Well, it's the last day of my Maximum Waste Week challenge and a whole week spent pondering whether I could go back to my old ways, and throw away the same amount that I used to before I did the Zero Waste challenge last year.
It's been one heck of a week and from a maximum waste perspective, I have to report it's been a bit of a failure.
It started off with "good" intentions when I went shopping around the supermarket and tried to create a whole load of unrecyclable rubbish to boost this week's challenge. But that was tough, due to the fantastic recycling facilities in Bury St Edmunds as well as the range of alternatives that the supermarket provides.
And when it came to food waste, there was no way I could ditch my composting Bokashi bin in favour of bunging my slops in the rubbish bin.
No worries I thought, as Mr A was bound to use the opportunity to throw out as much as possible. He's like that you see...or so I thought. But when I looked in the rubbish bin today, there was hardly anything there. At one point this afternoon, he even warned me off throwing away our aluminium takeaway containers.
"You can use those for seedlings," he insisted.
I almost fell off my chair.
So, with a whole load of potential recyclable packaging on my hands and being the decision maker when it comes to the bins, it's up to me to decide what goes to landfill and what doesn't.
But before I do that, why don't you check out this vid:
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Turnamen Arena Of Valor Yang Paling Megah Di Dunia
8 months ago
6 comments:
Hi Mrs A,
It was a good exercise. The question is have things changed much from last year or are there no significant mainstream changes?
Because of poor recycling locally, due to buck passing between local and national government, my view is to minimise plastic use to the max. That attitude would be difficult for the growing family but it can be done.
great vid Mrs A - so glad you can't bring yourself to put it all in the bin. I too was surprised how little rubbish we created last week and I guess my habits have simply changed so that we don't get through as much stuff any more.
Your recycling facilities sound excellent in your area; if every area had facilities like that I wonder if we would see some changes to recycling rates across the UK, or if it would take more than that.
have fun at the age of stupid,
Mrs G
aww, your hubby.. bless him!! :)
he's a keeper!! :))
phew, am hugely relieved you've decided to do the good deed!!:)
actually I was surprised at what you can recycle in your area too!!
/I do wonder if it all gets recycled or...?/
So I agree with John at the moment - minimizing the plastics is best - we do prefer the precious oil (or corn!) for other better uses, no?
But if they already exist in the house, recycling is much better than just tossing!!
Please snaffle up the pretty stickers or donate to kids! They may love you forever & it may free up the bin a bit?
You could also maybe make like an award-chart for 'best bees' or growthchart or something? (with the pretty stickers?)
We have been working very hard at not just throwing things away, but choosing to buy or not buy based on how much waste is involved.
I wish we had as many recycling options here in Michigan as you have!
Thanks again for your help and inspiration!
Hi John - hopefully today's post will reveal the changes that have taken place in the last year. It has most definitely been a case of reducing quite gradually and our recycling bin is also slimmer too :-D
Hi Mrs G - it's weird isn't it how a snapshot of life now compared to a year or so ago is so different, but so much for the better. We are lucky to have great facilities in Bury and a council that doesn't get too heavy handed, which I think is also important. I think it's a really good example of how councils should work with its residents.
As for Age of Stupid, it was a great evening and there'll be more on that later. Well worth seeing :-D
Hi Layla - LOL, he has been good hasn't he. I agree with reducing. In fact what shocked me most about when I brought home our shopping last week was that I couldn't fit everything in my fridge or cupboards. Life often used to be like that, it's just that I'd forgotton - LOL. Our recycling facilities are good, but I guess that is through carefully managed contracts between the waste management company and its customers. On several occasions I have been reassured that it is all processed for recycling and that Suffolk hasn't been affected by the poor markets of last year. As a resident you can only have faith in that. Any doubt can be damaging to the ideal. Now as for that pot, the stickers were peeled off but not reusable, so I just bunged them in the compost bin - and the pot was saved for recycling. :-D
Hi Don - it's great to hear what you're doing and what you're achieving too. Keep at it. It's all worthwhile and it gradually get easier with new habits as well as new technologies and facilities. So hopefully your local facilities will improved in time too. :-D
I don't have to eat less. I have lost 33 lbs in 9 weeks and my BMI has gone from 42.4 down to 38.7. I would like to share how I am doing it.
http://youtube.com/calnutrasciences
or take a free look: http://www.Core4Diet.com
Thank You,
Jim Cobb
jim@core4diet.com
Phone: 614-388-8779
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