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.

Hurrah for my Green Box

I came home yesterday evening to find this waiting for me on our doorstep.  It's our new green recycling box.  I can't tell you how eagerly I've anticipated its arrival and how delighted I was to see it.  After seeing me take this photo of it my neighbour must have had his worst fears about my sanity confirmed.

Bristol City Council actively promotes recycling and we already have an excellent weekly kerbside collection for glass, paper, tins, aluminium foil etc.  However, until today, we have been unable to recycle plastic or tetra paks other than by taking them to one of only a few recycling stations, most of which tend to be located at the far end of supermarket car parks! 

Now I know I should be cutting down on plastic consumption and I am trying to.  Honest!  But there are still a number of essentials(?) that come in no greener packaging.  Chief among them are dairy products - milk, yoghurt, cream.  We have milk delivered in glass bottles but it's no longer delivered every day and we sometimes require extra at short notice.

So now, while I shall continue to try and 'reduce' first, I am thankful that I'm now able to' recycle' more easily.   

Water Water Everywhere - or not?

Yesterday the government introduced a hosepipe ban for counties in the south east of England.  Although it doesn't affect us, it reminded me of my continuing commitment to reduce the amount of water I use.

We have a hosepipe which we rarely use, mainly because our tiny backyard doesn't require it but also because the connector doesn't fit properly so that whenever we try to use it water squirts out all over us and the bathroom walls.  A couple of years ago we installed a water butt which saves us from having to fill buckets from the bath tap and provides us with 'free' water.

Apart from that I turn off the tap when I brush my teeth, I shower, I only flush when necessary, I wait until I've a full load before switching on the machine, I've installed a watersaving device in the cistern, I only fill the kettle with the amount of water I need etc.  It's difficult to see how much more I can do but I'm certainly more aware of my usage than I was even a week ago, which is no bad thing.

Photograph courtesy of the BBC

Freezer Roulette - Day Five

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.