Food waste Friday
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food waste for this week, but the birds will be happy
Ok, things will be changing around here on Friday’s from now on.
What we usually do is show pictures of our food waste and our weekly weigh in.
But now our bin has been emptied and we’re planning on zero waste to landfill for 2010, there won’t be a weigh in (we hope!)
What we will focus on is something from the week that has caused a bit of a stir – a dustbin demon if you like, a landfill layabout, something we weren’t expecting that might catch us out and ruin our goal for the year if we can’t find a way to deal with it.
As our bin was only emptied 2 days ago, things are running smoothly. There was a bit of ribbon that Little miss Green managed to pull off something which has been put away for reuse. It was made from manmade materials so couldn’t be composted. But I did put together a list of those pesky things that caught us out last year and we will need to be looking out for. Here’s my list so far:
- plastic seals from honey and jam lids, tomato ketchup, brown sauce, wine bottles, soya sauce etc
- plastic tags on clothes that attach the price to the clothing
- Thin plastic sheeting from the deli when I haven’t been looking and the assistant has shoved it into my reusable container
- Plastic windows in cardboard packaging
- plastic corks in wine
- The plastic / foil seals off the top of milk bottles – some have tamper proof seals in the cap, but others don’t
- plastic inners from sellotape reels
- small plastic packs inside cardboard boxes that you weren’t expecting; herb refills as an example.
What else can you think of? The tiny, inconspicuous things that end up in the bin and you might not even think of? I’ll need to keep a look out for them.
Regarding food waste I found a sad looking cooking apple in the kitchen annexe. It was from our own trees, picked in the autumn and got left in there. Unfortunately the room is damp, so it was looking a little forlorn. I’m going to cut it up and put it out for the birds.
How did you get on this week? Any food waste? Any dustbin demons I need to look out for?
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Tags: food waste
A change of approach for year 2 helps to revitalise your Zero Waste efforts. I plan similar from April when the aim is to remove, and replace by non-plastic alternatives, all remaining potential plastic waste from the kitchen and bathroom, though still within the 5 year target.
To add to your list of recurring items, blister packs from medicines are a frequent part of many household waste outcomes. This item is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
It was good to read alternatives for crisp bags which I avoid altogether since tinned nuts from Lidl are a good alternative. Toothpaste tubes got a mention as well. Do these have to be kept whole? I open them to access a decent amount of paste which cannot be squeezed out.
The birds will be thankful! I left the last apples on the tree, so they would have food this winter.
Thanks for the reminder – off to put stuff on my bird table….
@John Costigane: Hi John, no the ladies cut open the toothpaste tubes, so your should be fine. I’ll be writing more on this as we get more information.
Hope the birds are happy, Alea and Sarah – ours seem really hungry at the moment!
the list is really useful, maybe you can make it into a ‘stickie’ or separate article, which can be added to?
also on our list: baking powder or yeast (still to find fully ZW alternatives, Mum doesn’ like yeast from glass jar so much)
And yeah, why do they wrap if they see u brought a reusable box? baffles me!
@Layla: Hi layla, that might be an idea – making a permanent list for people to add to. Thanks! The individual sachets of yeast are a problem. We’ve recently found a small tin with a lid which is a great alternative. Can you buy fresh from a baker over there?