Basic home recycling

Filed in Videos by on July 29, 2008 51 Comments
FavoriteLoadingAdd article to favourites

See how 90% of one day’s average kitchen waste can be recycled or composted.

Welcome to the first of our ‘Basic recycling series’ on MyZeroWaste.com. Mrs. Green takes you on a tour of her kitchen waste after one day and shows you how to turn rubbish into a recycling resource.

Recycling is not always easy or obvious to a  beginner. We all get so used to ‘throwing our rubbish away’, so it takes some thought to change old habits and see a new way to dispose of our waste.

In our video here we show you an actual day’s kitchen waste from our home and demonstrate that by recycling we can simply change ‘rubbish into resources’.

Facilities for recycling vary across the country and some of us have more or less waste recycling opportunities available. It really does not matter, as what is important is that you do something no matter how small or insignificant to start the habit of recycling.

Begin with recycling what is quick easy and for you and something that your local council authority  will collect from your kerbside collections. Get used to the idea of thinking of waste as a future Resource, not Rubbish!

In our next video we will show you how we have set up a very simple and cheap recycling area in our home, that keeps everything neat compact and easy to deal with.

Some helpful contacts to start you off

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IYwf3UegCk

Home recycling can be as simple as calling a service like this junk removal Toronto company to haul away a big pile of rubbish, or as creative as turning compost into a source of electricity. It’s simple, it’s good for the environment and it’s fun!

About the Author ()

Comments (51)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. Excellent Video Mrs G. I love it ;-D

  2. Kris says:

    That was brilliant – very clear and instructive.

    Just a couple of queries though – I noted that the tetrapak was one of the ones with a plastic pouring gizmo, I’ve been stripping those off and letting them go to landfill. Have you any information that they are okay to leave on the carton to go to the recycling plant?

    The other query is regarding the milk bottle lid which I’ve frequently heard can’t go to be recycled. However, to the contrary, the bin (which is one of those smallish green carton shaped ones with flappy rubber entry points) at my local Tesco instructs you to compress your bottles and put the lid back on for recycling so I’ve adopted this method. I’d hate to imagine I might be contaminating a load elsewhere so might look into this further.

  3. Mr Green says:

    Thanks Kris for that insightful observation. Isn’t that interesting, though… we use the cap off the tetrapaks to keep it compressed once it’s crushed and recycle the whole lot. In fact the opposite to what you do!

    Anyone else have some variations on this, or other things we have detailed? Let’s collect them here and then we can sort out some real question and answers to our local authority and get some definitive guidelines.

  4. Mrs Green says:

    That’s great Kris – thank you for taking time to comment. This is exactly what I was hoping would happen. I want to see all comments from all people completely disagreeing with what we do, due to information they have been given. This will ‘prove’ that the whole recycling thing needs basic guidelines that are the SAME from district to district and county to county.

    There is so much confusion that people feel defeated before they start……….

    In answer to your question about tetrapaks; this is taken from the FAQs page on the recycle tetrapak site:

    “Do I have to remove the plastic cap from the carton before recycling?No. The caps can be left on. They will be removed in the recycling process.”

    Well, it you’re following the guidelines printed on the Tesco recycling bin regarding recycling milk bottles, then they must be right! I’ll call my council again to check……..

  5. Excellent vid! Thanks.

  6. Ailbhe Leamy says:

    Hi! I was pointed here by Flybaby Dizzy. Out of interest, who *decides* whether one can leave the lids on tetrapacks? Because our council were very strict about removing them, and washing the packs thoroughly. I don’t mind, because six months ago the council didn’t recycle them at all, and I used to send them off via the True Food Co-op.

    Also, I almost never watch online videos – my computer hates me – so forgive me if this is already answered, but do you have a place to recycle plastics? Our council will only take bottle-shaped plastics. Our main plastic waste is margarine tubs for organic non-dairy non-soya marg (which is hard to come by, let me tell you). There are only so many we can use in sculpture and as Boxes To Keep Random Stuff In. The council absolutely will not recycle these for us. What next?

    A.

  7. Gareth Rae says:

    I love the video. Just what we need. Clear practical advice.

    You have invited feedback so here goes.

    Corks – I usually recycle these in our council’s brown bin (kitchen waste) but I sometimes cut them into pieces and add them to our compost bin. My council’s (Bristol) website gives advice on how to reuse them, including sticking them on the tips of garden canes, but not on how to recycle them. I have looked further afield and discovered, from the Cambridge council site, that natural cork is commonly held together with adhesive and therefore cannot be added to green or brown bins, which means that I am sadly going to have to start sending them to the landfill. Strangely, although we are encouraged to use natural over plastic corks, the latter may be taken to Oddbins for recycling. You win some, you lose some!

    Yoghurt pot – I remove the metallic seal and add it to our kitchen foil recycling jar, on the grounds that it looks like the same sort of material. Am I wrong?

    Toilet tissue tubes – I tear them up and add them our compost bin, expecially when it looks on the wet side.

    I was interested to note that despite the fact that the oil bottle has a code 1 you are unable to recycle it along with your plastic milk bottle. I have consulted my council website which says that we can recycle any PETE (1) and HDPE (2) bottles, but not any other items (ie containers) even though they carry the same code. It’s all a bit confusing and doesn’t exactly encourage the average person to have a go. I shall have to write to my council for clarification.

    Please continue to feed us with more infomation on how to recycle. Every little counts.

  8. Poppy says:

    Nice to hear you Rae!!

    There are a few things that we do differently 20 odd miles away ( insert raised eyebrow smilie! )and many the same.

    Cans and tins, we stamp on them to squash them flat.

    Loo roll tubes go to the compost or cardboard recycling depending on how I’m feeling at the time.

    Our plastics – we can recycle any bottle that held a liquid and leave the lids on.

    I’m surprised you ditched the honey lid. When I’ve taken anything that contains metal to the recycling centre, they tell me to put it in the metal. Looking at what’s in there, I don’t think a little bit of plastic on the inside of the lid will make a huge difference. All our metal jar and bottle lids go in with the metal.

    Interesting to see about the polythene and the carrier bags. I’ve probably been a bit too cheeky with this one, so I’ll be more careful in the future.

    Food waste goes in the dog or in the compost bin. Very rarely does any food waste go in landfill.

    Keep up the good work 🙂

  9. Good to hear the different ways people deal with waste. My worry about putting plastic/metal in the recycling is that this plastic will be burned off and produce noxious fumes. Plastic caps (PP) will probably end up in landfill for now. As indicated, advice is variable whereas people can best contribute where advice is clear and standard everywhere. Food waste should not go in the bin. Whether councils collect it, householders feed pets/birds etc or use Bokashi or related equipment, ways to avoid bin insertion are essential to a Zero Waste future.

  10. Mrs Green says:

    Thank you Sarah – we had quite a giggle doing it. We have some great out takes to put up when I can twist Mr Green’s arm 😀

    Hi Ailbhe – it’s lovely to see a friend of Diz’s here. I have no idea who makes the decisions about caps, labels and everything else. Here, we can take plastic milk bottles and washing up bottles to our local council recycling centre. We don’t have any kerbside collection. We’re also fortunate enough to have a local recycling centre, behind a pub where we can take plastic milk bottles and plastic drinks bottles.
    If you are local, I run a Suma Food co-op, so I could look in their for soya and dairy free margarine if you like 🙂

    Hey Gareth Rae – another new face here; lovely to see you too and thanks for the feedback. Great tip about oddbins; I’ll look into that and I never knew about the adhesive; so thank you for sharing that too.
    It’s good to know that you can recycle all plastic with the right code; that is what I was assuming too, but alas not in our area! It really is a minefield, isn’t it?!

    Hi Poppy; amazing the difference 20 miles can make, eh?! I ditched the lid on the advice of our council! I asked if they could go in with cans and tins and was told no, because of the plastic inner (sigh)

    Hi John, I’m all for stopping foodwaste at source, as you know and I’m hoping that with increasing food prices, more and more people will be driven to do the same. I guess you’ve hit the nail on the head with the plastic / metal caps thing; the separation process can take its toll on the environment.

  11. Loo roll tubes – use em to grow carrots….
    growing carrots

    It really works, I have carrots growing all over the place this year where I’ve failed every year until now.

  12. Mr Green says:

    >Chris and your question on milk Plastic bottle tops I telephoned Tescos, Glos today and they said that plastic tops should be removed before recycling. This seems to be contrary to your information.

    In addition, my impression from some researching is that most councils request removal of the plastic tops, as they are made of a different recycleble plastic. However, all is not lost… It appears that there are some charities online that will accept plastic milk tops and deal with them correctly as opposed to landfill them. The Reduce Reuse Recycle WEBSITE details these charities. The company responsible for recycling Plastic tops is GHS They have a minimum quantity of 500 Kg for ehich they will pay £25, however they have told us that they are happy to accept small amounts of milk bottle tops on behalf of charities, which they will keep on file and accrue your weights over time. They will inform groups every 2 months how their total is mounting up and send them a newsletter. The plastic is sent to a company in Lancashire that recycle this material into plastic toys and garden furniture.

    Not sure how much this helps as I can’t find a local collection point in Gloucestershire. However, GHS is based in Portsmouth, so we could store amounts of these and post them off every now and then.

  13. Hi Mr Green,

    Thanks for the GHS info, I can now happily collect my PP lids, though a 500KG bag might be a strain on the back. This is the way to deal with home collections of recyclables not lifted by councils. I am sure this will spread to local collections throughout the country. What about used cooking oil, aerosols, aluminium combined waste, hard plastic tools and eggshell? I am sure there are other examples I have forgotten.

    John.

  14. Mr Green says:

    Hi John, I have emailed GHS today and enquired about whether their services will accept small public sized deliveries by post or carrier. It appeasr that they can’t collect from gloscestershire as they are mainly serving the south of England. However, the good news is that they deal with a large variety of plastics such in this list from their site:

    PP (Polypropolyne)
    PS/HIP (Polystyrene)
    PVC
    UPVC
    PC (Polycarbonate)
    Materials processed are also LDPE (Polythene, wrap, sheet, bags)

    That coveres a lot of food and packaging products! I’ll update here as I learn more from their reply. My guess is that they will only accept minimum weight intakes, but I hope this will be less than 10kg which is much more acceptable.

  15. Hi again Mr Green,

    Great minds think alike. I emailed to find out from Linda whether all PP lids are accepted (coffee jar, aerosol cap, sauce bottle cap etc). When I get reply I will post here asap.

    John.

  16. Mr Green says:

    Thanks John I’ve heard nothing back myself, so far … fingers crossed.

  17. Rekella says:

    Hi came across your site today and have enjoyed reading all about you progress. The video is very well done and the comments very informative indeed. One thing I would like to add is I would never throw out a good container like your yogurt pot, especially since in can be sealed with its lid. it would definately be reused some where in and around the home or garden. Keep up the great work I will keep checking back here to learn more.

  18. Hi again Mr Green,

    Linda contacted me saying as long as the caps were properly segregated they could be collected. I did further checks. These are the type I found:
    HDPE 2 Milk caps
    PE 4 Cocoa, beef granules caps
    PP 5 Sauce Bottle (plastic) caps
    The rest unmarked, a big number of items.
    I emailed Linda again to ask her to name unrequired items among the above. Hopefully, this will clarify the situation but it is a chaotic mess for identification and recycling. Each material has certain properties which can be tested, including chemical testing, but labelling should be 100%. Hope this helps,

    John.

  19. Mrs Green says:

    Sarah, I love your idea about growing carrots. I’ll have to find someone to donate our toilet rolls inners too though as we have clay soil 🙁 (believe me, I’ve tried to grow carrots for 3 years now, including adding course sand to the soil, but nothing will help those little fellas to push down into the soil).

    Hi Rekella,
    Great to see you and thank you for stopping by with your thoughts. I agree with you about using yogurt pots as a resource, however, I have a LARGE yogurt appetite and, although I use as many as I can, I still produce waste……I could look at my local scrap store and see if they are of any use there, but the bottom line is that these will still, ultimately end up in the landfill.

    Or will they, Mr Green?? It looks like my lovely man may just have found the perfect solution for me 😉

    It looks like we are finally finding a way to reduce some more of that plastic ending up in landfill – glad to see you chasing things up too, John.

  20. Hi Mrs Green,

    I just viewed the video on The Rubbish Diet blog. As a Zero Waste veteran, I mistakenly overlooked it here. It is a great effort and though I would not agree with absolutely everything in it, it must help newcomers get off to a knowledgeable start. I look forward, with other interested parties, to your future broadcasts.

    Regarding the plastic reuse, before it can work properly, we need to understand the totality of the situation, and what is practicable.

    John.

  21. Mrs Green,
    Carrots.
    I have a clay soil too, so clay that if I dig down 2 spade depths I can pull out orange clay good enough to make pots with, and we have! I have a couple of veg beds (OK, 4 but they’re not huge) and I’ve been adding home made compost to one of them for 3 tears, another for 2 and the last ones for less than a year. I have carrots in the three most recent beds.
    When you grow carrots in loo roll tubes the entire tube, with compost and baby carrots, goes in the ground – adding decent compost to the space where the carrot grows as well as improving the soil. So the carrot(s) – I leave 2 to a tube – grow in the compost not in your soil, although they’re growing in the veg bed. Does that make sense?

    I grow a stump rooted variety because of my clay soil – Chantenay red cored, and they may be small but they’re yummy!

    Have a go, there’s still time for a crop this year…..
    Sarah

  22. Hi Again Mrs Green,

    One issue from the video that is worth further discussion is Polythene (in bags). I am collecting magazine wraps for RR Flexo ltd, Norwich. Commodity bags, eg salt, tend to be made from a thicker material. Is this suitable for recycling as well? If this type is recyclable that would allow packaged fruit/veg under ZeroWastePackaging. This is another situation where clarity of information is required for best effect.

    John.

  23. Hi again,

    Further on the polythene. I will send everything which I think is that material and request feedback to check for 100% purity. That way useless material can be eliminated.

    John.

  24. Mrs Green says:

    Hi John,
    Glad you got to view the video – one has to put all inhibitions aside and just get on with it 😀 I didn’t expect people to agree with me because this in itself highlights how much confusion and conflicting information there is. But as you say, it’s a guidelines for beginners, which was our aim.

    As far as I know that thicker material is ok for recycling. The guidelines on PolyPrint, (which is the company I was referring to – how weird there are two companies in Norwich!) is to stretch the material – if it stretches without ripping, it’s polythene which is ok for recycling.

    Polyprint like people to send their details so that they can return anything non recyclable – this helps the consumer to learn and be empowered with information. This is what you are doing anyway, so do please post us your results.

    Sarah; that’s great – thank you for the advise. I’ll try it!

  25. Hi again,

    The video was well performed. Next time get someone to give you an intro, maybe Mr Green, like they do on the tele. Maybe Mrs Average could co-host but you both would have to keep a straight face throughout. That would be real professionalism!

    Chris Jeavans is trying a zero plastic month. I offered advice but warned that absolute zero was too much. What is your opinion on her attempt.

    John.

  26. Mrs Green says:

    I rather doubt Mrs A and I could keep a straight face between us somehow! We spent most of our time laughing about things when I had the pleasure of her company here last month.

    Regarding Chris Jeavans, I feel zero plastic is a little optimistic; certainly from our efforts here at Chez Green we’re 8 weeks into our challenge and, as you know we’re still generating half a carrier bag a week of non recyclable plastics.

    As I wrote on our last weekly weigh in, on paper it’s easy – I make yogurt, don’t buy crisps, never buy a convenience meal; but you know, life tends to get in the way of our best plans sometimes. It’s when you’re tired, in a bad mood and hungry that these temptations take over 😉

    But maybe she’ll be a complete success and show us all how to do it. That would be great.

  27. Mr Green says:

    Actually, I think she might do it for a month. In fact anyone ‘could’ demonstrate lack of waste for a short period of time. The realchallenge is being able to sustain reduced or zero waste over an extended and indefinite period of time. In our household we are taking a measured and analytical route in our challenge for zero waste. The point is to learn ‘how’ to do it peoperly while integrating meaningful changes in our habits and lifestyle. If anyone looks at zero waste as a knee-jerk reaction or publicity stunt, I rather suspect it will come as a huge culture shock that may be short lived. When we make our zero waste challenge in September, it will be the not only the culmination of what we have learned so far, but the initiation of something that we can sustain. If it’s just a 7 day hit, then it is nothing better than a publicity stunt.

  28. Hi Mr & Mrs Green,

    You are so right, tenacity is required to keep the interest, especially with a young family. Chris’s idea may have been a knee-jerk, whereas your thoughful, with Mrs Average, approach is better. If Chris does join-in she will get a clearer picture of the Zero Waste lifestyle.
    On a personal note, I am so desperate that I am taking in a relative’s rubbish. This is a habit I’ll need to nip in the bud. It actually was a plastic double-wrapped (my favourite) baguette thingy which I offered to put in the Bokashi, 2 years out-of-date.
    Also, within reach of 1lb in 26 weeks, I can increase the total weeks to 208 (4 years). No binbag landfill for that period. If I can do 5 years that would be the maximum.

    John.

  29. Mrs Green says:

    Couldn’t the baguette have fed your feathered friends, John? 😀

    Your achievement is amazing. I’d love to know what you eat in a week…. just 1lb of rubbish in 26 weeks leaves me speechless; I thought we were doing well!

  30. Hi Mrs Green,

    The baguette was 2 years at least past the date and I do not want dead birds. Also I feed only with fat/meat scraps and seeds.
    Weekly food:
    Meat: 1lb Belfast bacon, 2lb Lean Mince, 2 pieces chicken breast, 2 sirloin steaks (8 days worth depending on family visitors)
    Fish: 4 pieces Herring (in season), 2 smoked haddock
    Fruit/Veg : 5lb Loose Ayrshire potatoes (new, in season), 3 large Jacket potatoes, 8 apples, 3 lemons, 1 lime, 5 scotch loose tomatoes, 1 cabbage, 1 cauliflower, 1lb carrots, 2 onions, 1 pepper.
    Tins: 3 Fruit, 1 Rice, 1 Evaported milk, 3 tomatoes, 1 kidney beans, 2 peas and 1 plastic bottle juice (pineapple or orange)
    Bread: 2 plain (paper wrapped) loaves, Brown granary loaf (unpackaged), various cakes (paper bag only)
    Baking: Flour, plain and self-raising, dried fruit, desiccated coconut, lemons, pot of jam, 1kg margarine, 1lb butter, 1kg sugar.
    Waste: margarine tub (reuse in freezer), 2 commodity bags.

    Of course, I am a single male (x3 waste comparison for your family). If you choose ZeroWastePackaging there is minimal waste, after food is permanently removed from bin waste.

    John.

  31. Hi again,

    Baking without eggs, very dry mix. 6 eggs usually free range.
    Milk also 3 X 4pt plastic jugs.
    Dried Basil another good with tomato sauces..
    8 bananas for lunchtimes.

    I hope that’s the lot,

    John.

  32. Mrs Green says:

    😀 that’d comprehensive – thank you. It brings me back to my original dilemma as well about the vegetarian thing. I maintain a ‘hunterer gatherer’ diet is much easier to achieve zero waste style than mine which revolves around a lot of grains and pulses.

    Interesting stuff and lots for me to think about. Although, after 20 years I doubt I would have the taste for meat again. But never say never 😉

  33. Hi Mrs Green,

    My diet is simpler as all food types are locally available. Vegetarian choices are not represented sufficiently, as you inferred, and that complicates the issue. It would be difficult to eat meat after a long abstinence and possibly against principles not to mention digestion. Zero Waste is important but personal food choices should be paramount. Packaging should adapt to the new sustainable trend.
    My effort is extreme, no landfill for 4 years, but it shows what can be done. Everyone should contribute in a suitable way, given their circumstances.
    Chris may post tomorrow after a weekend of leisure, hopefully. There has been plenty of reaction and we should contribute to the debate in a positive way. You must have a burning question/comment yourself?

    John.

  34. Hi Mrs Green,

    I read your post on Chris’s latest blog entries. That is an excellent way to introduce her to fellow Zero Waste enthusiasts. There are posts in support of plastic, not all these views are even relevant to the debate. It is heartening to see others join Chris in her month’s effort. Hopefully, people will look up MyZeroWaste for more information too.

    John.

  35. Mrs Green says:

    I’ve been posting on Chris’s blog each day, but there are so many comments, they tend to get lost! Still, she seems to be doing really well for her fourth or so day with the challenge. It is a shame there is a lot of negativity on her blog, but there we are…………

    I was shocked most of all to see that I could not have my user name of Mrs Green – it had already been taken. Oh the horror of it all 😀

  36. Hi Mrs Green,

    Sorry to hear about your namesake though they could be making a positive contribution. I have read your various informative posts. The latest there is a Milk item with about 20 replies. Both of your Zero waste blogs are listed as contacts and there could be a massive list of posts there if Chris covers everything. My Johnhcrf is unique and I use it everywhere though not exclusively.

    John.

  37. Mrs Green says:

    Hi John,
    I was very excited to see us on the blogroll over on Chris’s blog along with Mrs A. We’ve been getting some visitors from that link which is wonderful.

    Chris is doing very well and I was pleased to see that today, her net of thinking is being cast wider – one begins to notice the knock on effects of zero waste choices and then many deeper changes take place too, this keeps changes growing and ensures habits that no longer need thinking about take form.

    Gosh, what an awful sentence, but I guess you know what I mean.
    It’s an early night with a dvd rental for me 😀

  38. Mrs Jackson says:

    Hi and thank you for a helpful video.
    My problem was what to do with the bags the bread comes in – and think that is now covered. But also meat. I asked in morrisons if they would let me put it in a plastic tub which I could wash and reuse but they said no it was not hygienic. Therefore, is it ok to recycle the plastic around it or what else can I do? I don’t think the rest of my family would be happy to go meat free for a week.

  39. Mrs Green says:

    Hi mrs Jackson; welcome to the site and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. What a shame about Morrisons. Do you have a local butcher you could use instead or is it practical for you to try another supermarket who may be more supportive? We have some plastic meat trays currently being used under houseplants to catch the water. Others are re-used for freezing leftovers. I wonder if a playgroup might like them for crafts?

  40. Mrs Jackson says:

    Hi Mrs Green
    I am currently making my way slowly through your currently 57 pages I think to see what you’ve learnt on your way. So far I’m finding I am a plastic queen and seems I can’t go long without plastic being there! Even my teabags are wrapped in it. We have a local recylning place (formerly the tip) but they only do plastic bottles. I tend to use tescos online to save fuel and collect green points and not have to use bags so it’s trying to balance one bit of environment saving for another I guess. I do go to a group in the town once a fortnight where there is a butchers so may try there. I’m wondering if any local farmers would deliver without the packaging too. Is it hygienic to reuse the trays etc that the raw meat has been in – I can’t see Mr.J liking that idea. We already use the flora tubs for freezing food – I wouldn’t say so much leftovers because I cook in large batches, we eat what we want and freeze the rest in the tubs for my husband for work or if we all fancy something different. Am thinking of making craft things with my own children with our empty yoghurt pots and things too. There is a place that shows you what you can make without your “rubbish” but am afraid I can’t remember the name because a nice lady came to our toddler group to show us. Thanks for taking the time to reply – am researching whether to get a bokashi bucket or a wormery currently.

  41. Carolyn says:

    Your site is a great resource and I was impressed with the information on the video and indeed your family’s achievements. I am shocked and guilty though that oil bottles and milk carton lids are not acceptable at the recycling centres. I have never noticed any warning about that and have regularly been adding this stuff to the bins provided. (no more though. I just hope this has not caused the whole lot to be unprocessable.

  42. Poppy says:

    Not all areas are the same Carolyn. I only live 20 or so miles from Mrs G and we are told any bottle that held a liquid and the lids. So oil bottles, shampoo, bleach etc, are all okay. It depends on the where the councils are sending stuff to and what the expected end product is going to be.

    We desperatly need a national policy!

  43. Mrs Green says:

    Hi Mrs J – well that’s dedication. I have no idea how many pages we have on the site so far! It’s all about taking one step at a time and doing what you can. As you say; it’s a balancing act between one eco act and another; there doesn’t seem to be one way. Plastic is everywhere and we still use it because, without being totally self sufficient I can’t see a way around it.

    It’s always worth asking local shops and farms though because it helps to get people thinking about these issues. Did you decide on a bokashi or wormery in the end?

    Hi Carolyn, welcome to the site. Poppy has already pointed out that there is a lot of confusion because authorities have different policies. So do ask your own council what they will and won’t take! And please don’t feel guilty; we’ve all made mistakes and will continue to do so no doubt….

  44. Mrs Jackson says:

    Hi Mrs Green
    Have fell behind a bit at the moment. Am getting so many questions for you but don’t want to ask until I know you haven’t already answered them lol.
    I did my tesco online shopping this week and had “loose” fruit and vegetables which cost me more but were not in packaging…but you guessed it when they’d arrived they had put them in plastic bags. I returned them to their trays saying I didn’t want them – least he apologised. Shall have to look into a veggie box delivery. I e-mailled the local butcher but have so far had no response.

    Wormeries do sound hard work and more like I should accomodate the worms rather than they accomodate me = so we didn’t fancy that. Have been reading reviews on bokashis and there appears to be some issue over encouraging rats. Currently our council allows you to purchase a brown bin for garden waste and am wondering if it would be possible that they also took food in those to compost?

  45. Mrs Green says:

    Hi Mrs J,
    Honestly, ask away because it’s always good to refresh my own memory and it helps other people who might have the same question but have not yet found the answer. I really must get around to an FAQ page.

    I have fallen for the same thing with supermarket home delivery and unfortunately, they are often tied so tightly that you can’t even open the bags properly for re-use. Box schemes are great if you can find a suitable one for your needs.

    Regarding food waste, each council collection is different. In our bins for garden waste, we are not allowed to put food. It is (or at least will be in the future once the scheme begins) collected separately.
    A call to your local council should sort that one.
    have you spoken to anyone at wiggly wigglers? They are very helpful. http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/

  46. Veronica says:

    Hi
    Just seen the video and really loved it! And read some of the plastic bottle and cap comments. The easy way of dealing with this headache is not to buy milk from supermarkets. We are lucky enough in Bristol to have a local milk supplier (Dairy Crest) who delivers completely re usable glass bottles full of organic milk with completely recyclable aluminium tops! It of course costs more but also takes away a lot of the weighty shopping that drives people to drive to supermarkets in the first place! Go to http://www.milkandmore.co.uk to find out if they will deliver to your area. They also deliver organic fruit and veg, yoghurt and other groceries. All on quiet clean electric milk floats….

  47. Mrs Jackson says:

    @Veronica: Oh thanks I shall look to see if they will come to me.

  48. Mrs Green says:

    Hello Veronica- welcome to the site. Doorstep deliveries of milk are great for those who access to a local milkman. I know several of our readers use this facility. Personally, we get through less than 1pt of milk a week, so it’s not really an issue for us. I think it’s a sound eco friendly move to have a milkman and helps keep local employment figures up, so would definitely use it if we had a local one for things like yogurt.

  49. maisie says:

    @Veronica: Hi Veronica, I have the same type of delivery here in Grimsby.

    Silly thing is my milkman leaves me the leaflets for the “milk and more” offers etc but when I go onto the website they don’t cover my area.Mrs J if they don’t cover your area try http://www.milkdeliveries.co.uk/doorstep

    I have the organic milk, orange and apple juice, cream and butter and then add other bits in as and when needed.

    Admittedly the cream carton isn’t recyclable in our kerbside collection but I can take it to out HWRC and they will take it (type 5).The only bit that has to go in the landfill is the plastic seal from the cream.

    I also have an organic veg box but that is from a farm which is approx 40 miles away but does a delivery round in our village on a Wed.(this was the closest scheme I could find 3 years ago and the produce is always very good).

  50. Mrs Jackson says:

    @maisie: Thanks hun. Unfortunately they don’t deliver here either.

  51. Mrs Green says:

    Ooo, this is such a tease, isn’t it!? All that lovely organic stuff at great prices and I can’t get it delivered to the door….
    Never mind, I’ll keep checking and see if we get included at some point.

Leave a Reply to John CostiganeCancel reply