Carrying on from Week 1 and Week 2
Day 15 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge - Snacks
The Coles at Glenmore Park have some bulk snacks that we got. We used 1 of the plastic bags that they supplied us and used that to weigh them out the stuff in the containers. The Source bulk foods also has a bunch of snacks that are yummy which would require containers. I’ve also been baking 1-2 baked goods per week so far. Snacks is all about peeping stuff beforehand. Even cutting up some veggies or cooking some and putting them in the fridge for later. You can also make your own yoghurt! We use an Easiyo yoghurt maker. It uses some waste in the packets but I’ve heard you can use them without the packets.
Day 16 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge - Cleaning
I got this 10 pack of washable cleaning cloths. It came with a bunch of different types and their tags said what they were for. I used an empty spray bottle, filled it with vinegar and grabbed the baking soda. It was in a cardboard box but you can get it loose from the Source. I then cleaned the whole bathroom! The bathroom cloths were pretty great at removing soap scum even without the baking soda, but the bath got a baking soda hit. The mirror used the glass cloth and it worked great! I used the dusting cloth and it also worked quite well. Now the bathroom is clean and the cloths are in the wash! Also the Source sells a generic spray that you can fill up which I have used before and that was great previously.
Day 17 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Tea and Coffee
At work if I go downstairs to the coffee shop for a hot chocolate, I bring a mug. A usual mug and walk it back. So you don’t really need anything special, but! I also have been using a plastic keep cup and now I just ordered a glass keep cup for me, Dez and a mini plastic one for Elise. The glass ones are so pretty! If I have a tea at work, they use tea bags and single sachets of sugar. The single sachets actually cost them 3 times as much as loose sugar but I’ve told them about that and nothing’s changed. So! I made a little pack of loose tea and sugar to use. The tea was from the source so its package free too. The other option is to sit for the coffee and use their mugs.
Day 18 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Bulk Food
We just took a trip to the Source in Rhodes! We brought our own jars and they weighed them first. Then we wandered around collecting things with their numbers written down in our phones. It has expended a little I think since we were there. They had more teas and more lentils and we got fresh peanut butter to try. We also got some pasta to try (and cous cous plus Popping corn! We got some snacks like jaffas, chocolate honeycomb, coconut ice and peanut brittle. I bought some baking powder because we use a lot of it in the baking for this challenge. I got some muesli which looks very similar to the one my local Coles sold in their bulk food section except it was half the price. They also sell waste free products like bamboo toothbrushes, produce bags, reusable straws and bottles. I looked for shampoo soap but they only sold the liquid stuff, which is also good. They sold dog soap and hand washing soap though. We got a loyalty discount because we had shopped there before of $16! There are lots of other bulk food places eg, Blue Mountains Food Coop in Katoomba, Green Hills Organics in Richmond, Naked Foods in Newtown, and Coles. I plan to visit them all.
Day 19 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Go bag
My go bag includes: a hanky, napkin, reusable straw, keep cup, water bottle, fork spoon knife and chopsticks, produce bag and folded up shopping/tote bag. Most of the stuff I got laying around the house or here and there when I went shopping. I didn’t go to some fancy eco place to get it all or anything. Except for the keep cup of course. Other things that would go in there is a container for leftovers and a bento lunchbox. (For more detail on Zero Waste Go Bags - see here)
Day 20 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Rechargeable batteries
You can recycle batteries at designated places but if you put them straight into the bin they can leak chemicals everywhere. We got some rechargeable ones to use for tv remotes and Xbox controllers. They are quite expensive but will save on money and waste in the long run!
Day 21 Zero Waste 30 day Challenge – Tooth Care
I bought a recycled plastic toothbrush from the Newtown macro market which was very good but I feel like is still plastic so not the best from an environment point of view. I bought this box of bamboo toothbrushes on biome.com.au which is better for the environment! You can make your own toothpaste but I like the idea of fluoride. I know it’s bad in large doses but I’m not using it in large doses and I’m not swallowing it. Unfortunately you can’t get any toothpaste in glass or tin with fluoride so I’m stuck using normal toothpaste for now. Someone suggested to use mouth wash that has it and then make your own toothpaste which is an option. Other thing is flossing. There is an air glosser that I want to get at some stage which is better than using floss. You can get natural silk floss that would be the next best thing but so far I have only found it online.