Mrs Green’s six stories on Sunday
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Grow veg on your ledge and get a taste of self sufficiency
It’s time to share some link love!
On a Sunday, I share some stories from around the world with a focus in reducing, reusing, recycling, composting – in fact, anything that helps us move towards a zero waste future. And today, instead of six stories, we have five, because one of them is a short video you might like!
So sit back, relax and have a browse with me
Asda to trial refillable packaging
Yes, you heard right. Asda are going to trial refillable fabric conditioner from September.
The aim is to reduce plastic waste, whilst giving consumers the message they don’t need to spend more money to be sustainable.
Asda hopes that refilling packaging from their own label fabric conditioner, will save up to 90% packaging. Each refillable pouch can be reused around 10 times.
Read the rest of the story “Asda set to trial refillable packaging“.
Goodbye polystyrene and bubblewrap
Smurfit Kappa is the company behind ‘Skuffguard’ – a packaging liner that removes the need for extra protective packaging to transport goods.
Currently being trialled with an automotive manufacturer; Skuffguard reduces the amount of packaging required, such as polystyrene and bubblewrap
According to the company, if it takes off, Skuffguard will reduce packaging costs, simplify waste streams and cut down the carbon footprints for both manufacturers and retailers.
Read all about it with “Smurfit Kappa’s ‘SKuffguard’ to Revolutionise Protective Packaging”
Remember your reusable bags
Back in January, we posted our YouTube video, sharing how we remember our reusable shopping bags and containers.
Over on Renest, they’ve covered this issue too with their “Top 10: Ways to Remember Your Reusable Tote“.
Why not have a read and make your own suggestions.
Grow veg on your ledge
I love this story about growing your own food. We all know that growing our own helps reduce food and packaging waste, as well as reducing our carbon footprint.
According to the National Trust, there are over 600 acres of growing space available on window sills in the UK!
In their campaign to dispel the myth that you cannot grow your own food in a flat, the National Trust share their list of top five vegetables to grow in a window box along with tips to get the most from your urban garden.
It’s well worth a read and very inspiring. I love this article as it follows my belief that you don’t need to have a garden to grow your own food!
Children make recycling easy and fun!
Finally, sit back and watch this great video.
It is a recycling video made by the pupils of The Sweyne Park School in Rayleigh Essex, For the British Recycled Products and Iplas Video Making Competition.
With the tagline “Recycling isn’t a chore. It’s quick, easy and good for your planet.” who are we to disagree?
Our congratulations to all the pupils and staff involved with making this motivational and fun film!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXiE3u3Y8k0&e
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Mrs Green’s six stories on Sunday A round up of reducing, reusing, recycling and composting stories to forge a zero waste future.
Mrs Green’s six stories on Sunday A round up of reuse, reduce and recycle news from around the world
Hi Mrs Green,
A good range of items on the post. It just shows how things are changing in the many aspects of Zero Waste.
ASDA’s refillable system sounds promising as a breakthrough product for Zero Waste. We can follow progress there and put our own Zero perspective forward if waste is still a factor. Aim high is the best approach to all such situations. The Skuffguard packaging is another welcome arrival and we can all promote this waste plastic avoidance design.
Window boxes are a fab way to grow your own, especially for those living in flats, and the like. Busy lifestyles means that a minimalist approach is necessary and this activity fits in nicely.
I am currently under the weather healthwise, with a couple of infections, not swine flu! As usual, I do not suffer illness gladly but fight it tooth and nail.
At Lidl, today, they might have the worst packaging but Zero Waste shopping, as you well know, can be done anywhere, with the necessary determination. There was a Basil plant plant on sale for £1.39. Fully developed, it revealed the extent of my own efforts. The most heartening thing is the stalk/main branch width where the 2 best developed are well on the way to full thickness. There are growing leaves aplenty in most plants but maximum growth, if not full growth, is still many weeks away. The benefit of growing multiple plants is that there are plenty of fresh leaves for cooking and there are also plenty in the freezer for other eventualities. I had no intention of buying the plant on sale since ‘growing your own’ is a worthy activity, worth mastering.
Replanting cut stalks will be tried later for my benefit and that of all the single pot holders as this might be the best aspect of the lot. I have definitely still much to learn about Sweet Basil growing. Seed collection and flower removal are other items to investigate later.
@John Costigane: Hi John, I am really looking forward to seeing how the Asda refills work out and of course we hope it is a huge success which will pave the way to more container use.
we’ve done really well with windowboxes ourselves; they are perfect for Mr Green’s salads and are easy to do successional planting in.
Sorry to hear you are not well. I hope you will be feeling better soon; it sounds like you have the fighting spirit and are not the most patient of patients!
To my knowledge, Basil is an annual, so replanting stalks might not work. I’ve never tried it though; so go for it and let us know what you discover!
Take care 🙂
Hi Mrs Green,
Thanks for the sympathy and you are absolutely right about my attitude to ill-heath. I have improved a fair bit now with a good nights sleep last night, the first in 10 nights. Medicines did not help initially but the latest is better.
As for the Sweet Basil, the idea of stalk cutting and replanting is to have 2 growing parts instead of 1. One plant has nearly 4 levels of branches. The top 2 will be separated as soon as practicable from 1 side to test the idea. If it works reasonably quickly, the details will be passed on here and to my ‘pot squad’ to add to leaf production.
Tomato plants will be a good addition next year. Growing basil and tomato plants close together is said to be beneficial to both.
Glad to hear you are improving John. Tomatoes and basil make a great combination, both as companion plants and in the kitchen!