducing, reusing and recycling are all the more essential. I try not to use too much foil and never throw it away until it's too torn or holey for anything but the recycling bin.

Today I spotted this 100% recycled kitchen foil. It may have been around for some time but this is the first time I've seen it. It's made from car components, guttering, railway sidings, cookware, stadium seating and scraps of industrial cables! The aluminium is heated to over 650 C . The impurities are burned off and the molten metal is filtered, poured and rolled to produce thin sheets. Recycled aluminium uses 80% less energy to produce than from new.

This roll should last me for a while but I know where to look when I eventually need some more.

SOS Fruit

2010-10-23T23:56:00.004+01:00

It wasn't until my elder daughter left to go to university that I realised exactly how much fruit she ate. Now that she's gone the rest of us are struggling to get through our weekly organic fruit box. This afternoon as I was carrying out one of my irregular inspections of the contents of our fridge I came across not just one, but two punnets of red grapes. If they'd been seedless they would have been devoured by my younger daughter, but she doesn't like having to spit out the pips and, to be perfectly frank, neither do I. So they'd been left to grow slightly soft and wrinkly.

Not wanting to waste them I pressed them through a metal sieve to extract the juice. It was a bit strong on its own but was perfect when diluted half and half with tonic water.

My husband then fried some tired looking apples to go with our pork chops for dinner.

Tomorrow I must remember to look out a recipe for a cake involving pears.

Blog Action Day 2010 - Water

2010-10-15T20:19:00.005+01:00

Do you keep the tap running when you brush your teeth?

If the entire population of England and Wales kept their taps off we could save 180 megalitres of water every day! This would be enough to supply nearly 500,00 houses.

I am constantly amazed by how even the most insignificant individual action can have such a tremendous effect when replicated across the population.

Don't let anyone tell you that what you do, or fail to do, doesn't matter.

REDUCE, REUSE, ... recycle!

2010-06-08T00:38:00.006+01:00

So the coalition government is going to scrap Labour's proposed tax on landfill rubbish in favour of credits for recycling.

Apart from my regret that people should need to be bribed to recycle, as opposed to considering it their civic duty to do so, I am not persuaded that encouraging the purchase of (over)packaged goods, in the anticipation of being rewarded for throwing most of it away, is a step in the right direction. They obviously haven't realised that we should be 'reducing' and 'reusing' first.

Perhaps I should write to Mr Pickles and remind him of this?

Buttering us up?

2010-02-14T18:57:00.005Z

I've been drawn to the latest Lurpak ads, which advocate a return to an 'old fashioned' way of life - homecooked food, quality over presentation, the celebration of simple pleasures, the virtue of patience and zero waste. I love them!

Unfortunately for Lurpak they have not persuaded me to switch to their brand. I'll stick to my local butcher who sells a very acceptable variety wrapped in environmentally friendly paper.

Surprisingly, although Lurpak's website features a tempting selection of recipes, it says nothing about the recyclability of their packaging.

Waste Free Latte

2009-10-14T14:42:00.005+01:00

Inspired by Beth Terry over at Fake Plastic Fish, it has long been my intention to invest in an insulated mug to eliminate the cardboard and plastic waste inherent in takeaway drinks. So today, when I stopped for a latte at the Fair Cup stall in Colston Circus and saw their own cheerful red mugs for sale, I jumped at the opportunity. It cost me £3.95 and I get 10p off every drink I fill it with on future visits.

I plan to carry it around with me and use it in other coffee shops. I'm not sure what reaction I'll receive from the big chains but I'm going to give it a go. I'm not necessarily looking for a discount, although I wouldn't refuse! I'm just hoping to save waste.

Has anyone any experiences they would like to share?

Top Tips for Zero Food Waste

2009-10-09T22:58:00.003+01:00

I have come to the end of my Zero Food Waste Challenge, during which I have succeeded in throwing away no more than a few tablespoons of edible food. And none of the inedible waste went to the landfill site, but has all been recycled by some means or other.

The Bristol challenge invites participants to share their tips for avoiding food waste. The prize for the most useful or original suggestion is a cookery course for two at Bordeaux Quay. I am an admirer of Barney Haughton and if I win I would take my elder daughter, who is off to university next year and might appreciate a few lessons to help her keep body and soul together.

So, my top tips are:

1 Stop treating leftovers as waste and start using them as ingredients
2 Store them properly (fridge or freezer) and label them clearly
3 Build up a repertoire of leftover-friendly recipes (soup, stirfrys, risottos, fried rice, omelettes etc)
4 Check your fridge/freezer regularly
5 Invest in a compost bin, wormery or a bokashi bin
6 Try not to be too hard on yourself when, despite your best efforts, you have to throw something away
7 Enjoy the challenge

Day 7 - Wednesday 7 October 2009

2009-10-08T22:46:00.005+01:00

The last day of my challenge and not much waste to report.

1 egg shell
3 tea bags
30 g vegetable peelings
1 banana skin
1 pear core

I was going to use up the roast chicken from Sunday. The girls, who were going to eat earlier than us, were going to have chicken fajitas. My husband and I were going to have chicken risotto later. However I'd forgotten that, in a fit of efficiency earlier in the week, I had frozen the chicken meat. There wasn't enough time to defrost it so I used fresh chicken for the girls and we had two salmon steaks that were on special offer.

Deciding where to store leftovers is crucial to waste management. If I hope to use them in the next few days I put them in the fridge, but if not then I opt for the freezer. Problems arise when, for one reason or another, I don't get round to them before they go off - or when I forget to take them out of the freezer in time! Regular fridge inspections are essential. So is labelling, an area in which I need more practice. It's amazing how similar frozen leek and potato soup looks to frozen stewed apple, but only one of them goes with custard!

Day 6 - Tuesday 6 October 2009

2009-10-06T23:22:00.003+01:00

This morning we had porridge for breakfast. My younger daughter was in a hurry to get to school on time so she left a bit.

At lunchtime I braved the leftover bolognaise sauce with some couscous and have lived to tell the tale. I ate it with the remains of the beetroot salad I'd made on Saturday.

So today's waste amounts to:

a few tablespoons of porridge
2 apple cores
1 banana skin
1 pear core
3 sweetcorn cores
240g vegetable peelings and sweetcorn husks
2 used tea bags

As usual, the cooked waste will go in the brown bin and the raw waste in the compost bin

Day 5 - Monday 5 October 2009

2009-10-05T23:07:00.005+01:00

We had boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast. There were egg shells and a bit of white left in one of them (my elder daughter only eats the yolk).

I had soup for lunch. the vegetable one I'd made on Saturday. I only work part time so am usually home for lunch and tend to eat what's left over from the night before, or what can be concocted from what's I discover in the fridge or the cupboard. I enjoy the challenge and the finished dish is usually quite tasty.

This evening I stripped yesterday's chicken carcass and my husband boiled it up for stock.

Today's waste offerings include:

3 egg shells and one egg white
1 chicken carcass, half an onion, a carrot and a broccoli stalk (boiled)
35g vegetable peelings
2 used tea bags

The cooked waste will find its way to the brown bin and the rest will probably be added to the compost bin rather than the wormery as the worms haven't yet eaten all they've already been given. They seem to be less hungry in the cold weather.

I've just thought that I should possibly include the tea bags I use at work. I go through a couple a day but I do try to use each one twice (a habit I picked up from my Aberdonian flatmate at university!)

Day 4 - Sunday 4 October 2009

2009-10-04T23:18:00.005+01:00

Today, being Sunday, we had a roast. Actually we don't always have a roast on Sundays but today we did and it was chicken. I find that the effort in preparing a large meal is rewarded later on in the week by the benefits obtained from the leftovers.

It was my husband who cooked the chicken and he did so according to a recipe we picked up from the family we visited in France this summer. Cut a couple of slices of bread (stale bread would do nicely) and rub them with the cut edge of a clove of garlic. Then stuff the bread into the cavity of the bird and roast as normal. The dry bread soaks up the juices released on cooking and the garlic flavours the meat from within. I can't remember whether this was in the original recipe but, in addition to the garlic, my husband seasoned the bread with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. The result was exceedingly tasty.

There was minimal waste from the chicken today; just a few wing bones. The remains of the bird have been returned to the fridge. Tomorrow I'll salvage every last edible morsel of meat from the bones before boiling the carcass with an onion, a carrot and a couple of bay leaves to make a fragrant stock. I haven't yet decided what to do with the meat, but it will provide one more meal. If the chicken had been a larger one we might have got another two meals, but it was a smaller bird and we were very hungry/greedy this evening!

So today's waste comprised:

2 egg shells (from biscuit making this afternoon)
170g vegetable peelings
bones from two chicken wings
3 apple cores
1 pear core

The bones will be added to our brown council household waste recycling bin. This is collected weekly and sent to a special heat treatment plant where it is converted into compost. It can take meat and fish waste which we can't compost at home and which would otherwise have to be put in the landfill bin. The introduction of this bin collection has made a considerable reduction to our waste.

Two of the three apple cores will go to the wormery. The third has been fed to our hamster!

PS The chard we ate with our chicken came from our garden. It was planted in amongst the alpines in our rockery in the spring. It made a slow start but then it suddenly took off and has produced a bountiful harvest. Besides which the rhubarb pink stalks are rather decorative.

Day 3 - Saturday 3 October 2009

2009-10-04T14:48:00.006+01:00

This morning I emptied all the vegetable drawers in my fridge and washed them and the ever-so-useful green sponge cushion I bought from Lakeland. The leftover vegetables went into the soup pot and the clean drawers were filled with the contents of yesterday's organic vegetable box.

Before you fall back in admiration at my efficiency, let me assure you that it is not aways so. All too often I leave the fruit and vegetables to lie in their boxes until I need them, only to find that they have suffered, sometimes irredeemably, from neglect. I regret that I have, more often than I care to admit, thrown away food that would have been perfectly fine had it been stored properly, but that had rotted in a plastic bag or wilted in the dark recesses of the box.

However today was different and I'm hoping will be a sign of things to come.

Soup is an excellent vehicle for using up odd bits of vegetables, including anything too sad to be presented whole on a plate. I started by sweating a chopped leek in a glug of olive oil and a knob of butter. To this I added a wilted head of kale, a runt of white cabbage, an odd spring onion and a couple of potatoes. When the vegetables had softened and were just beginning to colour I covered them with water and a bit of milk, added a few teaspoons of Marigold bouillon powder and left them to simmer, covered, for 20-30 minutes. Finally I blended them to a smooth puree, poured the mixture into a plastic container and put it in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch.

While I was making the soup I baked a couple of old beetroots in the oven. They went into a low (150 C) oven in a casserole with a tight fitting lid and a couple of tablespoons of water for 3 hours. When they were cool enough to handle I skinned and chopped them and tossed them in a couple of tablespoons of honey and mustard dressing. I ate some of this salad for lunch alongside a couple of slices of cold meat that had reached their use by date. The rest went into the fridge for another day.

I went out to a party in the evening so I didn't eat with the rest of the family, but they tucked in to a stir fry which included, among other ingredients, a handful of carrot sticks recovered from my daughter's lunch box on Thursday and a portion of lightly boiled green beans left over from dinner that same day. Sir fries are another excellent way of using up leftover, raw and cooked and my husband is very skilled in rustling up a delicious meal using nothing more than a packet of noodles, the leftovers from the fridge and a couple of store cupboard essentials (ie soy sauce, pad thai paste and sesame oil).

So today's items for the bin were:

5g breakfast cereal
265g vegetable peelings
1 used tea bag
50g grape waste (stalks, pips and squidgy ones)
90g sweetcorn husks
65g beetroot peelings
1 large tomato

The raw vegetable waste fed the worms. The tea bags went into the compost bin. The beetroot peelings were cooked and went into our council household waste bin.

The only items of real waste were the breakfast cereal, broken pieces from the bottom of the bag, and the tomato, which came from our own plant but which was bruised and had sat on the work surface for a day or so longer than it should have and had gone too soft to be edible. On reflection I could have fed the cereal to the hamster but it went into the brown bin instead.

Day 2 - Friday 2 October 2009

2009-10-04T14:34:00.002+01:00

Today I had to work overtime. What with that, and it being the end of the week, and my feeling a bit groggy with a cold I cannot shake, I decided that we would have an Indian take away for dinner. We ordered it from The Clove and were able to recycle all the packaging, which was a bonus.

As a result I didn't have much to throw away today:

1 pear core
3 used tea bags

The pear core will be fed to my worms and the tea bags find their way to the compost bin.

Day 1 - Thursday 1 October 2009

2009-10-02T00:04:00.003+01:00

Today I have thrown out the following:

vegetable peelings (380g)
egg shells (3)
lemon skins, pith and pips (2)
tea bags (3)
apple core (1)
pear core (1)

The vegetable peelings and the apple and pear cores will be fed to the worms in the wormery. The rest will end up in the compost bin. Eventually they will all be used to grow more fruit and vegetables in the garden.

The wormery, which we have had for over a year now, has been a great success. After a slow start the worms have been munching their way through regular supplies of vegetable and fruit waste. I cut it up to speed up the process, and avoid citrus fruits. The compost they produce is light and moist.

All other plant waste, including reasonable amounts of citrus fruits, goes in the compost bin. Egg shells benefit from being crushed and I tear open the tea bags to release the contents. After having left the bin to decompose over the winter we used the well rotted compost in our garden this spring.

So no real waste today.

Love Food Hate Waste

2009-10-01T23:12:00.004+01:00

I am taking part in Bristol's Food Waste Diary Competition, being run in partnership with the excellent Love Food Hate Waste campaign.

Each month the average family throws away £50 worth of food that was bought but not eaten. Nationally this works out at 4 million pounds or 6.7 million tons. Unbelievable! Unforgiveable!

Having been born and brought up in India and seen hunger at first hand, I have always felt a twinge of guilt every time I throw away a piece of food that might otherwise have been eaten. I try to shop thoughtfully, buying only what I know I will use. I relish the challenge of producing a meal from leftovers. And I tend to rely on my own senses rather than a printed date when deciding whether or not food is still edible. However, despite my best efforts I do sometimes have to throw stuff away. Bread grows mouldy. Ham lingers past its use by date. Leftovers are shoved to the back of the fridge and forgotten. Milk turns sour. Potatoes sprout and turn green.

So for one week I will log every morsel of food I throw out and where it ends up. And I will let you know how I get on.

I'm Still Here

2009-04-23T22:57:00.003+01:00

It's been a while since I last blogged here, or anywhere for that matter. Life has, as it does from time to time, got in the way.

I haven't, however, given up on my zero waste mission and have continued to weigh my weekly landfill rubbish. It's averaged around 300g per week, which is above my target of 100g and leaves much room for improvement.

The chief obstacle to zero waste is lack of forward planning. If I work out what we are to eat in the coming week and plan my shopping trips carefully I end up buying less packaged food and producing more homemade meals. It's the days I have no idea what we are going to have for tea that I end up in Tescos buying ready meals.

So I'm going to be more organised.

The Clean Bin Project

2009-02-21T23:44:00.002Z

If you haven't heard of this remarkable trio then pop over to their blog right now and see what they've been up to these past 7 months. I'm afraid they put my feeble efforts to shame.

Week 7 - Plastic Basics Packets

2009-02-21T20:38:00.004Z

By basics I mean the sort of food I buy week in week out and which I could not conceivably live without ie sugar, pasta, rice, couscous, porridge oats, noodles, pulses etc. With a bit of effort I can avoid buying biscuits and cakes and ready made meals and I can ask shopkeepers to pack meat and olives etc into my own containers, but I can hardly do the same with any of the staples mentioned above. The annoying thing is that I cannot for the life of me work out why any of them cannot be packed in paper bags or cardboard boxes. Flour and some sugars and Quaker porridge oats are readily available in paper bags and Lidl sells rice in cardboard boxes. So why isn't it standard practice with the rest? I can feel an email to a supermarket formulating in my head. Watch this space!

PS Now that our local deli has installed self service hoppers I can buy some of my staples loose, but this facility is not available to the vast majority of shoppers.

Weekly Weigh-In = 495g (including a plastic light switch and bulb weighing 150g, and 6 free Yakult bottles from the milkman at 60g). If these are discounted the total is reduced to 285g, which is still well over my target of 100g. All I can say in my defence is that we did seem to finish a number of the packets mentioned above this week!

Week 6 - Coffee Packets

2009-02-13T16:08:00.002Z

I have to confess to being a bit of a coffee snob. I love coffee but it has to be the real thing. None of that instant rubbish. Normally we drink cafetiere coffee but for breakfast at the weekend we use a stove top percolator to make strong dark coffee which we dilute with warm foamy milk. The problem with coffee is that most of it comes in mixed material packets with plastic widgets designed to preserve its freshness. Not very environmentally friendly. However, our local deli sells coffee beans, freshly ground to your own specifications, in brown paper bags. And it's organic and fair trade!

Isn't it amazing how many waste-related issues can be solved by shopping local?

Weekly Weigh-In = 230g

This is, unfortunately, up on last week. I baked a cheesecake to take to an NCT reunion and was left with two cream cheese and one double cream container. Reminder to self to chase up Recresco's promise to have more wide ranging plastic recycling facilities in the future.

Week 5 - Plastic Wrapped Bakery Products

2009-02-06T18:40:00.008Z

During the week we breakfast on toast or cereal, with the occasional boiled egg. At the weekends we like to treat ourselves to something more exciting - invariably croissants. The trouble with the croissants from our local Tesco Metro is that they are encased in plastic. They sit in a preformed plastic tray which is then placed in a plastic bag, neither of which is recyclable in our area and are destined for the landfill. However, one of our local bakeries sells loose croissants and the deli sells almond ones which are wickedly delicious. Unfortunately both of them are further away, but the extra distance might help to work off some of those calories!

When I'm feeling energetic I make pancakes which the girls devour with crispy bacon and maple syrup. I remember attempting croissants once, but also remember them failing to live up to my expectations.

I've been trying to cut down on shop bought bakery items and bake my own, which are not only less wasteful but also better for us. The girls take a biscuit or a cake to school with them in their bento lunchboxes every morning and always need a snack when they come home in the afternoon. I try to go for recipes containing oats or fruit, with a bit of chocolate thrown in. Flapjacks are a perennial favourite and this week I made tiffin which is ridiculously easy and doesn't even require cooking, if you don't count heating a few ingredients in a pan.

If anyone has any good recipes to share I'd love to hear from you.

Perhaps someone could also let me know what the rules are regarding the posting of recipes. Is it alright to do so if you acknowledge the source?

Weekly Weigh-In = 165g

I'm very pleased with this and hope I can keep it up.

Week 4 - Meat Packaging

2009-01-30T22:18:00.006Z

One of the secrets of reducing waste is forward planning, as I have learnt to my cost these past few weeks. My local butcher closes on Monday afternoons and all day Wednesday so, if I want to buy mince or sausages on these days I'm forced to visit my local supermarket, where they are sold in plastic containers or plastic wrappers. The same applies to cold meat. The butcher and deli sell it loose but local supermarkets don't. This week I had to buy chicken in Tescos. Last week it was salami.

This week I'm going to plan my menus in advance so that I don't get caught out.

Weekly Weigh-In = 360g

This is an improvement on last week but 70g more than my current best. I must take this more seriously.

Week 3 - Plastic Spouts

2009-01-22T22:52:00.007Z

Since Bristol introduced recycling facilities for Tetrapak containers I have been taking regular bagfuls of juice and milk cartons to our nearest bin in the Bedminter Asda car park. It's a positive step and I welcome it.

However, before I can recycle my cartons, I have to remove the plastic spouts and/or lids, which are not recyclable and which I fear may contaminate the recycling process.

I remember when containers were made of treated cardboard and nothing else. You snipped the corner with a pair of scissors to form a spout and poured yourself a drink. If this was done carefully there was no mess and the whole container could be recycled.

While preparing for last year's Zero Waste Week Challenge I discovered that Sainsbury's Basics fruit juice comes in spout-free cartons. I shall have to seek them out again.

Weekly Weigh-In = 345 g + a broken gas lighter weighing 95 g making a total of 440 g.
This is well up on last week's 290 g. We are still throwing out a lot of Christmas waste. I'm hoping that as this peters out my levels will go down again.

PS To encourage members of my family to consider what they are throwing away I have removed the waste basket from the living room. I think it's helping.

Gifts (contd)

2009-01-17T23:23:00.003Z

An alternative to buying chocolates wrapped in layers of plastic is to make your own. I use Nigel Slater's recipe from Real Food but there are also ones here and here on the BBC website. This is not without its own waste. For example I don't know of a plastic free source of cream. However, if you make them in decent enough quantities then it is probably still less wasteful.

I've offered homemade truffles as Christmas presents and they have been well received. I know I always appreciate homemade gifts.

Week 2 - Gifts

2009-01-15T23:49:00.008Z

This week's chosen items of waste are a number of empty chocolate packages. The cardboard boxes and foil wrappers have been recycled but the plastic trays that held the choccies remain.

I didn't buy any of these boxes of chocolates. They were all Christmas presents. Which brings me to the problem - how do I let my friends (and family) know that I do not want any waste without causing offence?

I was grateful for the effort to which some of my friends went to offer me environmentally friendly presents - fairly traded and sustainably wrapped. However other presents contained varying amounts of plastic (admittedly some of it hidden). Not that I can claim the moral high ground, as many of the presents I gave my family and friends were wasteful.

Judging by her list of Christmas presents Jen at The Clean Bin Project seems to have got the message across.

Perhaps the trick is to lead by example.

Weekly Weigh-In = 290 g

Plastic Straws (contd)

2009-01-14T22:32:00.005Z

I haven't been shopping this week, so no luck yet on the reuseable plastic straw. If only I lived in the USA I could go one better and buy my daughter a glass straw. Thanks to Cousin Yellowstone for sending me to the GlassDharma site with their exquisite creations, in two sizes (the wider one for smoothies!) and supplied with a cleaning brush. Wow!

Week 1 - Plastic Straws

2009-01-08T23:27:00.003Z

I thought I'd start with an easy item? My younger daughter loves plastic straws. This week's rubbish contained two of them, one red and one yellow. I bought two packs (the others are blue and green) from Ikea some time ago now and she's been steadily working her way through them ever since. There can't be many left now.

They're easy because they're quite unnecessary - or at least they are to me. But she likes them. And suddenly it's not so easy.

If I lived on my own it would be so much easier to avoid waste. But I have a husband and two teenage daughters and although, as chief shopper and cook, I control most of what we buy and eat, it's only right that I take my family's wishes into consideration, even those involving plastic! There are some things I just won't buy, some that are open to negotiation and others to which I reluctantly give in.

But to return to the straws, there are 3 options:

refuse to buy any more and let her learn to live without them
buy a reuseable plastic straw
get her to buy her own

I think I'll go for no 2.

Weekly Weigh-In = 385 g

PS Mrs A is hosting the Carnival of Trash at The The Rubbish Diet today. Well worth a visit!

Towards a Waste Free 2009

2009-01-07T17:44:00.004Z

What with assorted building work and the festive season my weekly weigh-ins were abandoned, the result of which has been that our landfill bin has dramatically increased in volume. However, now that we are back to normal(!), I have reinstated the paper carrier bag on top of the kitchen bin and started to think long and hard before I buy.

Following my success in producing a mere 5 g during Zero Waste Week my weekly total crept up to between 200g and 250g, almost entirely composed of unrecyclable plastic. I'd like to set myself a weekly target of 100g. However, given that half way through this week we'd reached 250g, it's not going to happen overnight, nor without serious reconsideration of our purchases, because that's where it all begins.

I am, however, cautiously optimistic for several reasons.

Firstly, having done it once, I know it can be done again.

Secondly because, with careful planning, it is perfectly possible to cut right back on plastic. It just requires a bit of effort.

Thirdly, the opening of the Bristol Green Store in our old Chessel Street Post Office and the arrival of self service bins in Southville Deli will make it easier to buy waste free staples.

And last, but by no means least, because I am not alone. There are hundreds of you out there, all over the world, committed to a greener way of life and supporting each other along the way.

So, starting this Thursday, I am going to select one piece of waste from my landfill bin and spend the week working out if and how I can ensure that it never turns up in my bin again. Some things are going to be easy but I suspect that the majority of them will prove to be somewhat of a challenge.

Wish me luck!

Waste Free Christmas & New Year?

2009-01-07T16:05:00.003Z

I didn't aim for a waste free Christmas and New Year - largely because I didn't believe I'd ever achieve it and didn't want to have to deal with the disappointment. Having said that I did take steps to reduce the amount of rubbish I generated, including a few firsts.

Christmas Cards: I pruned our Christmas card list and only sent cards to friends I wouldn't be seeing in the run up to the day. I realise now that I missed out a few who should have received a card. I hope they'll forgive me. Also, I made my own cards from recycled blanks and last year's cards and was pleasantly surprised at how much fun I had with them. I've made a mental note to start earlier next year and involve the girls more.

Christmas Presents: I cut back on these too and resisted the temptation to feel mean. Alan and I agreed not to buy each other a big present, although we both still filled each other's stockings. I bought the girls presents as usual and baked a few stollen for some good friends but that was about it. Building works put paid to my notion of making more homemade gifts but I was encouraged to see both my daughters offering their friends elegantly wrapped truffles and iced biscuits. I'm going to keep my eyes open for locally crafted items for next year's presents.

Christmas Dinner: We haven't had a traditional turkey dinner for years. This year, inspired by my daughters' visit to the south west of France, we had duck confit. I bought two ducks. Our butcher was too busy to joint it for me so I did it myself and, although we only needed the legs for the confit, absolutely none of the birds went to waste. The wings and breasts were eaten as separate meals, the carcass was boiled for stock, the fat was rendered for the confit and the skin crisped to make a tasty snack. Even the offal is in the freezer waiting to be fried and eaten with bruschetta. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstal would have been proud of me.

Christmas Wreath: I fully intended to buy a traditional holly wreath but by the time I got round to it there were none to be had. So I made my own out of a willow ring and shiny wrappers.

Christmas Tree: We had a real tree, cut and mounted on a stump. I can't be sure of the environmental friendliness of its origins but it's even now sitting on our front wall waiting for the next recycling collection.

Wrapping Paper: With fewer presents there was less to wrap and I was able to manage on what I'd bought in previous years. I've a pile of used paper to sort through. What can't be salvaged for next year's cards will be recycled.

Decorations: Every year I allow myself one more decoration for the tree. This year it was an elephant from Bath Christmas Market. It's made of papier mache, so is probably not too damaging. Besides I intend to keep it forever.

Food: We ate and drank well, but not to excess. Most of our food came from Riverford and local shops.

All in all I was reasonably pleased with our efforts and hope to use this year's experiences to celebrate an even greener Christmas next year.

I'm interested to hear how the rest of you got on. I love picking up ideas from other people, so I hope you'll share.

Recycled (W)reath

2008-12-27T23:25:00.005Z

I realise it should have been gracing our front door at least a week ago but everything's late here this year, and besides I didn't have enough of the right kind of waste. So it wasn't until this morning that I hung up our recycled wreath. Inspired by the photo I used to illustrate this month's Carnival of Trash, I created my own version. The basic structure was provided by a (willow?) ring I bought half price from The Guild on Monday. I wrapped it in plastic netting from the satsumas and chocolate coins I bought for our stockings. The sweetie papers came from a friend's Christmas drinks party. The bows were from our crackers. I'm rather pleased with the result and we can keep adding to it over the next 10 days.

Presenting The Carnival of Trash!

2008-12-15T08:00:00.001Z

Welcome to the December edition of The Carnival of Trash. It's the first time I have hosted it, or any other carnival for that matter, and I have enjoyed reading through the excellent range of submissions. Special thanks to those who managed to submit posts with a Christmas theme!

To kick off , Gemma presents Environment posted at VideoJug: Life Explained. On Film - a collection of videos to inspire us to take greater care of our planet.

Recycling

Jim presents Recycling Earns Money For Your County on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity and The Five Reasons Why I Recycle posted at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, illustrating how recycling makes sense for individuals and local authorities alike.

Cindy offers two pattern using plarn (plarn? - check it out!). Firstly a Yellow Barbie Plarn Dress "Who says Barbie can't be green? Check out the cool recycled yellow dress crocheted from plastic bags. I offer the free crochet pattern and other details so everyone can enjoy this eco-friendly craft project." Followed by Crochet a Spike Stitch Plarn Tote Bag "I've been busy again recycling old plastic bags into plarn. I then crocheted this handy, reusable tote bag. Here is the free crochet pattern for anyone who'd like to make this bag.". Both patterns can be found at My Recycled Bags.com.

Aahz presents Save Money (and the Planet) While Remodeling Your Home posted at Aahz Reviews Gilroy, saying, "Yes, Virginia, you can recycle your house ;)" I wish I'd read this before we had work done on our house this autumn.

Heather Levin presents 5 Surprising Things You Can Recycle posted at The Greenest Dollar and promises more to follow!

Reducing Waste

Almost Mrs Average presents An early Christmas present: A zero waste lifestyle in a nutshell posted at The Rubbish Diet, saying, "Get ready for the new year." Mrs Average is an inspiration to Zero Wasters and I look forward to reading her book when it is published in July 2009.

Mrs Green presents zero waste advent calendars posted at MY ZERO WASTE, saying, "Delicious ideas for zero waste advent calendars. Come and read our suggestions then share your own!" If you didn't catch this post in time for this year then be sure to make a mental note for next year.

Recycle Raccoon presents It's a Wrap , saying, "Now that you have got the goods, make sure to wrap your presents in creative ways that are easy on you, your wallet, and the environment" and All I want for Christmas saying, "Here is a hurdle for holidays with creating less trash: purchasing presents. Here are some ideas for waste-less gifts for the holiday season." It's almost impossible to get through the festive season without producing more than your usual amount of waste so Recycle Raccoons tips are very welcome. Both are posted at Easy Going Green.

Reusing

Condo Blues presents Turn Rice Bags into Shopping Tote Bags posted at Condo Blues, saying, "Instead of chucking this empty small useless rice bags into the bin, I made them into bigger useful shopping tote bags." Who needs to splash out on trendy reusable bags when you can make them yourself?

Finally, to view my family's first attempts to produce Christmas cards made from recycled paper, last year's cards and chocolate wrappers click here.

Well that's all folks. Mrs Average will host the next Carnival of Trash on The Rubbish Diet on 7 January 2009 and is looking for everyone's waste busting new year resolutions. Deadline for submissions is 5 January 2009.

Submit your blog article the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Cards

2008-12-14T23:43:00.011Z

We've had workmen in and around our house for ages. Actually it's only been since the end of September, but it feels much longer. As a result I have not been as zero waste as I would have liked to have been in the run up to Christmas. I did, however, manage to make some recycled cards.

The recycled coloured cards and matching envelopes came from Eco-Craft. The pictures were from old Christmas cards and the gold paper is the inner wrapping from Divine chocolate bars. Eating the contents was, of course, the hardest part! I spent a pleasant afternoon composing and sticking designs and hope that they are well received. I was even joined by my daughters whose masterpieces (right) put mine to shame. Although, they only made one each to my dozen!

Roll Up Roll Up for the Carnival of Trash!

2008-12-04T16:11:00.002Z

There are 10 days to go before the Christmas edition of the Carnival of Trash. So rummage through your posts, pick out one linking Christmas and waste and submit it here.

And tell your friends.

I'm hoping for a bumper edition.

And if none of this makes any sense please refer to my earlier post.

Ho Ho Ho for the Carnival of Trash

2008-11-17T21:54:00.006Z

The lovely Almost Mrs Average has very generously asked me to host the next Carnival of Trash on Monday 15 December.

For those of you who have no idea what a carnival is (I didn't until very recently), it's a blog post which brings together a selection of posts on a particular subject. In other words, a blog magazine. If you're still confused you could take a look at one or more of the last three carnivals here and here and here.

This next edition will be a special Christmas one so please ensure that your submissions have a Christmas theme. The festive season is a veritable minefield for zero waste campaigners so if you have any thoughts, strategies or tips to help us pick our way safely through this year please feel free to share them with us.

As ever the categories are Composting, Recycling, Reducing Waste, Rethinking, Reducing and Zero Waste. Submit your entries here.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Photo from the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames website

Recycling Crisis

2008-11-16T23:01:00.003Z

I read an article in today's Observer which claims that sites are desperately being sought to house the UK's unwanted mountain of recyclable rubbish. The financial crisis has led to a drop in demand for recycled raw materials. Thousands of tonnes of paper, plastic and steel are piling up and local authorities have requested government permission to store them on Ministry of Defence land until the market returns.

The danger is, of course, that this will discourage people from recycling. Our recycling or composting has increased by 10% over the last year but we still lag behind the rest of Europe.

What is does illustrate is that recycling should remain the last option and, ideally, only resorted to after reducing and reusing.

Easier said than done, I'm afraid. My last weigh in, 10 days ago, was 475g (ie about 240g per week), almost entirely made up of unrecyclable plastic food wrapping. Definitely still work in progress.

Zero Waist Goes Global

2008-11-09T18:11:00.000Z

For those of you who read Chinese click here to read about my challenge in the Beijing Youth Weekend newspaper. I was approached through this blog by one of its journalists, Chen qimei, who interviewed me by email. It will be interesting to see what response, if any, it elicits. As I said to Chen qimei in my last email, we are all in this together.

Life after Zero Waste Challenge Week

2008-10-29T08:42:00.000Z

I have to confess that I found posting a daily blog during the 28 days of the challenge more exhausting than avoiding waste. So I've taken a bit of a break. But I'm back, if not every day, at least every fortnight.

Why every fortnight? Well, although our recycling bins are collected weekly, our rubbish bin is collected only every fortnight, so it makes sense to weigh our rubbish at the same time.

On Thursday 23 October we threw away 445g of waste ie approximately 225g per week, which is disappointing, as I would like to come in under 100g per week. However, without wishing to excuse myself, this was due in part to the fact that my local butcher was on holiday for a week. I could have turned vegetarian but there would have been protests from a younger member of the family. So I resorted to the supermarket where meat comes in rigid plastic containers sealed with plastic film. I meant to weigh the packaging but I forgot. Almost half way through the next fortnight we appear to be doing slightly better but, with a family bereavement, building work and the visit of a French exchange partner, life is a bit more unsettled than usual and, in my experience, this generally means more waste. Which is not to say that I have given up entirely. It's just that I am less stringent than I would otherwise be.

However, there is hope on the horizon, in terms of a local green shop. Recently, despite considerable protest, the government shut our local post office. One of the reasons I gave in opposition to the closure was that it is one of, if not the only, remaining shops in our neighbourhood. However our local postmaster, determined that it should not necessarily be the end of the story, has teamed up with various local producers to open The Bristol Green Store at 10 am on Saturday 1 November. I am particularly interested in the refillable detergents but I am open to temptation from all or any of the other sustainable products on offer.

Day 28

2008-10-05T19:04:00.000+01:00

Well, here I am at the end of my Zero Waste Challenge Week. Time to reflect and review. But first to today.

This morning I braved the rain to visit the now weekly Tobacco Factory market. I bought some Brie de Meaux, wrapped in greaseproof paper, and some quince paste (perfect partner to mature salty cheese), which went straight into one of my now ubiquitous plastic containers. So far so good. However I regret to say that while preparing dinner this evening my husband came across another plastic tape on the organic box carrots. Tut tut!

I added this to the other piece of tape, the five labels and the small metal seal from the chorizos and weighed the lot. They came to under 5 g. Whoopee! Not exactly zero, but as near as dammit, as I hope you will agree.

So what next, I hear you say.

Well I'm not going to pretend I can keep this up on a permanent basis - or at least not at this level. There are just too many things I can't live without in the long term. Not luxuries, just essentials. I'm thinking of pasta, couscous, pitta bread, dried fruit, nuts, yoghurt, cream, cheese - all of which are packaged in unrecyclable plastic. However, there are some things that have changed, possibly forever. I'm going to continue to ask shopkeepers to place my purchases in my plastic containers, to recycle all my plastic bags, to make my own yoghurt, to bake my own bread and biscuits and cakes - and maybe even my naan. In time I'm hoping they may become part of my life, things I do without thinking.

Looking back over this week I have learned three things:

It's almost, if not equally, important to consider not just what's in everything I buy, but also what's outside it. Zero packaging is the ideal, but when this is impossible then I should look for the product with the most environmentally friendly alternative.
If I'm to make the less wasteful choice then I need to be adequately informed. I need to request that suppliers give me as much information about the packaging as they do about the product. Perhaps I need to go higher, to the government, to request that such labelling is made mandatory.
I need to recycle as much as possible using all the facilities available.

None of these are difficult and if everyone gave them a go then I'm sure we'd see a lot less waste heading towards the landfill. From the many conversations I've had over the past few weeks I know there is an keen interest in waste and a genuine desire to do something about it. I hope that this Zero Waste Challenge Week will have given us the impetus to do so.

I'd like to thank everyone who's advised and supported me over the past month and everyone who's read and commented on this blog. I hope to continue to post on various waste issues from time to time.

Day 27

2008-10-05T00:17:00.000+01:00

This morning we paused from shopping for a latte and an almond croissant. Mmm! The latte came with a couple of paper sachets of brown sugar and one of those annoying plastic stirrers. I didn't require either. Does that make it my waste? I suppose I could have brought the stirrer home and found some use for it but I suspected it would only end up languishing in a drawer, so I left it on the table. I can understand cafes not wishing to use proper spoons for fear of them being nicked, but there must be a better alternative to plastic. I've seen wooden stirrers but unless they're composted I guess they end up in a landfill too.

No one felt much like cooking this evening so we resorted to a ready meal - an M&S steak pie. However, even here there was no waste, as both the cardboard box and the foil tray will be recycled. I try to avoid ready meals, for economic as well as environmental reasons, but it's good to have a list of waste free options for when you need one.

So, if I don't count the stirrer, it was another successful day. Only one more to go!

PS I did try the baking soda to brush my teeth the other day. It was a bit salty but otherwise not unpleasant. My friend, Mrs A of The Rubbish Diet, has suggested the Aquafresh aluminium pump dispenser which I should be able to dispose of in my black box.

Day 26

2008-10-04T01:36:00.000+01:00

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!

Day 25

2008-10-02T22:10:00.000+01:00

Another waste free day. Hooray!

I ate out with friends but I cooked dinner for the rest of my family. I bought my chicken breasts from my excellent local butcher, Bob Wherlock, who wrapped them in paper and placed them directly in my plastic container. If you're a bit embarrassed about asking your butcher to do this, as I was at the outset, please don't be. Chances are he'll be more than happy to oblige and I've found the request invariably leads to some very interesting conversations.

While most of my waste is food related there are, of course, many other kinds. Bathrooms are full of it. Plastic bottles can be recycled but not always the lids, which are often made of a different plastic. So I've opted for solid shampoo from Lush which comes simply wrapped in paper. They also sell solid deodorant which lasts for ever and solid bath and shower products. My local health shop, Health Unlimited, sells 'naked' soap in a variety of fragrances. Biodegradable feminine hygiene products are now widely available. Toothpaste is my only downfall. I believe that you can use baking soda and salt but I must confess that I have never tried either. However, for the purposes of this challenge I may give it a go tonight and let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Day 24

2008-10-01T22:38:00.000+01:00

I've done it! My first 100% zero waste day of the week. So it is possible and surprisingly normal.

Breakfast was toast, butter and jam to accompany my essential mug of tea. Lunch was the leftovers of yesterday's dinner, carried to work in a recycled takeaway container and reheated in the microwave. Dinner was tortilla (aka Spanish omelette) with sweetcorn and beetroot. I don't do puddings midweek - just a piece of fruit.

I baked some chocolate chip cookies for my daughters' lunchboxes tomorrow. Chocolate chips come in plastic packets so I used bars of Divine milk chocolate cut into pieces. I've saved the inner foil wrappers to make recycled Christmas cards - my half term project.

There was another article in the Evening Post. It was visitor who told me about it. He also told me about Scoopaway, a natural and organic wholefood shop on the Gloucester Road, where you help yourself to cereals, pulses, dried fruit, nuts etc. It's a fair way from where I live but I could get there by bus. Sounds worth a visit.

Day 23

2008-09-30T23:25:00.000+01:00

Oops-a-daisy! Caught out again. Told you how sneaky it is.

But let's start with the good news. I got as far as dinnertime again. Porridge for breakfast. Quaker porridge oats come in a cardboard box with no inner wrapping. Milk comes in a glass bottle and golden syrup in a tin.

Lunch at work was a bowl of homemade leek and potato soup and a chorizo sandwich. We have a microwave at work so I often take in leftovers from the evening before. There was another birthday today with bite size cakes. They looked yummy but they came in unmarked plastic containers so I gave them a wide berth. Fortunately there were a few pieces of cheesecake left over from yesterday so I didn't go without! And in case you think we're always eating cake at work, we're not. It's just two birthdays back to back.

Dinner was a chorizo and chickpea stew served with basmati rice, runner beans and yoghurt. The chickpeas and tomatoes came in tins. The vegetables came from our organic box and a neighbouring allotment. The basmati rice, like the porridge oats above, came in a cardboard box from Lidl. The yoghurt was homemade. The olives came from the Olive Shed where they were weighed directly into my own reusable plastic container. The chubby little chorizo sausages were similarly placed in my Tupperware box but it wasn't until I got them out at home that I spotted the labels - 5 of them, when I only bought 4 sausages! I thought at first that they were made of paper but, on further investigation I discovered, to my horror, that they are in fact plastic. There is no identification mark on them so I cannot rightfully put them in a recycling bin. Oh dear!

Well I tried and will carry on (being) trying! There were more conversations at work, including one with a few kids who had spotted me in the local paper. It's shame that I'm always the first any one's heard of it. It hasn't been terribly well publicised. If is runs again next year I think it would be a good idea to get local shops in on it, perhaps vying with each other to offer customers the more waste-free merchandise.

I wonder how many others have taken the challenge and how they are faring?

Day 22

2008-09-29T23:22:00.000+01:00

I said yesterday that plastic has a habit of sneaking up on you - and it did. I got safely as far as dinner this evening, which was shepherd's pie. I used the last few carrots from my organic vegetable box to boost our 5-a-day. The carrots came in a 100% biodegradable bag which can be recycled, but it had been secured with a tiny piece of sticky plastic tape. Darn!

However I am not going to let this pesky tape discourage me, as the rest of the day went well.

Breakfast was tea, toast, butter and jam. I took my own teabags to work. Two of my colleagues celebrated birthdays and I gave them recycled cards instead of buying new ones, which invariably come in a clear plastic envelope. I declined a chocolate from a plastic tray lined box and settled for a piece of cheesecake (well ... actually ... two pieces!) in a cardboard box. Dinner was the aforementioned cottage pie, with beetroot salad, followed by grapes.

It was surprisingly easy really.

Day 21

2008-09-28T22:43:00.000+01:00

Our iron has come to the end of its life. The protective covering on the flex has worn away and the wires are exposed. We've tried patching it up but it hasn't worked and it's now dangerous. So yesterday I bought a new iron.

Happily there is no unrecyclable packaging with the new iron but I now have to dispose of the old one. I'm sure it's not right to just chuck it in the bin so I shall email the council for guidance. I suspect it can be disposed of at a household recycling centre but neither of Bristol's centres are easily accessible by public transport. The alternative is a special collection, but I don't know whether this is possible for one iron and how much it will cost.

I have another potential piece of waste - a broken plate. However, before I consign it to the bin I am going to try and see if there is anyone who might like to recycle it by using it to make a mosaic. I know Windmill Hill City Farm used to run mosaic classes so I shall phone them this week.

My, I am going to be busy!

The last bin of this week is rather full:

a Tetley tea bag packet including its reseal sticker - but before I put it out on Thursday I am going to contact Tetley's just to be sure that it cannot be recycled, as it seems to be made of paper, albeit with a shiny coating
plastic packaging from Tesco's ham
broken rubber band
2 blister packs
plastic seal from Sainsburys single cream carton
plastic label from Sainsburys spring onions
plastic peg used to hold together the pair of boots my elder daughter ordered from Next

This brings my week's unrecyclable rubbish to 135g plus an iron.

Tomorrow the challenge begins for real. I'm quietly confident that I can do it, but one thing I have learned about waste is that it sneaks up on you when you least expect it, so I shall have to keep my wits about me.

Good luck to everyone who is taking the challenge.

PS I have scanned the Evening Post article but don't know how to display it on my blog. If anyone can help please let me know. Thanks.

Day 20

2008-09-27T23:20:00.000+01:00

Today I started shopping for Zero Waste Challenge Week which begins on Monday.

I started at our local butcher, Bob Wherlock. Frank spotted my plastic containers and was careful to ensure that he didn't serve me any plastic with my meat. The couple standing beside us thought my containers were a brilliant idea and we had quite an interesting little conversation about the zero waste challenge. Mrs Bob (as I think of her) was very keen on the idea. I also got a good recipe for liver. It would never have happened in the checkout queue at Sainsburys.

So meat should not be a problem. Neither should fruit and vegetables, which I get from our organic box and local greengrocer. Staple carbohydrates will be tricky. A trip to Sainsburys enabled me to stock up on lasagne and arborio rice. Everything else was in plastic packaging. I'd bought coffee in a paper bag at the deli this morning but tea was a problem. I'd not found any plastic free tea in any of our local shops but I did eventually manage to track some down in Sainsburys. It's packed by Jacksons (of Piccadilly!) and is even fairly traded. Alan is relieved, as he was not looking forward to a week of me without my favourite brew.

I spent some time in Sainsburys examining various products for recycling information. Not everything, even Sainsburys own brands, features relevant information, which is very annoying. However I did discover that both type 2 (high density polyurethane) and type 4 (low density polyurethane) bags may be recycled along with carrier bags. It's a pity they don't tell their customer relations staff about this, as they'd just informed me that the bins were only for carrier bags. Type 2 includes the inner wrappers of cereal packets and type 4 includes oven chip bags.

On the way home I checked the Evening Post and was delighted to find the article featuring my challenge attempt. So I am now officially famous! - well, among Evening Post readers at any rate! I'll try and scan it tomorrow for the benefit of those who do not live in Bristol. Meanwhile here's a link to the introduction.

A few things crept into the bin today:

a couple of windows from envelopes
a couple of plastic spouts and seals from juice cartons - I bought a couple of Sainsburys Basics juice cartons today, which do not have any spouts and which can be recycled in the Bedminster Asda car park
a unrecyclable foil coffee bag

Our Riverford vegetable box arrived yesterday, which will be handy, especially now that I have discovered Veg Box Recipes, a website packed with ideas on what to do with fruit and veg of all varieties.

Day19

2008-09-27T11:24:00.000+01:00

The more observant of you will notice that this blog is a day late.

Yesterday was a long day at the end of a long week - more work than I can possibly handle at the office, builders at home and a daughter off school all week. There was no time (or energy) to get to the shops after I finally arrived home, and my daughter was in desperate need of a treat to make up for her discomfort, so we ordered a Chinese takeaway. I thought I'd blown my zero waste challenge but, in fact, we haven't yet had to consign anything to the bin.

The plastic carrier bag will be used to separate items in our black bin. I emailed Bristol City Council to check what happens to these bags and I have just received a reply assuring me that they are always recycled. Thank you BCC!

Most of the dishes came in lidded plastic containers which I wash and reuse to carry food to work and/or picnics and/or train/coach journeys and to store leftovers in the fridge and freezer.

The rice came in foil containers which can be recycled in our black bin. The plastic lids are of no further use to me and would have been the only items to hit the bin, except that I 've been advised by Recresco who provide our plastic recycling facilities that there are plans to extend these to include types 5 and 6, which these are. So, in anticipation of this day, I have started a collection of such items (although I am, of course, avoiding them wherever possible).

The complimentary prawn crackers came in another recyclable plastic bag.

So, it wasn't so bad after all and we enjoyed our meal (and the latest episode of the Tudors which we watched while we ate it!)

But the best news is that there were no items in my bin today. Hooray!

Now all I have to do next week is have 7 days like that in a row. Help!!!

Day 18

2008-09-25T22:19:00.000+01:00

Well the promised article didn't appear. No competition against the grand opening of Bristol's very own Harvey Nichols, I suspect. Still, not to worry. The challenge goes on.

The yoghurt was a success. It's chilling in the fridge and I may have some of it for breakfast tomorrow morning.

This afternoon I finally managed to refill my Ecover laundry and washing up liquids at Windmill Hill City Farm, saving me from the purchase of two new plastic bottles and even from Ecover washing tablets, which come in a cardboard outer box but plastic inner wrappers.

Deciding on which products to buy on the basis of their packaging is no easy matter. Outer wrapping is easy to establish but there is often no indication of what lies beneath. I got caught yesterday in Tescos when I bought a packet of frozen breaded cod fillets. The packet was cardboard and when I picked it out of the freezer it felt as if the fillets were moving freely within. However, when I got it home I discovered an inner plastic bag. I hope that I shall be able to recycle it in Sainsbury's plastic bag recycling bin, but it is nonetheless unnecessary waste.

Today's bin is my slimmest yet:

one plastic straw - and even this was brought into my house by a visitor!

Day 17

2008-09-24T21:52:00.000+01:00

Today I made some yoghurt using Melanie Rimmer's recipe from her brilliant blog, Bean Sprouts. It worked reasonably well the first time I tried it a while ago and I'm hoping it will do so again, as it's the only way I'm going to eat yoghurt during my Zero Waste Challenge Week.

I also made some fairy cakes for tomorrow's lunch boxes.

That's the good news. The bad news is that I've had to buy more plastic. What with the builders, a poorly daughter and Wednesday half day closing I couldn't get to my local shops and had to resort to Tescos. My ailing daughter needs cheering up, so tomorrow's lunch box, if she makes it to school, will contain pittas filled with 'flat' ham and Pom Bear crisps - all of which come in plastic. She'll also have a piece of fruit, in case you were worried that she isn't getting her 5 a day.

Which brings me to the question of how much support I can expect from my family with my challenge. They are all fairly positive about it and are reconciled to my not buying them anything in non recyclable wrappings next week. However what they buy is their own responsibility and I won't be checking their bags as they walk in the front door.

And so to today's bin:

plastic inner wrapper from Ecover washing tablets
blister pack
plastic seal from milk bottle

PS I am reliably informed that tomorrow's Bristol Evening Post will contain an article on Zero Waste Challenge Week featuring yours truly.

Day 16

2008-09-23T21:39:00.000+01:00

Another day and another meal inspired by leftovers. Fusilli tossed in red pesto sauce (from a recyclable jar) and leftover chicken pan fried in olive oil with a few cloves of garlic and a couple of chopped spring onions. The girls had it with corn on the cob and I had it with vine tomatoes roasted with a splash of more olive oil and sea salt.

Tomorrow I'll boil the chicken carcass to make stock which will then be combined with this week's leeks and few potatoes to create one of my favourite soups. The arrival of winter heralds the return of the meal in a bowl. All you need to accompany it is a hunk of homemade bread. Easy peasy.

And now to today's bin:

plastic tray and inner wrapper from yesterday's chocolate biscuits
plastic wrapper from Ecover washing tablets
plastic tray and wrapper from vine tomatoes - they were a freebie - if I'd bought them they would have been placed straight into my bag
plastic wrapper from fusilli
foil Hula Hoop packet - a treat for my younger daughter who had to be brought home from school early because she was unwell

Still no concrete plans for next week. I'll have to pull my finger out tomorrow.

Day 15

2008-09-22T23:33:00.000+01:00

This morning our builders arrived to start the process of transforming our loft into a bedroom and a shower room. Help! Three builders on the premises and we're out of tea and biscuits. The Clipper tea I thought was waste free is in fact encased in a clear plastic wrapping round the cardboard box. So I ended up with 180 bags of Tetley tea in a shiny paper bag which I think I may be able to recycle in our black bin. It's the first time I've bought non-fair trade tea in a long time and I'm feeling rather guilty. I'd no time to make biscuits so I resorted to a plastic wrapped packet of McVities Digestives.

A friend came round with her children. She very kindly bought me a packet of chocolate coated biscuits from Aldi. They're delicious but come in two layers of plastic. And her son's carton of juice, which can be recycled, came with a plastic straw encased in a plastic sheath, which can't. Does waste acquired from other people count?

And so to today's bin:

plastic wrapping from Aldi spaghetti
4 more plastic windows from envelopes
plastic inner wrapper from dried tarragon - another organic product letting itself down!
2 plastic inner wrappers from Ecover washing tablets - ditto above. We usually refill our washing liquids (for dishes and clothes) at Fresh and Wild. However it has just closed. Our alternative refill site is Windmill Hill City Farm, but the shop there was closed last week so we're using up what's in the cupboard.
2 plastic lids from shampoo/body wash bottles. These belong to my younger daughter. I have switched to solid shampoo from Lush and will look for a solid alternative to shower gel when I've finished using what's still in the cupboard.
plastic seal from sunflower oil bottle
2 miscellaneous plastic lids
plastic sheath from carton drink's straw - I don't know where the straw went!

Day 14

2008-09-21T22:21:00.000+01:00

This morning I shopped at our Tobacco Factory Market, however even markets are not always waste free zones. I bought two lots of cheese. The first was wrapped carefully in greaseproof paper, but the second was ready wrapped in cling film. I wonder if cling film can be washed and reused, or will it lose its 'clinginess'? The chicken came in a plastic bag which can definitely be reused.

A brief stop off in Aldi was not particularly successful. I bought three things, none of which I can do without in the long term, and none of which I have so far been able to find without plastic. They are sunflower oil, spaghetti and pasta spirals. I can buy olive oil in glass bottles, so why not sunflower or vegetable oil? And why can't pasta come in paper wrappers? Flour and sugar do.

So now to the last bin of the week:

inner shiny wrapper from tea bags (I believe Clipper teabags come without an inner wrapper, and they are fair trade)
2 inner plastic wrappers from two Git mixes for wadas and sambhar (I bought these at Masala Bazaar, a new Indian supermarket I visited yesterday. They came in cardboard boxes and I suspected there would be inner plastic wrappers, but I couldn't resist. I was right. They were both delicious.)

My visit to Masala Bazaar was a bit of a disappointment. I'd hoped to be able to bulk buy rice in paper sacks but almost everything was wrapped in plastic, except for a few enormous bags wrapped in sackcloth. Rice is another staple I couldn't do without for very long but the only non plastic varieties I have come across are risotto and paella rice in cardboard boxes in Asda.

Anyway the total weight of this week's rubbish is 205g - 25g lighter than last week!

This week I'm going to try to reduce it even further but, more importantly, I'm going to start planning what we shall eat during Zero Waste Challenge Week, as food seems to be where the bulk of my waste lies. I'm not always very good at forward planning so this will be a challenge in itself.

Day 13

2008-09-20T23:26:00.000+01:00

This evening's meal of tuna fishcakes was inspired by leftovers: mashed potatoes left over from Thursday's dinner and half a tin of tuna from Friday's tuna mayonnaise sandwiches. I mixed them together with a couple of spoons of soured cream, a dozen chopped capers and a sprinkling of dill, dipped them in beaten egg and breadcrumbs and fried them until golden brown. They went down well with the troops.

I rarely throw leftover food away. It's packed in plastic containers (mostly saved from Chinese takeaways) and stored in the fridge. Cold meat is used for sandwiches. Rice and vegetables are used for stir fries (NB The official advice is that one should never reheat rice. However I have done so for years and never come to any harm. You must make your own mind up on the matter.) Bones are boiled up for stock. Puddings are reheated. Nothing is wasted.

For more ideas on how to reuse leftovers (plus a lot more besides) visit Love Food Hate Waste.

Now to today's bin:

plastic bag from McCain's oven chips
plastic wrapper from Asda pittas
plastic seal from milk carton
plastic lid from Tesco's soured cream carton
plastic envelope from greetings card
twisty

Day 12

2008-09-19T21:55:00.000+01:00

Tomorrow morning I am going to have to take my daughters to their orchestra rehearsal. We will travel by bus which means that we will have to leave early (8:20) and be back late (13:40). So today I made cranberry muffins for quick and easy breakfast to grab with a glass of milk on our way out the door, and a loaf of bread to make sandwiches to eat on the way home.

The cranberries came from the freezer where they must have been lurking since Christmas. I googled the codes on the punnet and lid (Sharpak SP60 and Sharpak SF500) which took me to the company's website. It is apparently committed to the environment but I couldn't find what type of plastic the punnet and lid were made of or how they could be recycled. So I'm afraid they will end up in a landfill site. There was also the obligatory square of bubble wrap at the bottom of the punnet which will join them in the bin.

The bread came from a Dove's mix I'd bought at the Organic Food Festival. It's called Ezekiel Bread from a verse from the book of that name - "Take thou also unto thee wheat, barley, beans, millet and fitches, and put them into one vessel and make thee bread thereof" - Ezekiel 4:9. It hasn't risen as well as I had hoped but it smells good and should go well with the slices of ham I bought from the butcher this afternoon. The baking try is greaseproof paper which can be recycled but the outer paper wrapper is lined with OPP(?)and the inner wrapper is non-recyclable plastic. So, not so good on the no waste front, which is a shame as it's 100% organic wholegrain.

Anyway, with a bit of forward planning tomorrow morning should run like clockwork ... if I manage to get up on time that is!

Today's bin contained:

plastic outer wrapper from Mini Cheddars multipack
black plastic cork
plastic punnet, lid and bubblewrap from Tesco's cranberries
plastic wrappers from Dove's Ezekiel bread mix

Day 11

2008-09-17T22:49:00.001+01:00

Today was bin day , or at least recycling bin day. Landfill bins are collected only every fortnight. Bristol's kerbside collections are pretty good. Black bins can be used to recycle food and drinks cans, newspapers and magazines, yellow pages and telephone directories, glass bottles and jars, clothes, blankets and material , pairs of shoes, aluminium foil and containers, household batteries, including rechargeable, spectacles and aerosol cans.

I wish they would collect plastic and cartons, but fortunately both of these can be recycled locally.

According to the council's website the amount of household waste recycled has increased from 18.5% to 37% since March 2006, which is very encouraging. However this means that 63% still ends up in a landfill which is not such good news. Perhaps the Zero Waste Challenge Week will encourage people to recycle more of the stuff they chuck in their black bins.

Today's bin is an improvement on yesterday

3 plastic windows from envelopes
2 plastic lids from pens - what happened to the pens? I hear you ask - and the answer is that I don't know
plastic wrapping from Tesco's ham
wrapper from Tesco's buter

Day 10

2008-09-17T22:49:00.000+01:00

Today's bin is a bit fuller than I would like:

plastic packaging from the Tesco's special offer ham I bought the other day
plastic packaging from Tesco's mince from another special offer if I bought two - it must be my Scottish blood that makes me fall for it every time - tomorrow I must return to the butcher
plastic Mini Cheddars packet from elder daughter's lunchbox - the younger one must have disposed of hers at school - three packets of crisps a week is a compromise between my younger daughter's wish to have one a day and mine to ban them altogether! - I buy them in multipacks but what I save in money I gain in plastic!
toothpaste tube - I've heard that you can use baking soda but what about the fluoride? - I'll have to investigate further
beer bottle cap
plastic seal from plastic milk bottle
small piece of sticky tape
plastic lid from Coca Cola bottle
plastic inner wrapper from Tesco's wholewheat cereal

I was out at a parents' meeting and, on the way home, I gave in to temptation and bought a bag of chips. They were wrapped in paper with a wooden fork but they also came with a small polystyrene tray. I felt terribly guilty but then I discovered that is just the right size to place under my bean sprouter to allow it to drain without wetting my work surface. Blushes spared!

Day 9

2008-09-16T22:21:00.000+01:00

This evening I listened with interest to a report linking BPA (Bisphenol A) with diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The jury appears to be out as to whether the chemical is actually responsible for the conditions but there is cause for concern. BPA is found in a wide range of plastic products including some you wouldn't think contained plastic. For more details read the BBC report here. It reinforced my commitment to reduce, if not eliminate, plastic from my food and drink.There are a few more items in my bin today.

Marigold tub and lid. The lid is plastic. The tub is card but is lined with a silver material which may or may not be compostable.
Half a dozen plastic lids marked 4 or not at all
2 empty blister packs

I've been doing some baking - flapjacks on Sunday and boiled fruit cake today. They'll replace the shiny foil wrapped Tunnock bars my daughters had in their lunch boxes last week. They are not completely waste free, as the oats, dried fruit and sugar came in plastic wrappers, but it's the best I can do at the moment.

We were almost out of loo roll. My husband was charged with buying a new supply in paper wrapping. He didn't manage, but came home with the next best thing - plastic wrapping that can be recycled instore with other plastic bags.

Day 8

2008-09-15T23:39:00.000+01:00

Unless I have missed something there are only two items in my bin today

plastic teabag sachet
paper/plastic coffee sachet

Individual sachets come in handy on holiday but I guess we could take small quantities of tea and coffee etc in reusable containers.

I've weighed my first week's rubbish and it comes in at 230g. I've never weighed my rubbish before but it certainly looks a lot less than usual.

Apart from sanitary waste, the only waste I haven't included are my daughter's eczema cream containers, because there is nothing we can do about them. I guess there is some waste we are going to have to live with.

One thing I could have lived without was the plastic wrapped ham I bought in Tescos this evening, especially as I was persuaded, by a special offer, to buy two packs for £1.60! I much prefer freshly cut ham from the butcher or the deli, but my daughters like 'plastic' ham. This illustrates the problem faced by every zero waster who lives with someone else. While I am prepared to argue my case I am not prepared to force the issue (or at least not on every occasion). My family is generally very supportive of my challenge but there are limits, and if I'm not going to put them off waste reduction for life then there are going to have to be compromises.

Day 7

2008-09-14T22:48:00.000+01:00

We went to the cinema this afternoon and bought a couple of bars of Divine chocolate to keep us going until dinnertime. The paper outer and foil inner wrappers would have been recyclable but I didn't catch my older daughter in time before she popped them both in a litter bin. Taking litter home with us (where possible and when there are no recycling facilities around) is going to take getting used to.

Today's bin contains:

2 x plastic wrappers from some carrots
a seal from a Tate & Lyle's tin of golden syrup
an empty Sainsbury's tomato puree tube
a plastic bag from Sainsbury's light soft brown sugar
2 x plastic sachets from 2 fairtrade teabags we were given somewhere/sometime and which I was using up
a little plastic tag from a recently purchased item of clothing
a piece of broken plastic clothes peg
an old twisty that's too short to be of any use
a plastic seal from a carton of Tesco's soured cream

Tubes are a problem. I could switch to tins for tomato puree but they don't keep as well, though I suppose I could get round that by freezing the puree in ice cube trays.

Plastic seals around lids are annoying. I know they are designed to prevent tampering. However if that's your game there must surely be easier ways to do so then opening a lid, contaminating the contents and replacing the lid!

Freebies are hard to refuse but are often wasteful of resources. So I'm going to have to learn to politely decline.

I tried wooden clothes pegs but they deteriorated in the rain and left marks on my clothes.

Anyway, today marks the end of my first week. I'm reasonably pleased with my progress. I haven't hit zero waste - even for a day - but I have increased my awareness of what I consume and what I throw away, which is a good start.

Before I sign off for the day I would like to acknowledge the friends who have set me on this zero waste journey. It all started in March of this year when the Observer published its list of the world's 50 most powerful blogs, including (at no 34) Bean Sprouts. I popped in and met Melanie Rimmer who got me thinking about waste. She directed me to Almost Mrs Average and her Rubbish Diet, who in turn pointed me towards Mrs Green and My Zero Waste. I was amazed by their passion for recycling (amongst a host of other interests) and inspired to give it a go myself. So when I discovered, via the Pigeon, that Bristol was to run its own Zero Waste Challenge Week - well there was no excuse.

If you've dropped in and would like to give it a go you couldn't find three better mentors. Click on the links above or on the left sidebar to meet them for yourself.

Day 6

2008-09-13T23:10:00.000+01:00

This morning's local shopping trip was a mixed bag!

Our first stop was the plastic recycling bin at the far corner of the Aldi car park. Why are recycling bins ways so inaccessible, especially to pedestrians? I'm sure if they were more prominent, ie on the high street, they would get better use.

Next stop was the deli (Southville Deli on North Street) where we were able to have our salami and parma ham placed directly into our plastic container. Self-raising flour came in a paper bag but the cheddar cheese was ready cut and wrapped in clingfilm. I'll have to try a market for cheese cut to order and wrapped in paper.

The butcher was busy and he misunderstood my request and put my beef in a plastic bag before placing it in my plastic container. With the queue growing longer behind me I let it go, but managed to get my bacon without a bag. It's not the end of the world as the plastic bag can be washed out and recycled.

I bought a baguette for lunch and croissants for tomorrow's breakfast, all in paper bags, at Parsons Bakery and a naked bar of soap in Health Unlimited.

Yoghurt, soured cream and soft cream cheese from Tescos all came in either types 5 or 6 plastic, which we cannot recycle at present. but will be able to do shortly, so I'm going to find somewhere to store them until then.

This evening we attended a games evening at our local church. There was a bring and share supper and both my contributions - Spanish omelette and carrot muffins - were relatively waste free. I suspected, quite rightly as it turned out, that there would be disposable plates and cutlery, so I took my own reusable ones. It's all just a matter of being prepared, which I guess comes with practice.

Today's bin (including the contents of my younger daughter's waste bin, which may have been there for some time!) contained:

plastic wrapper from French cereal bar with no recycling instructions
plastic wrapper from Tesco's large pittas unhelpfully marked 'recyclable where facilities exist' - but how does one know if one doesn't know what kind of plastic it is?
sachet from Co-op ground coffee - marked composite material which I guess can't be recycled but at least the Co-op listed the individual parts of the packaging which allowed me to recycle the valve (HDPE), the tab (PP) and the label (paper)
another Tescos plastic wrapper, this time for white muffins, and this time with no recycling instructions
sticky plastic wrapper advertising age-resisting day cream (obviously not something I require!)
foil wrapper from Always Freshelle with a recycling code I do not recognise (90?)
plastic wrapper from Vitakraft Honey Kracker sticks
foil wrapper from Wagamama refreshing towel
foil cap from wine bottle
'window' from envelope - I tear these out and pop the rest of the envelope in the paper recycling

The most helpful piece of information I picked up today was from the Co-op coffee sachet and was the address of the waste connect website., which describes itself as 'UK's recycling database ... a comprehensive reference for recycling points throughout the country' and its aims as 'helping households and businesses to manage their waste'. It's a mine of information about all things recycling. The highlights are the ability to search for recycling facilities by type of waste and postcode and a comprehensive list of factsheets giving recycling information about items as diverse as CD, lever arches and Christmas trees. Definitely worth a browse. I've added it as a link.

Having said that, I have already discovered that it does not list my local Aldi car park as a plastic bottle recycling site or my local Sainsbury's for plastic bags. I must contact them to ask them to add these to their list.

Day 5

2008-09-13T00:31:00.000+01:00

Not so much to report on today. A long day at work and no shopping has resulted in a fairly empty bin.

Plastic yoghurt pot and lid
2 plastic spouts from Tetrapak juice cartons
Plastic Maltesers pouch

I had intended to make a batch of yoghurt using a thermos and Melanie Rimmer's recipe, but I left it too late and the tablespoonful of live yoghurt I'd left at the bottom of the pot had gone mouldy and had to be rinsed away down the sink.

I'm not sure whether or not I need to remove the plastic spouts from Tetrapak cartons. I've heard people say both. So, to play safe, I tear them out.

The Maltesers were the dregs of a pack I bought last time my daughter had friends for tea. They are gorgeous bashed up and sprinkled over vanilla ice cream. I used to be able to buy them in cardboard boxes but the last few times I've only been able to find them in pouches.

I went out for a curry with some friends from work. As I never manage to eat all of my meal I usually take the rest home where my younger daughter eats it for lunch the next day. I'd meant to take a plastic container but I left in such a hurry that I forgot to take it with me. Luckily I've been able to bring it home in recyclable containers.

Day 4

2008-09-11T22:52:00.000+01:00

Today I plucked up the courage to ask my friendly local butcher (Bob Wherlocks on North Street - who does the most amazing sausages!) to pack my meat in my own container. Well, as with the olive shop yesterday, I needn't have worried, as he was more than willing to do so. We ended up having a conversation about how he first started recycling. I came away wondering why on earth I had not asked earlier. I have a feeling that this wont be the last time I ask myself the same question. It is, often, just a matter of changing habits.

I then stocked up on brown paper bags for lunchboxes and was persuaded to buy 1,000 for just over £6. Is that .6 p per bag? And at our current rate of consumption they should last about two years! Bargain.

Today's bin contained:

plastic seal from Heinz mayonnaise bottle
Seasoned Pioneers spice packet (a mixture of foil and plastic)
plastic couscous packet
2 Tunnocks wrappers
M&S plastic sweetcorn bag

I shall need to make enquiries about the M&S bag, which says it is disposable. Does this mean it can be placed in a plastic bag recycling bin? There really is a case to be made for standardised clearer labelling.

Day 3

2008-09-10T16:28:00.001+01:00

I've been approached by a journalist from the Evening Post who is hoping to write a few pieces on Bristol's Zero Waste Challenge Week. We spoke on the phone this afternoon and he's sending a photographer round tomorrow evening to take my photo. I'm pleased to be able to help publicise this event and hope that my experiences will encourage others to take up the challenge.

Today was a good day. I popped into our local Real Olive Company shop and was delighted to discover that they would be more than willing for me to bring along my own containers to fill with olives rather than their plastic ones. It appears that I am not the first to have asked if I can do this. There are other Zero Wasters out and about in Bristol.

Next I popped into our local healthy living shop to buy a packet of natracare natural panty liners. The subject of feminine hygiene has troubled me for some time now. There are a variety of zero waste alternatives, including mooncups and disposable sanitary pads but, although I am full of admiration for those who produce and sell them, I have always baulked at the thought of using them. So I was relieved to hear that there is an easier option and that it is available locally.

Today's waste comprised:

Tesco's plastic mince container (left over from yesterday's dinner)
Sainsbury's organic butter wrapper (marked non-recyclable)
Tunnock's Caramel biscuit wrapper
sticker from Tesco's extra large onion
2 Cheddars packets (from the girls' packed lunches)
2 antihistamine blister packs

This list raises two issues. I do 'the right thing' by buying organic butter only to find the wrapper is non-recyclable, whereas another non-organic butter would have had a recyclable greaseproof wrapper. Which do I chose? I had a similar dilemma the other week with fairtrade sugar in a paper packet and non fairtrade sugar in a plastic packet.

The second concerns medicine. I take medicine for hypertension and my younger daughter for eczema. Tablets come in plastic blister packs. Cream comes in plastic tubs and dispensers. Neither of us can do without our medicine, so waste is inevitable.

Day 2

2008-09-09T22:14:00.000+01:00

The best way to avoid producing landfill waste is to avoid buying it.

Today I didn't have time to visit my local shops and had to settle for my local Tesco Express. Supermarkets are Aladdin's caves full of the most tempting treats. I love the variety of the ingredients they sell and the delicious meals you can concoct with them. But there isn't half a lot of plastic, most of it non recyclable.

Tonight's dinner was spaghetti bolognaise. The spaghetti and the mince both came in plastic wrappings. The celery and red pepper came from the fridge but they had both arrived there in plastic bags and the garlic was wrapped in a nylon(?) net. Only the onions and mushrooms escaped. They were part of last Friday's Riverford organic fruit and veg delivery. The tin from the tomatoes will be recycled via our black box, but once the tomato puree tube is finished it will end up in the bin.

On the brighter side, I did whizz up some houmous in the blender, which saved me from picking up my usual ready made equivalent in a plastic tub complete with annoying plastic seal and cardboard sheath. It'll do my elder daughter nicely for her packed lunch tomorrow.

Today's bin reveals the following:

plastic wrapper from Sainsbury's Ardennes pate (no recycling guidelines),
plastic wrappers from Sainsbury's all purpose cloths and Woolworth's stockinette dish cloths,
plastic tub and lid from Tesco's fresh double cream,
plastic lid from Sainsbury's spice jar.

I have made pate in the past and could dig out an old recipe. An easier option would be to buy it from the deli counter in Sainsbury's and see if they would let me take it away in my own container. However this sounds scarier than the butcher.

During Mrs Green's Pledge and Win Week I pledged to substitute reusable cloths for the disposable all purpose cloths I usually use. I'm not sure what the disposable cloths are made of. The plastic wrapper features a type 5 PP logo but I'm not sure whether it refers to the cloths or the wrapper. Neither am I sure what the Woolworth's reusable cloths are made of, but they look as if they may be cotton. However, they too came in a plastic wrapper. I've been getting on with them alright, but they soon look grubby and my daughters complain that they remind them of school dinners where the dinner ladies used them to wipe down the tables.

I am unable to recycle the cream tub at present as it is of type 5 plastic, but I am reliably informed that I will soon be able to do so, which means that I will not have to do without this occasional luxury.

I have a query on lids. While containers often, though not always, feature recycling logos, their lids rarely do. Can I assume they are of the same type of plastic and recycle them together, or do I have to play safe and consign them to the bin?

This is the fate of the spice jar lid. It has no logo, so that while the glass bottle goes to the bottle bank, the lid goes to the landfill. Hey ho! Next time I'll buy a refill pack in a cardboard box and transfer it to one of my collection of glass spice jars.

Day 1

2008-09-08T23:43:00.000+01:00

I accept the challenge.

I place a brown cardboard box on top of our kitchen bin and ask the family to place their rubbish in it so that I can monitor what we throw away each day. The plan is to sort it into categories:

waste for which there is an alternative
waste which might well be recyclable
waste for which there may be no alternative

At the end of today the box contained the following:

foil outer wrapping from Tunnocks caramel biscuits, plastic tray and cover from Sainsbury's cooked ham slices marked 'not yet recyclable', plastic cover and label from Asda sausages marked 'currently not recyclable', inner wrapper from Sainsbury's cornflour marked 'unrecyclable', plastic surround from Ikea loyalty card
peel off backing from (Always?) panty liner, peel off strip from LoveFilm DVD envelope, unidentified peel off backing, plastic lid with no identification, two used paper tissues

The good news is that there is no waste for which there is no alternative. However some of the alternatives are more challenging than others.

Biscuits can be baked at home. They will undoubtedly taste better and do us more good than the average shop bought offerings but will require time and effort. Ham and sausages can be bought from my local butcher who may very well allow me to take them home in my own containers, however I confess to being a bit embarrassed to ask to do this. Cornflour, like so many other staples, is hard to come by in recyclable packaging. I wish there was a local shop where I could help myself from bulk containers. There's at least one in London but that's no use to me here in Bristol. I could do without the Ikea loyalty card, and all the others when I come to think about it. By the way, I do appreciate manufacturers providing recycling instructions on their packaging.

I need to investigate these peel off backing papers. Despite their shiny surfaces they may well be able to be included in our paper collection. Plastic without any identification is a pain. Our local plastic recycling facility takes 1 and 2 and will shortly accept 5 and 6. I'm afraid of trying to recycle unidentified plastic in case it contaminates the whole load. Similarly I have also been reluctant to put used tissues in the compost for fear of spreading germs, but again there may well be no reason why they cannot be included with our kitchen waste.

Given the lack of notice I think I have made a good start. Tomorrow is another day!

By Way of Intoduction

2008-09-08T22:36:00.000+01:00

Having accepted Bristol's Zero Waste Week Challenge I've decided to separate the countdown and the challenge week itself from my regular blog. My hope is that will serve as a record of my progress, as well as a forum for waste related issues.

I'm a 49 year old woman. I'm married with two teenage daughters. I work part-time as a school secretary. We live in a 3 bedroom terraced house. We do not own a car. We walk or use public transport. We are fortunate enough to have access to fairly comprehensive recycling facilities. The council collects paper, glass, tins, aluminium foil, batteries, old clothes and glasses etc from our black box and kitchen waste from our brown bin. There is a type 1& 2 plastic bottle bank in our local Aldi car park and a tetrapak bank in our local Asda car park. We also have a compost bin and a wormery in our back garden and another compost bin on our allotment.

I am not exactly new to recycling but it is only recently that I have become passionate about it. My motivation is the welfare of my fellow human beings across the planet and its preservation for future generations. I am inspired by celtic christianity, ecowarriors, outspoken writers and fellow bloggers. I try not to be discouraged by those who pooh pooh my efforts. I am compelled to do my bit, however small and insignificant.