Asparagus tips madam? We do composting tips too...

 

Market trader Julie Lightly at Queens Market in Newham, east London

Photo credit: Geoff Caddick/PA

Interesting research from WRAP reveals that over forty percent of us believe that because food is biodegradable, it is harmless when it gets thrown out and sent to landfill and are not aware that it can produce methane, a powerful global warming gas which damages the environment.  Of course the same waste composted at home produces no methane and provides free fertiliser and soil improver for our gardens.

In a drive to raise awareness, market traders across the country are to back a campaign to get Britain composting, thanks to a partnership between Recycle Now and the National Market Traders’ Federation that launched this week at Queen’s Market in Newham.  From today, traders will be offering green tips to their customers along with their purchases, to encourage them to compost household waste such as fruit and vegetable peelings, instead of throwing it away.  The  "Ask me about composting" programme will then roll out across the UK over the next few months.

Julie Lightly, a fruit and vegetable market trader at Queen’s Market said:

“It’s great that we are now talking to our customers about composting. At Queen’s Market we already talk to customers about other green issues such as recycling, so this is a natural progression. I am sure customers will really warm to the advice we will be giving as many are already very interested in helping to do their bit for the environment. We hope to turn our market into the greenest in the country and show other markets and their traders how simple it is to offer our customers a little bit extra.”

Well I for one will be keeping a close eye on when the initiative reaches Bury St Edmunds and will catch up with my favourite fruit and veg stall - pictured below - nearer the time,  

If you haven't been to our local market,  I'd recommend it, especially as it was listed in The Guardian's 10 of the best markets in England.  It really does come highly recommended.

 

In the meantime anyone wishing to find out more about composting and how to get started should visit www.recyclenow.com/compost or call their infoline on 0845 600 0323.

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The Rubbish Diet Challenge: Week 5, Dig for victory

Tomato seedlings on the windowsill in 2009

Can you believe we're now at Week 5 of the Rubbish Diet challenge. How time flies. It doesn't seem that long ago, since I was challenging you to your first weigh-in. I hope all is going well with your efforts to slim your bin and that you're enjoying the mini-challenges.

This week I hope to inspire you to make further inroads into your household waste by doing some extra things around the garden. That is if you happen to be blessed with a small patch to call your own. Even if you don't have a garden, you can still join in if you've only got a windowsill going spare around your home.

This week's guide will get you thinking about how you can reduce waste whilst gardening and how you can use your garden to reduce waste too, helping you to find ways to avoid packaging and divert your kitchen scraps away from the rubbish bin. There are lots of ideas to encourage you to grow your own and includes a mini-guide to composting as well as an introduction to keeping chickens for those who fancy taking their self-sufficiency a little bit further.

So there should be something for everyone this week and even if you're not that much of a keen gardener, I hope you'll get in the spirit and consider planting up at least one small container of your favourite herb, vegetable or fruit-bearing plant.

And if you want to be inspired to compost a bit more, don't just take my word for how easy it is. I've gathered a few examples that have been sent in over the last few months from some of my blogging and Twitter friends, both old and new.

For example, here's how Susanna at A Modern Mother collects her kitchen peelings, in a convenient caddy for transferring to her compost bin in the garden. She's blogged about her composting experiences to help share the knowledge over at
http://www.amodernmother.com/2010/02/how-to-compost.html



And here's an example of how the professionals do it too, thanks to expert gardener Claire Brown from PlantPassion, who saw my plea for photos last year via her Twitter account @PlantPassion. The photo on the left shows the contents from a wooden compost bin, revealing much better quality compost than I make.

Claire sent an example of her plastic dalek composter and new tumbler as well. No doubt, this set up will have some readers browsing with envy.

Claire also sent me a link to a fabulous blogpost she's written about compost bins and rats and includes useful advice, whether you are a novice composter or have been at it for some time. Visit : http://plant-passion.typepad.com/plant_passion/2009/05/could-my-compost-bin-attract-rats.html.


Fellow tweeter and blog reader @MrsBYork sent in a photo of York Rotters' demonstration bin, showing which types of items can go in it. To see a larger version, just click on the photo.







The photo to the right shows Mrs B's compost set up at home, which shows you don't really need much space at all.






Sarah Barnard, author, blogger and Twitter user @ethicstrading, has a couple of dalek type bins and revealed how she managed to get one of them free from her local Frecycle Group. As she says, not bad for a freebie eh! Too right, especially as I had to pay around £20 for mine, which is exactly the same as Sarah's.

Of course if you've got enough land you don't even need to worry about having a container to put it in. You can simply create your own compost heap in a suitable spot that takes your fancy.

So I really don't think I could finish today's introduction to this week's online guide without showing you the king of domestic compost heaps, brought to my attention by fellow Twitter user and composter @MartinCampbell2. Here it is in all its woodland glory. I can only dream of such space and consider it a rather spectacular specimen.



Now it's all very well composting, but eventually you also need to do something with it. Here's an example of what blogger AllGrownUp does with her compost, proving that you don't even need a huge veg patch to justify going to the trouble. In her blogpost she describes what it's like to "harvest" your compost for the very first time and how it's great to have free stuff made from what would otherwise be rubbish.

http://allgrownup06.blogspot.com/2009/05/in-garden.html.

And if you're looking for even more examples of composting, Mrs Green at MyZeroWaste wrote a guide for beginners, which she published on her blog last week: http://myzerowaste.com/2010/02/beginners-guide-to-compost

So with enthusiasm like that, I hope we've all been able to inspire you to get out into whatever space you have and start digging for victory in your war against waste.

Of course you may just fancy putting your feet up until it gets a bit warmer and I can't say I blame you. So let's take advantage with a nice cuppa and grab a moment to read more about this week's Rubbish Diet challenge. You'll find everything you need now online at: http://tinyurl.com/TheRubbishDietWeek5

And when you're finished do go and see how other bloggers are getting on with their own challenges. Share some support and say hi to the following waste watchers: Carol at New Mummy Tips; Pippa at A Mother's Ramblings and Tepary at Grow Family Grow. So far, it looks like they're doing brilliantly. Maybe very soon I'll mention those three little words "Zero Waste Week". Well I might as well start hinting now and it's not as scary as it sounds.

Thanks to everyone who's sent photos and links. It really is appreciated. It's always useful to have a whole range of real-life examples that can be shared with others.

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There are more ways than one to avoid food waste

Christmas is a time when food waste can sneak up from behind faster than can you can say boo to the cooked goose on your festive table.

Yesterday, I discussed how we've handled our leftovers this year and I'm pleased to add that apart from a few vegetables, there is now nothing left from our Christmas dinner and with the time on my hands I even managed to make a crumble from the plums that have been sitting in our fridge since autumn.

If you're looking for other ideas on what to do with all the gubbings in your fridge, as well as the the LoveFoodHateWaste recipes, I can recommend a visit to Mrs Green over at MyZeroWaste who has some fantastic suggestions for sorting out your turkey.

And if you prefer to spend your evenings curled up under the blanket with a book rather than huddled around your computer, you'll do well to check out this fabulous book by Kate Colquhoun. Entitled The Thrifty Cookbook, 476 ways to eat well with leftovers, it offers excellent advice on turning old bread into croutons and even shows you how to make gnocci. For those who can't tear yourself away from taking your laptop into the kitchen, you'll be pleased to know there's even a website of the same name with lots of tips and free advice. You can find it at www.thethriftycook.co.uk.

Of course using up your cooked leftovers to create fantastic meals will do your bin the world of good this Christmas and should never be under-estimated when it comes to saving you cash.

However, there are some other options for managing potential food waste that you may like to consider too, which go beyond feeding the cat or dog, and here are just some of them.


1. Watch the birdie

The RSPB is always appealing for the public to feed garden birds, especially in Winter, and you may be surprised at how much of your Christmas food can be fed to our feathered visitors. Christmas cake and mince pie crumbs as well as more regular food such as rice, breakfast cereals, grated cheese, cooked potato and fruit will all help them join in your festive celebrations. However, the RSPB warns against giving birds cooked turkey fat, stating that it is highly dangerous as it can smear onto feathers and ruin the water-proofing and insulating qualities needed to keep them warm during the winter. For more information, visit http://www.rspb.org.uk

2. Support Food Banks

Using up cooked food or opened jars of food is one thing, but what about unopened food that you have no intention of using? It could be something you've been given as a gift or bought yourself only to find no-one else in the house likes it. Don't just throw it in the bin. That would be a real waste. If you have a local foodbank consider donating it instead.

The Haverhill Food Bank is one such community project, which was created to help local people in Suffolk, with the support of the Trussel Trust, who itself has launched a growing network of food banks around the UK to help feed people in crisis.

The initiative welcomes unopened and in-date tins of food amongst other products to help bridge the gap for those in need for three days until other agencies come to their aid. Anglia Food Bank, operated by the Newmarket charity Newmarket Open Door, also collects and distributes food to vulnerable people and supporting agencies throughout the region.

It may not always be practical or feasible to donate the odd item from your Christmas hamper, especially if you live miles away from your nearest Food Bank, but it could be worth getting in touch to find out if your local community could offer collective support.

Schools, churches and community groups often organise collections of food, so you may be able to help in this way and find a home for your unwanted jars and tins. If you don't know where your nearest food bank is, your local church might have the necessary information, especially as they often get involved in co-ordinating collections of this kind.


3. Share amongst your friends & family

If you open a packet or jar of something that you find is not to your taste, the natural reaction may be to throw it in the bin. Instead of just bunging it into landfill, ask your best friend if they'd like it, or take it around to a family member.

It may feel like an irrelevant offering, but when passing it on highlight that you don't want to waste things uneccesarily and that you've committed to reducing your food waste and the methane associated with it. However, be prepared to be the target of the most obvious jokes that come your way and keep smiling in the knowledge that you're not some mad acquaintance, but someone taking positive action in the right direction.


4. Don't compost too soon.

If you're a fan of composting and keen to reduce your rubbish this way, that's fabulous news. However, beware of composting too soon. Bananas that look worse for wear, as well as the odd bruised apple, can easily be classed as candidates for the compost. Consider making smoothies or banana cake instead and indeed apples can be juiced or chopped and made into crumble or apple cake. And don't forget broccoli stalks. I used to bung these in the compost but have recently discovered they can be tasty additions to soups. More hints and tips about using up fruit and vegetables that might be on their last legs, can be found at www.lovefoodhatewaste.com. You can save yourself stacks of cash.


The final hurdle - there are other ways to avoid landfill.

Of course, there comes a time when your only option is to throw some of your food away. You can save fruit & veg peelings from landfill by composting, either via your council service or through your own facilities at home, but did you know that you can divert your cooked food waste too?

It's not advised that you put untreated cooked food into your compost bin, but if you don't have a council food waste collection, there are still options available to you to avoid sending your waste to landfill. There is an associated cost with each of these options, but it's worth it if you can afford it and you'll also get the added benefit of nutrients being fed back into your garden.

A Wormery (vermicomposting) is a good start and makes great compost too. Wormeries are small enough to fit into the tiniest of gardens and accept all sorts of cooked food waste including pasta, rice, cereals as well as fruit and vegetable peelings. However, they should not be used for meat or fish waste and are also poor processors of citrus fruit peelings. Aside from that, they are very versatile and create a fun experience for children too. More information about composting and wormeries can be found at Recycle Now's Home Composting site, www.recyclenow.com/compost/

Bokashi bins are a fabulous alternative for anyone who wants to manage cooked food waste including meat and fish (and bones). A kit comprises a couple of specially adapted bins, with a nozzle for extracting liquid run-off (which itself can be diluted and used as plant feed). Food waste is managed by adding small layers to the bin and sprinkling Bokashi bran on top of each layer. Gradually the layers build up and are then left to ferment for a couple of weeks, before adding to a compost bin, wormery or simply buried in the ground. More info about Bokashi systems can be found at www.wigglywigglers.co.uk.

The Green Cone is a food digester that can be sited in a garden with sufficient drainage. It looks very much like a compost bin and accepts all sorts of food waste including cooked and raw meat as well as bones. More info about The Green Cone can be found at www.greencone.com.

Reducing food waste has become a major priority in the UK. With 8.3 million tonnes of food being thrown away by households each year, it has become a serious environmental issue. By taking measures to reduce what is wasted in the first place and avoiding landfill wastage, the CO2 savings could be the equivalent of taking 1 in 4 cars off the road...

...and as for financial savings, a family with children could be saving as much as £680 a year.

I can certainly support that statement. By buying less, cooking smaller portions and reusing leftovers, we've already saved ourselves around £1000 during the last couple of years. And that goes for Christmas too. Our Christmas bills this year have significantly dropped in more ways than one.

I just wish I could see the same results on my hips!

As no-one else in the family really likes Christmas cake as much as I do, it looks like I'd better watch out.

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You really don't need much space to compost

Look, you can even get a wormery for your desk at work!
available from Bubble House

Hot on the heels of yesterday's post about my new Worm Cafe wormery, comes the news from Recycle Now that lack of space in the garden is one of the main reasons given by many people for not composting garden and household waste.

However according to Recycle Now’s Home Composting campaign, it need not be a barrier and with so many composting and other options available, anyone with outside space – around 95 per cent of households - should be able to give it a go.

Recycle Now's research reveals that over a third of us already compost garden and household waste in one way or another, using a compost bin or heap. Of those that don’t, one in four say this is because they do not have the space.

But as we've already seen on this blog, even the smallest outdoor spaces can be used for making compost.

Carl Nichols, Head of Home Composting at Recycle Now said:

“With so much choice available, anyone with outside space can compost at home. Even those of us with just a small patio or balcony, can do our bit, for example by using a wormery to turn waste food into free food for plants- indoors or out."

“Increasing numbers of people are starting to compost at home and we want these people to pass on their tips to their friends and families. By composting at home, not only are we reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill each year, we are also producing a rich and nutritious plant food with a wide range of uses for vegetables, indoor and outdoor plants and even lawns.”

To demonstrate that time and space needn’t be an issue and to bust other myths about composting, Recycle Now has put together a beginners’ guide:


1. Heap or bin? A compost heap is perhaps one of the most traditional methods for composting. However, compost bins are now widely available and popular as they are simple to purchase, construct and use.


2. What type of bin is for me? There are compost bins of all shapes and sizes, to suit your gardening needs.

· Small garden? There are many alternative designs of compost bin to suit all garden needs such as beehive designs or bins made out of recycled wood.
· Balcony or porch? A wormery is the ideal solution for someone with little or no garden. · Lots of space? The opportunities are endless – there are a range of larger bins available from many Local Authorities and most garden centres.
· No outside space? Some councils offer a separate collection for food or garden waste. Why not check with your local council to see if this option is available in your area.


3. Garden design: If you are concerned about how your garden will look when you start composting, build the bin into the design of your garden. Compost bins could be disguised behind surround made of either brick or timber (or stone if in keeping with your garden), or you can put trellis in front of your bin and grow climbers over it for a really natural screen.


4. Getting started: Simply add a selection of ‘greens and browns’ to the bin for the perfect mix. ‘Greens’ are quick to rot and provide important nitrogen and moisture – try tea bags, vegetable peelings, old flowers and nettles, or spent bedding plants. ‘Browns’ such as cardboard, fallen leaves, twigs and branches are slower to rot, but provide carbon and fibre to the bin.


5. The end product: After nine months to a year your compost will be mature enough to use. You’ll know it’s ready when the compost has turned into a dark, crumbly soil-like substance. It can be used to enrich borders and plants. If you have little use for compost, consider using a wormery as this will produce less compost but plenty of plant food. For further information about home composting and how to get started, as well as advice and information to help you along the way, visit www.recyclenow.com/compost

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To support Recycle_Now's campaign I would love to feature photos of your home composting solution as well as details of the most unusual things you compost. I'll publish my favourites on the blog at the end of the month. Either email at karen[at]therubbishdiet[dot]co[dot]uk or send me a link via Twitter.

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Unwelcome Guests

"Don't leave me this way!" I beckoned as Mr A fled the crisis last Sunday.

Unlike The Communards' hit from the 1980s it wasn't because my heart was full of love and desire. That had been quickly dampened by the events of the morning. And there was certainly no fire in my soul burning out of control. It was more like stomach churning nausea that was quickly spreading from my guts to my head and taking over each and every limb.

As my almost average knight in shining armour drove off into the mid morning sun, I lamented. Not because I was feeling physically ill, nor because I was left with a room to declutter or a birthday party to organise, or because I had been left on my own to do it all.

I was in distress because I was MOST DEFINITELY NOT on my own.

As well as two lively little boys who were intent on tearing around the house, I also had an army of maggots to keep me company, intent on holding their very own house party in my compost bin.

Yes, I know.

I thought if I just mentioned them in passing, then I wouldn't squirm as much as when I first discovered the horrible disgusting, small in reality but huge in my mind, ghastly, white, wriggly creatures dancing around in the compost.

But having written that sentence, I've just caught myself with fists clenched and holding myself still in a position of defence, waiting for them to creep out from the corners of the sofa and crawl over my flesh! Now I hope you didn't think I was talking about my boys. Shame on you.

But that's what maggots mean to me. In my imagination they are bad. In reality they are far worse.

So how could Mr A leave me with a casual "just pour some boiling water over them, that'll sort 'em" departing sentence?

As if a kiss goodbye would make me feel any better. He was off for a three day residential in Buckinghamshire while maggots were enjoying their own residential in our compost!

I might have had other company, but I was on my own with this one.

So I boiled the kettle and quickly changed my sandals for my wellies ready for Operation Hot Water. There was no way I wanted any maggot to fall on my toes. Shudder at the thought!

I worried about what the boiling water would do to any innocent worm that got in the way, but I was a desperate woman on a desperate mission, more concerned about what I would do if I lost my grip on my shiny Alessi kettle and had to delve deep to retrieve it!

There'd be no cups of tea until Tuesday!

Having given them a blast of the hot stuff, I quickly sprinkled over some anti-acid pellets that I use in the wormery for discouraging flies. Thankful that the kettle hadn't fallen in, I spread sheets of newspaper on the top and put the lid on it. I filled the kettle up again, put the lid on that and made a cup of tea, pondering how the heck those hideous creatures got there in the first place.

I've had a compost bin for ten years and have never had a problem. I've also been using the Bokashi since February and that hasn't caused me any worries either, even in hot weather.

But last month, I put some gone-off cat food in the Bokashi, the remains of the Whiskas that my fussy cat wouldn't eat. Now I wonder whether a little house-fly might have come along and while my back was turned, laid some eggs in the remains before I threw it in the Bokashi bin.

The other possibility is that Little T, my waste saboteur could have bunged a piece of ham sandwich into the compost bin when I wasn't looking.

Whatever! There was NO WAY I was going to take another peek into that compost bin while I was home alone.

I'm leaving that job to Mr A, who after his three day residential, several late nights and a busy weekend, will be home early today and will be on hand to perform a recovery operation. Should he lift the lid to find damn maggots, let him "boil the kettle and sort 'em". My searches around the Internet reveal that it isn't a major problem as far as composting goes (except for the squeamish of course) but if he should need any further help, he could take some advice from here, here, here or here.

Meanwhile, it's my turn to go off and do something more glamorous today. It's time to get dolled up, don my Inspector Gadget rain mac for Project Secret Agent and get ready to check out more bins in London.

While I am there, I ought to go and chew the fat with Gordon Brown. I've heard he's worried about food waste and it's not a minute too soon, what with the credit crunch, energy issues and what not. He might be talking about spending and wasting money on stuff that's in short supply, but I'll take my Bokashi bin along should he be interested, just in case of the odd emergency. So, put the kettle on Gordon, I'm on my way. And don't worry, I'll be wearing my dark glasses should anyone is following....I can always dream...shame he's in Japan.

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Composting for Beginners

I am absolutely amazed at the results of the Zero Waste challenge this far, and much of it is thanks to the solutions that are available for reducing food waste, whether it's vegetable peelings, gone off fruit or leftover scrapings . With a compost bin, a wormery and a Bokashi system it is working a treat.

I thought it would be useful to share some details about effective composting. However, as I am still a novice, I roped in Karen from Wiggly Wigglers to introduce the subject gently. So it's time to grab that cup of tea again and get some more top tips from someone more knowledegable than me.

"A question often asked is, "Why compost at all?" Well, the answer is simple. Over 50% of household waste is organic matter from our gardens and kitchens. If sent to landfill this organic waste gets buried under all the other waste and isn't exposed to air resulting in methane production which is harmful to the environment. It is also a missed opportunity to recycle waste into valuable garden compost.

Depending on the amount of space you have and the type of waste you need to compost there are several different options open to you. Even if you only have the tiniest space, such as a balcony, there is a solution.

If you have outdoor space and generate garden waste, you really need a compost heap. You can buy (or make) various containers from box style composters with slatted fronts to moulded plastic bins which all effectively operate in the same way. Fresh waste is added at the top and composted material retrieved from the bottom.

With an outdoor heap you can add both garden and kitchen waste and you should be aiming to add approximately 50/50 of carbon rich brown and nitrogen rich green waste to achieve good compost. Green waste consists of things like kitchen waste, grass clippings, nettles, old flowers, spent bedding plants and comfrey leaves.

Brown waste consists of things like paper, cardboard, twigs, straw, egg shells, garden prunings, wool, wood ash, feathers and cotton.

However, you should never add cooked foods or meat to an outdoor composter as this will definitely attract unwelcome rodent visitors.

The trick to making the best compost is to keep it aerated. You can do this by turning the heap occasionally and making sure that you have a good mixture of green and brown waste.

If you don't have garden waste to deal with and space is tight a wormery could well be the solution. Composting with worms is called vermicomposting and wormeries are perfect for dealing with kitchen waste. The best shop bought wormeries are those that have several trays, such as the popular Can-o-Worms, as they are easier to use than an “all in one” model.

Composting worms are native to the UK and in the wild can be found on the surface of the ground, generally in leaf litter. They are not the same as earthworms, which are deep burrowing creatures and not suitable for composting systems. Composting worms will eat all manner of household waste from fruit and vegetable peelings, cardboard, paper, bread, pasta right through to the contents of your vacuum cleaner.

It is important that 25-30% of everything added to a wormery should be dry material, such as paper and cardboard. Perfect items to add would be torn up egg boxes, toilet and kitchen roll tubes, torn and scrunched up newspapers (this helps to aerate the wormery) and paper shreddings. By the time your confidential documents have been through the shredder AND the worms you won't need to worry about identity theft. The addition of paper and cardboard not only helps to balance moisture levels within the wormery, but also provides the worms with much needed fibre.

As with outdoor compost heaps, it is not recommended that meat is added to wormeries as it attracts flies.

Worms are nature's composting heroes as they eat up to half their own body weight in food each day and, in return for a few meals a week, provide you with great compost and a liquid plant feed. This liquid feed should be diluted with water at a rate of 1:10 and can be used to give your plants a real lift. The solid compost can either be used as a top dressing or mixed with potting compost.

To see how a wormery is set up and maintained click here.

Another exciting form of composting is the use of Bokashi, which in this case is bran impregnated with effective micro organisms. This is a system that has been used successfully by the Japanese for about 25 years and involves the addition of good bacteria (the same principle as those well known drinks and yoghurts) to your waste to speed up the composting process. You put your kitchen waste and the bran into the Bokashi bucket in alternate layers and, when full, leave to "pickle" for two weeks. At the end of this time you can either add the waste to your normal compost heap or wormery.

The main advantage of the Bokashi system is that you can add meat and fish scraps and all those left over bits of food the kids leave (that's if the dogs don't get there first!). Once these have been pickled they can safely be added to your outdoor compost heap or wormery.

It may be that if you have a lot of waste and the space that you opt for more than one of the above composting methods and this is quite common. However, if you do only have space for a wormery you are still helping to slim down your bin and prevent waste being sent, unnecessarily, to landfill.

If every household composted their food waste it would mean a saving of over a quarter of a tonne of carbon emissions per year. This is the equivalent of approximately 1,000 miles of driving in a car that averages 40 mpg."

You can visit Karen's blog, which she maintains on behalf of Wiggly Wigglers at:
http://wigglywigglers.blogspot.com


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The Weight Loss ToolKit

Every diet needs a toolkit, whether it's measuring implements, storage facilities or the ability to sort the elements into basic categories. I am certainly not planning on measuring all the waste generated for The Rubbish Diet. No, for this kind of diet, the key resource is an effective storage/sorting point whether it's in the kitchen, our garden or facilities provided by the local council.

Our starting point is the waste sorting system that lives in our little kitchen, where in addition to our main bin, the only spare space is dedicated to three other bins, which are used as follows:

1. Small one for kitchen waste
2. Medium one for glass
3. Large one for recyclable materials

We used to put all our recycling rubbish in carrier bags, where we could conveniently throw them "bag and all" into the blue bin, but I came home one day to a "naughty" sticker from the council, warning us that plastic bags weren't allowed in the blue bin and if we did it again they wouldn't collect our rubbish. Feeling like I had been unfairly told off without an opportunity to respond, I rang the council to defend myself and was shocked to find that the only option for carrier bags was the landfill site.

It was at that point, a couple of years ago, that I switched mainly to using "bags for life", which have become another essential tool. However, I can be such an "airhead" on times, I often forget to take them out shopping and carrying such a heavy guilt not to use ordinary carrier bags I end up buying more "bags for life" to add to my collection. It's a good job they're cheap and at risk of sounding like I am advertising Waitrose again, it's a fair price to pay for fast-tracking the queues by plumping for their dedicated Green Till where you are only allowed through if you've got reusable bags or wish to buy them at the till!

When we moved into our house 4 years ago, the council offered us three bins, which are essential tools for The Rubbish Diet.

1. a big blue one for all the recycling
2. a big brown one for all things compostable
3. a big black one for all the rest.

However, being a bit tight-fisted and short of space, we politely said "thanks, but no thanks" to the brown bin and instead invested in a compost bin for our garden. There was no way I was going to give anyone my compost. If there was free compost to be made, I was going to keep hold of it!

However, it's all very good having the perfect toolkit but you have to use it properly. Otherwise, it's like having a bookshelf crammed with diet books and ordering take-away every night.

Yes, the trick of this home-sorting system and the success of the Zero Waste challenge is the efficiency in keeping on top of the process. I remember Ben Elton's "things to do" sketch, where in his own inimatable style he emphasised the issue of the bigger the bin, the more you put in it and the bigger the problem of emptying it at the end. "Oh things to do, things to do!", he would say and would heave and pull, huff and puff and heave and pull again, highlighting the unmanageable situation that had developed.... and that was in the eighties, in the days when one bin, yes just one bin, was all there was to deal with. So you can imagine how it can be with four!

The number of times I have recreated the "Things to do" sketch in my own kitchen with my streamlined waste sorting system...oh, it's the kind of thing that could make a Waste Development Officer cry, where what looks like a well-thought out "thumbs up" plan, just crumbles before your very eyes.

Who really wants to empty the overflowing kitchen waste into the compost bin when it's pouring with rain? And as for emptying the recycling into the blue bin when it's blowing a gale...where the risk of having to chase the rubbish being blown down the street...that's enough for anyone to batten down the hatches and huddle indoors.

It's on days like this that even the best system can fall apart, where there's no room left in your sorting system....and there's the temptation of sin...as you succumb by dropping that odd banana skin into the waste bin that's destined for landfill...and while you're at it, the odd apple core won't harm, nor will that yoghurt pot that you can't be bothered to wash out!

So, if I am going to get anywhere with this Zero Waste business I have to use the tools properly and use the Weight Loss Toolkit as it is intended. Those who know me well, will understand the challenge ahead and will hopefully come to my rescue at the first sign of bad weather.

So keep crossing your fingers and wish me luck as I ponder buying a cape and sowester!


Useful resources:

The St Edmundsbury Borough Council Recycling Guide:
http://www.stedmundsbury.gov.uk/sebc/live/Recycling-at-a-glance.cfm