Continuing on from week one!
Day 8 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge - Meat
We went to the butcher in Glenmore Park and brought our containers to be filled. I tried this once before and got some crazy looks and very flustered butchers so I only brought 2 containers to make it easy. This guy I asked looked at them and was like oh yeah what do you want? I went into my spiel about zero waste and he didn’t care and knew exactly what to do! So I asked and he said another lady comes in every week with her containers!! I was so relieved! I’m going back to him every time maybe it’s just becoming more popular. He put the container on the scale, clicked the tare function and used clean hands to put the meat in. Then was able to tally it up at the end!
Day 9 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge - veggies and plastic bags
Not all veggies need to be in bags. They have outsides that can be composted or they can be washed. But if you have a few things to keep together you can get reusable produce bags. Howard’s storage sells them and Harris Farm who have banned all plastic bags sells them. We got some veggies using these and no one batted an eyelid. We bring our own shopping bags we find the padded handles ones to be the best which also fits much more. They also have cold storage bags! Sometimes we find we have to help pack at the checkout because the people don’t fill them up enough or use the cold storage for cold products. For any of them that we have, Coles recycles them and some get made into other plastic products. I have also today emailed the minister for the environment nsw and asked when we will be banning plastic bags!
Day 10 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Junk Mail
Penrith get a lot of catalogs. Everything is online so I’m not sure why they need paper. They go from the post to the bin for us with maybe a small glance. It’s a waste of paper and recycling power. So I put up a no junk mail sign! Refuse is the first part of zero waste!
Day 11 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge - Gifts
Yesterday Elise received a gift that was “wrapped” in a small back pack for her to use and keep toys in. Today I gave a gift and it was “wrapped” in a black tshirt which makes the wrapping wearable too. Last weekend I went to a birthday party and “wrapped” the present in a new towel. It doesn’t have to be something like that. It could be newspaper after you finish reading it, it could be wrapping paper or a gift bag from a previous gift given to you. I frequently keep gift bags that are given to me and then dip into my stash when giving gifts. Why throw them away when they are so reusable!
Day 12 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Cheese and cold meats
Cheese and cold meats. I went to the Deli at Coles and put the containers on the counter. She looked confused and I explained my cause. She seemed to be pretty excited by it and said she knew a few other people doing my challenge she put the stuff in the containers. Unfortunately she used a bag to pick the stuff up but hopefully reused it! It was a great way to get cheese too as most cheese I know of comes in large packaging.
Day 13 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge - Compost
We have 3 compost outlets technically. We have a small bin in the kitchen, a large bin outside which the small bin heads to and a green council bin. If you don’t have your own bin, the green council bin can take food scraps, egg shells, meat scraps, dairy and yard clippings. Our meat scraps and dairy will go there because you are not supposed to do that in a home compost as it will take too long to break down. We also compost in the green council bin Elise’s nappy liners and bamboo wipes, and the cats kitty litter and dogs poops. We have a small home compost for the dog poop which we can put in the yard but have not installed yet. Let’s see if I can get to it before the pets post!
Day 14 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Junk Food
Generally junk food has a whole bunch of waste around it! It’s best to get the full experience and go to a restaurant and sit in as there will be lots less waste. It’s also better to bring your lunch or some food wherever you go. We have been avoiding junk food and bringing food when we used to just pop off to Maccas. So far no junk food these past 2 weeks and I feel quite a bit healthier!
