Following on from Week 3
Day 22 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge - Pets
With pet food we either make it ourselves or buy it in recyclable packaging like cans. Not all of the packaging is recyclable though which makes it difficult. The source needs to sell cat and dog kibble in bulk! I’ve not found a place that does it. The cats and dog have bowls that are not plastic and we compost both the dog and cat poop/litter in the green bin using compost bags. That’s a change I just made the last few weeks not realising this could be done! Toys I just realised also it’s better to buy organic or bamboo or cotton toys. He shreds most of them and they end up in land fill otherwise. You can buy bulk treats which I am hoping to buy on the weekend from the Richmond farmers market from Koly’s treats! They deliver to us usually in plastic packaging. I’m thinking to chat to her though to try and find another alternative. She’s super lovely and helpful! Also you can get books on making craft things with cat and dog hair. I’ve not gotten that far yet but with a husky maybe I should.
Day 23 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Picking up waste
On my dog walk this morning I took a bag and picked up some trash. About 80% of it was recycling. Some people have started an exercise class where they run and pick up trash. The only thing is make sure you take gloves. I picked up a maccas cup and on the other side of it was a nice big red back spider. The other thing that I found interesting is the picture below shows “biodegradable”. I watched “War on waste” on ABC iView earlier and one of the environmentalist people on there said that biodegradable plastic is even worse because animals that would not be effected by a big plastic bag, would be effected by a billion tiny plastic pieces. I could not pick up the biodegradable bag so had to leave its billion pieces there. I got a pretty big bag back. I barely scratched the surface.
Day 24 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Cold drinks
Obviously the most zero waste is tap water. But what if you want to get a little creative. You have an option of getting loose leaf tea and making a cold tea. Also you have the option to use a soda stream! This used canisters but I read that you can exchange the empty ones at some Coles for new ones. If you make your own cordial it’s even better than using the cordial bottles also. There is a pineapple cordial recipe that’s from “a year on the farm” by sally wise. I’ve made it before and it uses the pineapple core and skin so as to not waste it! There is also an option to make your own juice. We have a few juicers and that can be super yummy also.
Day 25 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Grow your own
We are currently growing capsicums, basil, oranges and lemons. It is super easy and fun to grow your own stuff. If you grow herbs then you don’t have to buy them at the store and get the plastic that comes with them! I have a million little pots that seedlings have come in which I one day plan to go back to Bunnings and offer them back. I found it super easy though to grow beans from seed as they have a bigger seed. In another month or 2 it will be bean season so I will be planning to grow long beans and snow peas! It can be super easy and quick to grow things like radishes if you are into that and super useful to grow lettuces! My stuff currently are in pots but we have plans for a full garden when we have a little more time. Check out http://www.underthechokotree.com for more info on growing stuff!
Day 26 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Repair
These pants were the most favourite pair of pants Dez Bas has. She’s looked everywhere for another pair but jay jays doesn’t sell them anymore like this. They had crazy rips all down the thighs. So! I took to the repair. I watched a bunch of videos on YouTube about how to repair rips in material. As usual YouTube was great. I even had some thread sort of the right colour. I ran out and had to use some black but when she’s wearing them you can barely notice the repairs. We throw things away so easily these days for the newer stuff. Sometimes it’s not that hard to repair it. There is a cafe in Sydney called http://bower.org.au/repaircafe/ it helps people repair things rather than throw them to land fill. Such a great idea!
Day 27 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Fashion
Apparently clothes are one of the top causes of waste going to landfill. Second hand stores are so great because you can buy clothes but also donate clothes. For things past their use by material can be used for so many different things! Most people know the whole rip clothes up to be cleaning rags but the most interesting I found is you can get a bean bag, cushion cover, dog bed etc and jam it full of your old clothes to use as bedding/wadding. I’m in the middle of making an ottoman that will have some old clothes added to it. Otherwise there are so many tutorials on the net about ways that people have used old clothes. See a few links below that I have found super interesting.
Old jeans into a picnic blanket - http://housefulofhandmade.com/easy-water-resistant-upcycle…/
Old tshirt into mop heads - http://gogingham.com/2012/09/how-to-make-mop-cover/
Tshirt quilt - https://www.nationalquilterscircle.com/…/quick-easy-t-shir…/
Day 28 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Breakfast
Today’s zero waste breakfast was muesli from a bulk place, with toast that was bought in a bread bag, with peanut butter out of a glass jar with an apple and water. The milk was out of a plastic carton but it’s recyclable at least. Sometimes I pair it with a homemade muffin or a loose leaf tea. We have also gone to a bakery when we needed a fast breakfast with a keep cup and a bag for them to put pastries and cheese and bacon rolls in. Everyone has been fine to put the bread in our bag. Another option is to have breakfast in at coffee club for example which we do regularly on weekends.
Day 29 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Lunch
Today’s lunch was an orange juice in a glass bottle fully recyclable; a sandwich made from bread out of a bread bag, spinach bought loose in a produce bag, chicken and cheese bought in containers at the deli counter, and mayo from a glass jar; carrot sticks in a container reused from something with homemade garlic dip.
Day 30 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Dinner
I had pasta from a bulk place, with meat from a butcher put into a container, with homemade sauce tomato sauce made with homemade passata, and basil from the garden! With a water!
Next - the how and why of the Zero Waste Journey
