weekly weigh in twenty five
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Well we’re just teetering on the edge of my personal goal of less than 100 grams of rubbish per week by the feel of things.
In the landfill box this week we have several items; many of which are highly unnecessary if I’m honest:
Plastic wrapping from a chicken – boo hiss (the plastic tray is at least being used to put house plants on 😉 )
wrapping from cheese bought last week
bag from some bread rolls given to us free at Lidls
toothpaste tube
plastic wrap from some meat found in the freezer
3 plastic bags that I didn’t wash out before they went all horribly dirty, stinky and mouldy 🙁
French stick wrapping
2 pieces of thin plastic wrap from some deli meat that were slipped into our own container – sulk
plastic lid from a honey pot
plastic lid from gravy granules
piece of foil with chicken fat on it
To be honest, the only ones I can justify and should be in there are the toothpaste tube and the plastic lid from the gravy granules. The rest of the things were down to bad purchasing choices, pure laziness or disorganisation. Still, we live and learn and we’re well below our goal of 100gms.
The total weight this week is 86 gms! It was 111, but I realised Mr Green had popped a plastic vegetable bouillon pot in there and when I flipped it over I saw it was a PET1 – yay!
‘Tis a good week then, even though we maxed out at Waitrose – that’s always a dangerous place to go; especially when you’re trying to do a ‘no unnecessary spending’ month as well! They had sorts of goodies to delight and tempt, but we were very good and I don’t think we came home with anything out of the ordinary on the packaging front, apart from the French stick wrapping. (In the Co-Op you can buy French stick in paper bags – go figure…….)
A round of applause for Little Miss Green who took this weeks photo 🙂
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Still going strong then! Well done.
I keep getting the plastic sheets for deli bits as well, as the counter staff don’t mind putting things into my tubs but feel they need the plastic sheets to pick them up. I don’t know what the answer is to that one.
Progress was made in Boston from my wife – who while cleaning out the pantry in the basement (god bless her) she found some cans of fruit and crackers lonnnnng past the experation date, and asked (and did) compost the fruit, recycle the cans, gave the crackers to the birds and recycled the cracker box. I’m very fortune that I’ve found a local artist who will take my bags and food packages that can’t go into the grocery store recycle bins and makes them into bags and wallets – so all of the chip bags and food bags that are inside drygood boxes now have a place to be made into other goods. Here is the artist’s webite: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5784374 and his blog: http://lousupcycles.blogspot.com/
Thank you Sarah 🙂
Hi Kris; in our butchers it is ok – he tips the meat off the plastic sheets (but I expect they end up in his bin). I mean, not only are they wearing gloves on these deli counters, but they are using sheets of plastic too. I don’t know what the answer is either. I wish they would put our tub onto the scales, reset to zero and just put the stuff straight in. I’m sure they have done that in Budgens recently, I didn’t end up with any plastic in there………..
The sites are great, Deb from Boston – thank you for sharing them here. And good to hear the food found new homes too 🙂
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Can you believe this is Weigh in no 5?! Where has the time gone? Things look as though they’re still going great though Mrs G – no turning back and all that! On the subject of unnecessary plastic crap, can anyone please tell me why we get those thin sheets of plastic as dividers for smoked salmon, when you can use a knife or fork to lift and separate so to speak. It’s the kind of thing that makes you go AAAARGH! xx
I say it serves you right for being so posh and eating smoked salmon, Mrs A. 😀
Haven’t you got a nice fresh fish market over there to indulge yourself with?
Lidls smoked salmon doesn’t have that and it’s on cardboard too 😉
CONGRATULATIONS!!! on the low weigh-in!!! 🙂
You galz & guyz are so brave!! 🙂 I still don’t dare to buy deli with a reusable plastic container.. I’m afraid of the looks on the faces of people who work there.. Even our neighbour works there.. I live in a very small town right now… Oh gosh… How to do this?
But I keep being frustrated at all the packagings.. hmm..
Must dig into archives to see if there’s a lesson on ‘how to’ start this lol.. What size containers to bring, how to nonchalantely look at the salespersons & act as if it’s normal & they’re the crazy ones..?
What about the plastic bags they seal & destroy with sellotape? It’s probably an order from the management to prevent stealing fruit..?!!
Would it suffice if I brought a more eco-cord?
How could it be done more sustainably (without a food market in sight?)
Anyone else faced with this dilemma?
Layla, it did take a lot of planning, psyching up and courage to do the reusable container thing, but now it is second nature, bought on especially by the fact that virtually everyone has been so great about it. Most assistants are intrigued by what we do and stop to ask us questions. What is more exciting is that I can see that they are working things out in their own minds about how they might incorporate more recycling in their own lives.
Regarding fruit and veg, we buy loose from a farm shop which prevents any packaging at all 🙂