Weekly weigh in 31

Filed in Blog by on December 31, 2008 5 Comments
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weigh in 31I wasn’t going to post up until tomorrow, but how could we let you wait a moment longer for the total non-recyclable waste created by our Christmas week?

I’ll be writing more about it from tomorrow and sharing some of the things we learned, but for this week we have:

1 plastic sausages and bacon tray
clingfilm wrapping from the above
flat plastic plates from the back of a toy
1 pack silica gel from a toy
2 films from meat trays
5 small cellophane / plastic bags from toys
seal from foil pouch of cat biscuits
1 cellophane pack wrapping from some sweets
plastic moulding from a selection pack

And guess what? Our Christmas week total is just 78 gms – how proud are we?

We’re looking forward to getting back on track with the blog tomorrow. So have yourselves a great New Year; spend a moment looking over the past few months and perhaps make yourself a small resolution about how you can reduce your landfill waste next year.

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About the Author ()

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (5)

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  1. Sam says:

    Wow! And that’s your first zero wast Christmas? I think that deserves a pat on the back! πŸ™‚

    Trying hard to be inspired rather than daunted, but I put my bin out last night. πŸ™ Not anywhere within laughing distance of 78 grams. *sigh*

    Other people benefited though – I did handmade presents, and hand decorated brown paper wrapping.

    Happy New Year to you all.

  2. Oh, good job, especially for a Christmas week!

    Guess what? My local recycling just greatly expanded the stuff they accept…now I can recycle waxed paper cartons, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and tons of other stuff. Of course, I will still be trying to avoid that stuff as much as possible, but it’s lovely that I can now recycle it when I need to buy it.

  3. Hi Mrs Green,

    78g for the family is a fine effort. My own throwback scenario was a 50g whopper for my Christmas Turkey “Butterfly”, Sausage stuffing and chipolatas, all in a blue plastic bag. I forgot about the associated mess when it comes to cleaning. Containers are a better option.

  4. Poppy says:

    That is so, so amazing Mrs G!

    I comfort myself in the knowledge, that what we put out was far less than any of my neighbours with children, but it’s still not good enough and we will continue to soldier on to reduce it further. It is important to have friends and relatives on board and sadly this does not so far appear to be the case with most of them, though we are working on it. Several copies of Tracey’s book now have new homes with family and friends and hopefully this will inspire them to give more thought to how they tackle the waste monsters of Easter, Birthdays and Christmas πŸ™‚

  5. Mrs Green says:

    Hi Sam; thank you for your comment. You’ve made some great starts with your Christmas presents and paper. What gifts did you make? I love hearing about hand made gifts.

    Hi kristen; what a lovely new years surprise for you. Like you, we’re conscious of trying to cut down the need for recycling, but it is a relief to know it can be dealt with if we buy things.

    Hi John, there’s always one rogue that catches us out. It sounds like you did well though and I hope you had a good time with your family πŸ™‚

    Hi poppy, you are right, it’s important to have friends and family on board. Luckily Grandma Green came up trumps – LMG’s presents arrived in a reusable felt sack and ours were packed in an Onya Bag πŸ˜€ Let’s hope Tracey’s book gets the message to some of the people in your life!

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