Lent Plastic Challenge: Day 5

Day 5:  There was a shared lunch after Quaker Meeting this morning.  I made one of my favourites, a Spanish tortilla.  It survived my spilling it onto the work surface as I attempted to turn it over, and was safely transported in a reusable container.

Top Tip

• Think ahead when you're attending a shared meal.  A home cooked pizza, tart, salad or dip avoids the need to buy a plastic-wrapped alternative from the supermarket.  If time's short (as it often is), a loaf of bread or some fruit from a local shop will always be welcomed.

There being not much else to report I thought I'd post a link to contiki's survey for you to check your plastic impact.  I'm pleased to say I scored Low but, as I'm learning this Lent, there's always room for improvement.  Have a go yourself here.

Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 3 & 4

Chickpea Flour & Almond Biscuits

Day 3:  I had a few Quaker friends round for a meeting in the evening and baked a banana cake.  Then I remembered one of them is coeliac.   Normally I'd have bought a gluten free alternative from our local deli but was sure this would involve a plastic wrapper, so I searched the internet for biscuits made with chickpea flour and found this one.  Trying out new recipes on other people is always risky but I needn't have worried.  I flavoured them with ground cardamom and rose water and sprinkled them with poppy seeds.  They were delicious, reminiscent of the 'ladoos' I ate as a child in India.

Day 4:  We remembered to carry empty containers when we went shopping this morning to avoid plastic bags in the butcher's and fishmonger's.  I was a bit wary of asking to use them but they were both happy to oblige.

Top tips:

• Bake your own biscuits and cake.  They'll probably cost less and taste better.
• Buy fish and meat from local independent traders and carry your own containers.

Lent Plastic Challenge: Days 1 & 2

If you want to shop plastic free you need to be prepared

I wasn't intending to give up anything for Lent this year.  But then I picked up a tweet from City to Sea Bristol encouraging people to give up single use plastic - bags, wrappers, cups etc - the kind that cannot be reused and go straight into the bin.  Being a sucker for challenges, and having just returned from Cornwall, where I'd been shocked by the volume of plastic waste washed up by the storm, I signed up on the spot.

Day 1 - Ash Wednesday:  We had friends round for dinner and I'd decided on an aubergine and potato curry, dal and rice.  I found most of the vegetables in one of our local greengrocers but had to go on to Lidl for unwrapped aubergine, and abandon the fresh coriander garnish.  We'd had to cancel our doorstep delivery while we were away so I needed to pick up a couple of pints of milk.  I tried a number of shops but couldn't find any variety that didn't come packaged in plastic, even if it was just the lid on a tetrapak.  So I had to give in and buy a 2 pint bottle.

Day 2:  The easiest way to stay plastic free is to buy nothing.  At this point I should point out that the challenge only applies to stuff bought in Lent.  Much of the food on my shelves, the clothes in my wardrobe, the toiletries in my bathroom etc came packaged in plastic.  I've challenged myself to seek out alternatives, if they are available and, if not, to make my own ... or consider doing without.
 
Looking ahead, we're shortly going to run out of toilet tissue.  An initial recce has turned up only one possible option - an Andrex 2-roll-pack wrapped in paper.  It's in Poundland alongside 4/6-roll-packs for the same price.  All the others, including one by EnviroSoft, are packaged in plastic film.  I have, however, been given details of two shops where I should be able to lay my hands on a plastic free loo rolls.

Top Tips

• Buy your fruit and vegetables from a local greengrocer where you're more likely to be able to buy single unpackaged items.
• Invest in reuseable shopping bags.  I use an Onya Orignal and and an Onya Weigh for my fruit and vegetables.
• Have your milk delivered.  We use milk&more who are undoubtedly more expensive than any of our local supermarkets, but it keeps the milkman in a job and eliminates plastic.  A little while ago milk&more did threaten to switch from glass but happily there's been no sign of this yet.
• Grow your own herbs.  I've had mixed results with this.  Rosemary, sage, bay, thyme and parsley have all thrived, but I've failed dismally with two of my favourites, basil and coriander.  Asian stores are the best bet for unwrapped bunches, generally at much lower prices than supermarkets.
• Ask for advice and share your experiences.  It was a tweet that prompted the recommendations on where to find loo rolls.  

The Rubbish Diet Challenge - Before I Start

The guide tells me to weigh our rubbish (non-recyclable).  This will give me an idea of how much we throw away and help me set a target.

Our landfill bin is collected fortnightly.  The next collection is on Wednesday, so I'm going to wait until then before I weigh the bag.

I'm not overly worried about the amount of rubbish we send to landfill as we've cut it right back to no more than half a swing-bin-liner-full every fortnight.  My major concern is the amount of packaging we throw away.  Most of it's recyclable but I believe that, with a bit of effort, we could just not buy most of it.

The next thing I have to do is to identify the top 5 bin-fillers.  These are:

1. Crisp packets
2. Non recyclable plastic wrappers (the kind that won't stretch when pulled)
3. The plastic film that covers recyclable plastic containers (ie the ones used by supermarkets to package mince etc)
4. Black plastic containers (which our recycling service won't accept)
5. The plastic netting used to package onions, oranges etc

These are the items I'm going to be working on eliminating over the next few weeks.

Wish me luck!

The Rubbish Diet - Spring 2013

Here we go again!

This isn't the first Rubbish Diet Challenge I've undertaken.  In many ways it's a continual challenge to keep on top of the mountains of rubbish that threaten to bury us under their weight.

But every now and then it's useful to be reminded of the facts, resume good practices that we've been forgetting and learn new ways of reducing, reusing and recycling.

So a big thank you to Mrs Almost Average for delivering that all important kick up the proverbial!

Top Tip on Freezing Tortillas

We are very fond of tortillas - generally wrapped round a spicy chilli with a handful of salad and a dollop of creme fraiche.  Eaten thus, a packet of eight does our family of 3/4 for one meal.  However, when called into service as a bit of light relief from the boring sandwich, we only require a couple at a time.

The trouble is that, even when the packet is resealed with a clip, the remaining tortillas tend to dry out.  Freezing them does preserve their shelf life but I find it difficult to prise them apart when they are rock solid.

Yesterday I tried a different technique. I rolled each tortilla into a tight tube and replaced them in their packet.  This makes them much easier to remove individually.

Ta dah!

National Zero Waste Week 2012

The theme of this year's week is One More Thing and mine is to make more effective use of my freezer.

Dinner this evening was lamb tagine leftover from yesterday.  There's still a small portion remaining which I shall freeze, clearly labelled, of course!

If you've chosen to do One More thing then I hope you've got off to a good start too.