Weekly weigh in nineteen
Add article to favourites
This morning we have just three items in the landfill. It’s been a good week. It’s amazing how much they weigh though.
None of the items this week are ‘regulars’ and one is a bit of a dustbin demon.
We have a plastic Jif container (it’s still called Jif in my part of the world, regardless of what the manufacturer tries to tell me).
We hardly ever use products like this – I prefer to make my own from vinegar, lemons and bicarbonate of soda but we do have an ’emergency’ bottle of bleach and Jif in the house. Some habits take a looooong time to break and next week you’ll learn about our new resident at Chez Green and why a bottle of Jif comes in handy at the moment.
Although the old plastic packaging is a code number 2, we cannot recycle it here. The only plastic bottles we can recycle are drinks, washing up liquid and milk bottles. Don’t ask me why, I’ve never really had a good answer on this one. Something was mumbled to me about ‘constitution of plastic’ by a rep at the council the other week.
The second item was a present from the tooth fairy. It was a fruit smoothie pouch. It’s made from a kind of plastic with a foil backing and has a thick plastic lid. The tooth fairies didn’t have time to do their usual baking because this fourth offering from Little Miss Green’s mouth was totally unexpected so they clearly had to do a quick scout around of their secret stores to see what gift they could find.
Personally I think Little Miss Green was a bit short of cash so heaved and pulled until this sparkly white majestic tooth came out. I would have put another month on it to come out naturally……..
The third item is a real landfill rogue. Mr Green put a new plug socket in our lounge and was left with a load of useless bits of wire – copper inside plastic. We were thinking how many of these offcuts we must produce as a nation in the course of a year. I can imagine an electrician would have metres of the stuff, all in tiny pieces which are good for nothing.
So, although low in numbers, the weight is pretty hefty with 80 gms. I have a target now of less than 100gms per week since our zero waste challenge so we’re still within target range.
Readers who viewed this page, also viewed:
Don’t throw it away… That's rubbish, just throw it away ... How many times have you heard that or said…
Easy Related Posts
Tags: weigh in
What a great result. If I were you I’d strip that copper wire out and sell it on eBay. It’s worth quite a bit you know, well perhaps not in that quantity, but enough that people are stealing it from all over the place. Mr A works in an old manor house in a little village and the other week the electricity went out in the whole vicinity because some thief stole the copper wires. No computers, no phones, no heating. At least it was preparing them for Peak Oil LOL ;-D
P.S. My Rubbish book arrived in the post today. It looks fab. Thank you so much and big thanks too to the sponsors at EcoOutlet. xxx
If you send your bottles to me, I can recycle them here – 20 miles away!! I do wish they would get a county wide policy sorted!
LOL – I’ve just opened the door to a delivery of a 5litre bottle of white vinegar and a bulk bag of bicarbonate of soda. Hee hee. I couldn’t help smiling when I opened the parcel, as it reminded me of you, Mrs G. What the heck are you and that Tracey doing to me? I’m normally a Windolene girl through and through! So look out for my adventures in vinegar. I may be tapping on your door for advice. 😀
I recieved my rubbish book too today in a ‘green’ jiffy, one I can’t wait to use again. many thanks to Ecooutlet. 🙂 And to the Family Green.
and my oh brought me Tracey Smiths book as a late bd pressie a signed copy none the less, so lots of reading to do. while out on his mission for me he bumped into a friend who said a bout a zero waste meeting happening here soon. (W. Dorset) he also went to check out Traceys book.
Mrs A – I’m glad your book arrived safely. Hmmm, as for copper wire I know people will buy anything on eBay, but a couple of ounces of copper wire? Surely not LOL! Ooooo, have fun with your new cleaning supplies; I might know just the book for you 😉
Poppy, that is unbelievable. No wonder people are so confused with recycling. You be careful what you wish for; I might just stick it in the post to you LOL!
Louise, great to see you again. It’s good to hear your book arrived as well; thanks for telling us. And what a brilliant belated birthday present from your OH. Do keep us posted on the zero waste meeting if it takes place; we’d love to hear about it 🙂
Happy reading!
We can recycle all plastic bottles too. I cant get an answer out of my council (emails will not get through to them)as to whether i can put: greetings card, wrapping paper shreaded paper in my kerbside collection!!!!!
(Would a certain card making friend use the wire in her designs?)
I can’t believe that you have restrictions on what you can and can’t recycle in your area. When I used to live in an apartment, we had no recycling services. We had to make the trek down to the recycling center and sort all of our goods in order to do the deed. What a pain! I wonder how many more people would recycle if it was as easy as taking out the trash.
Where have all the rag and bone men gone… with ebay etc would it be worth it for someone to collect all these bits of copper and other misc items?
Have just found your site, I really enjoyed reading about Mrs Averages rubbish diet earlier in the year.
I do think about all the rubbish issues, Mrs A’s visit to a landfill is often in my mind when I do put something in the bin. I need to make some fundamental changes to my life… my daughter is addicted to Ella’s, so that’s got to stop, and my cleaner loves her ‘products’, I’m quite scared of her, so that’s going to be a challenge. But if you can do it so can I… I think!
We seem to have some Polish fellas going round on a flat bed truck collecting scrap metal. I wondered what on earth they were shouting and I’m still none the wiser, but I’m told that’s what they’re doing.
I bet they don’t give balloons out though, that was the reason we used to pester mum to give stuff 😉
Hi Sally, it’s good that you can recycle all plastics in your area. Over here we can’t recycle shredded paper and I don’t think they like wrapping paper, but you can usually find somewhere that will recycle cards. I think WHSmiths took them back last year.
Hello Greenofficeblog, welcome to the site. I agree with you that I’m sure more people would recycle if it were easier to do. People want convenience and recent WRAP statistics show that a large percentage of people would recycle more with kerbside collections. I don’t mind taking my stuff to the recycling centre because it is on the way to a weekly errand anyway, but it’s counterproductive if you need to make a special journey.
Welcome Dextrington. Mrs A’s Rubbish Diet certainly makes for inspirational reading and shows us all what we can achieve with a little foresight, homework and planning. We rarely buy smoothies, I make my own now. Not as convenient as buying the Ellas, but there is no packaging to dispose of and they are MUCH cheaper! Plus, of course, they are nutritionally better because they are served fresh. Despite good claims, I doubt a pack of Ellas has much vitamin and mineral content.
Would your cleaner switch to Ecover, which might be refillable in your area? I think the thing to keep in mind is that you are paying her to provide you with a service. So, you don’t need to be scared of her, you are **employing** her, which means you can choose which products she uses. Keep us up to date on your progress; I’d love to hear about the changes you make.
How interesting about the Polish ‘rag and bone’ men, Poppy. Balloons! I didn’t realise you were paid in balloons for your childhood work LOL!