weekly weigh in’s. Year 1, weeks 17-19

Filed in Blog by on October 10, 2009 9 Comments
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Mr Green's piles are quite big this week

Mr Green's piles are quite big this week

I’m a bit behind with the weigh ins again. Fortunately there isn’t anything too scarey to report.

We’ve done another household project, which is to install a tankless water heater – this resulted in a bit of miscellaneous plastic, but nothing serious.

Here is the results for the past three weeks:

  • 4 dried fruit bag
  • plastic wrap from broccoli (not polythene)
  • tea bag wrapper
  • 2 fruit punnets (i honestly cannot think of any more useful or creative resources for them and just want them OUT!)
  • plastic blades from my blender – unmarked plastic and not used in the past 10 years because I knead and make pastry by hand
  • 2 large crisps packet
  • 2 plastic oat wrappers (freebies from Suma for being such a great person)
  • miscellaneous plastic bits from recent household project
  • 1 holey rubber glove
  • 2 rice cakes pack
  • plastic curry tray
  • cellophane wrap from sponge scourers
  • small crisps bag
  • polystyrene tray – not sure where that came from
  • 4 cereal bar wrappers
  • net bag from lemons
  • plastic bag from curry (Quelle horreur!)
  • plastic lining from DVD pack
  • cheese wrapping
  • plastic coffee pot lid
  • lid from essential oils jar

All in all it weighs 242 gms which is not too bad for three weeks waste. It still brings us in at less than 100gms per week which is our target weight and brings us ever closer to achieving our goal for 2009 which is to only have our dustbin emptied once!

How did you get on this week?

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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 (9)

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  1. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    Keeping within the 100g/week target is a fine family effort and the aim for 1 bin emptying per year is a massive reduction compared to the average. My own 2nd quarter waste total (all-plastic) is 2oz (50g), well within target. The single approach is easier, though your family effort is more relevant. Finding alternatives can be a guide to others and that is my main focus.

    The early arrival of Christmas items in supermarkets is a reminder of the challenge the festive season brings. Most items are the same as last year, with some plastic packaging component, which indicates an unchanged approach from suppliers/retailers. Zero Waste purchases will be difficult again but I can improve on last year by changing one source, and on a permanent basis.

  2. janet says:

    ” Mr Greens piles are quite big this week”, poor Mr Green, you can get ointment for your piles, just my sence of humour.

  3. Just commenting on your caption! LOL! Mr. Green is very brave to allow you to get away with that (or he missed it!)

  4. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    I looked around the supermarket at the Christmas Selection boxes and found that Nestle have continued their plastic-free packaging which was such a success at Easter. There were other packs and tins of sweets which looked promising but Selection boxes are a longtime standard. Hopefully there will be more developments for Nestle and other brands. Cadbury may follow up their success to match Nestle.

  5. Mrs Green says:

    @John Costigane: Thanks John, we’re very happy with the way things are going. And you have done brilliantly with your own target. Christmas is a time when the zero waste ideals can go out of the window. Although we are going to try and keep things very low key and home made. We are celebrating Yule instead of Christmas, so that should help. Good to hear the updates on Nestle 🙂

    @janet: @ThinkingWoman: 😀 I like to throw in the odd t to see if people actually read what I write about LOL!

  6. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    Thanks for the comments they are much appreciated. I have focussed on Christmas but respect your Yule preference. Festive season may be the better option since this covers the various celebrations though of course sale items do have ‘Christmas’ in the logo as part of the brand name.

    Fantastic news on the Recycling front today with the introduction of the Blue Bin commingled system and a separate glass bottle only recycling box. Glass is a 4 weekly collection and will keep the glass clear of MRFs, Most plastic is now collected, save plastic bags, wrapping and cellophane. Tetrapaks, fruit juice and milk, are also collected.

    This is a huge surprise and allows me to buy stuff avoided for the trend eg margarine tubs, plastic bottles and lids. It will be a wrench to start using these items again. I think the Blue bin system will become standard. The landfill bin will be emptied bi-weekly which will cause many problems for my neighbours who overfill their bins now. Fun times ahead!

  7. I received yesterday notification that I can now put margarine tubs and yogurt pots into my co-mingled bin also.

    I did phone and aske about food trays etc which are the same type of plastic but was told not as yet; this to me doesn’t quite follow as surely if coloured (PP) can be added then surely clear (PP) could also be added.

    I will wait and see for further developments.

  8. Mrs Green says:

    Gosh, I’m amazed how things keep changing in certain areas around the country. There’s no keeping up with it sometimes – what would I do without you all, busily keeping me updated? 😀

  9. John Costigane says:

    Hi Mrs Green,

    Having a central resource, like MyZeroWaste, helps others to find relevant information without too much difficulty. With the many changes taking place affecting the trend, promoting positive developments can help the process. When problems arise, as they surely will, we can give the truth of situations which is an essential task.

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