Day 5: On the bins for Comic Relief

Well it's been a fab day on the bins. I must admit after such an early start I am thoroughly exhausted and am very much in need of a bath, especially as I've got guests tonight.

To raise some lovely cash for Comic Relief I've spent the day walking around the Howard Estate in Bury St Edmunds for almost four and a half hours in steel toe-capped boots, lifting up the lids on the recycling bins and peeling off the old recycling stickers before slapping on the new ones, showing all the latest recycling guidelines.



I must have lifted up the lids on well over 500 recycling bins today. Although it feels like much more.

There were huge bins and slim ones, smelly ones and clean ones too. Such variety in both usage and contents. Even duvets had been stuffed in one particular bin. Now that was most definitely not on the list.

Anyway more on that another time. It's suffice to say it was a real fun day, with tales that I could probably never repeat.

But here are a few photos and videos of my very funny and surreal day.

Here's John the driver, loading up the bins onto the back of the wagon.


Did you know the loading mechanism automatically lifts the wheelie bin onto the back of the bin lorry! It's weight sensitive - which is why I stayed well away. There was no way I was going to chance my arm or indeed the rest of my body being lifted into there!


So here I am, keeping a very safe distance and dutifully sticking those stickers. Check out that fab Hi-Vis vest, which was kindly sent to me by the lovely people over at the Preston based charity Recycling Lives.




Peeling off some of the old stickers was not a very pleasant job.




Neither was lifting some of the bin lids.



Fortunately most of them were cleaner than this, but some had bird droppings and gunky stuff, having been stored underneath trees.

But I didn't have to do it all on my own. Here's Dan Sage, the Strategy & Policy Officer for St Edmundsbury Council, and who was the person behind last year's Zero Waste Week.



At one point the chaps (John and one of his colleagues, Scouse) disappeared through this gate into a garden. There I was thinking we were off for a cup of tea. It was still early in morning and I was in desperate need. But talk about wishful thinking. It emerged they were flats and they were just collecting the bins from the storage sheds. Oh well - I should have taken a flask.



Being a bit of a sociable old bird, the most odd thing about today was that there was hardly anyone around. Either folk were tucked up indoors or had gone off to work. Apart from a group of schoolkids dressed in Red Nose Day gear, the estate was deserted and I could have counted the people I saw on one hand.

But I did manage to catch up with a couple of folk and ask their opinions on the local recycling scheme. They are real supporters of the facilities we have and agreed to pose for the blog.

So here's a huge hello to Bury St Edmunds resident Bryan,




and to Mrs Dennis, who I also bumped into.



So after a brief chat, it was back to the bins.

But after being distracted, it's just a shame I lost the bin lorry. Serves me right I'd say.







So I just kept on sticking instead.




And finally it appeared.



But there was no rest for the wicked. So I kept on slapping on the stickers before finally catching up with Dan and going off to find the crew.

And it was good to hop into the cab and get a well-deserved rest.




Then we were off to the Transfer Station, a few miles away in Lackford, to drop off the load. For the crew, it was the second time today.










What a load of recycling eh. Just over 3 tonnes of it in fact!

Here's Tim who estimates the levels of contamination at the Transfer Station, before it gets sent to the Materials Reclamation Facility (MuRF) for sorting into bales of different recyclates.



It's impossible to root through everything at the transfer station, but it is here where any noticable contaminates - stuff that can't be recycled at the MuRF - get removed and transferred to the landfill pile.

And the landfill pile can be seen below, in bin bags over in the corner.




Before I left, the chaps at the Waste Transfer Station showed me their latest invention, which I thought should be patented for one of the big supermarkets.

Can you see what it is yet?

Methinks it's half shopping trolley half bin bag. Perfect for ripping off your packaging at the shop don't you think.


So, it was back to the yard and a big thank you to John the dustman - I mean Refuse Disposal Officer, for letting me ride on the bin lorry, ooops I mean wagon.

You see, I've even got to know the terminology.



And it was time to leave the yard and head off home.





I can really say it was an absolute privilege to see behind the scenes and witness what it must be like to work on the bins. And one thing's for sure, I'm going to be kinder to the bin men in future. They do a real grand job. I'll no longer lose my patience when stuck behind a bin lorry and I won't be chucking out all our paper at once. It certainly makes the recycling bins very heavy. These guys may be strong, but I'm sure they could still do with a break.

So thank you to St Edmundsbury Borough Council for putting up with my mad antics and to all you lovely people for sponsoring me. It's been great and I've noticed my Comic Relief fundraising page is already showing you've already donated an amazing £145. You are contributing to the most amazing appeal to help support those striken by poverty in the UK and abroad.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's been a real blast.

But would I do it again?

Hmmm...with my achey legs, I don't think so. Too much like hard work for a soft touch of blogger like me.

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Day 5: Disappearing into the darkness for Comic Relief

Good Morning All. It's so blimmin' early even the chickens haven't got out of bed. Yet here I am preparing to go off on my sponsored bin round.

For anyone who doesn't know what I'm up to or indeed why...(yes WHY have I got the urge to spend 6 hours on the bins)..... well, check out the vid below.





Did you see that hair! And there I was thinking I might add a touch of glam to round 111 today.

No chance of that then.

So if you feel that you would like to splash a bit of your hard-earned cash to help raise money for folk suffering from poverty in both the UK and abroad, then just pop over to my Red Nose Day fundraising page at:

http://www.myrednoseday.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=156812

Thank you all for your wonderful support. I'll be back with news of my day with the bin men, later today. And if you have a burning question that you'd like me to ask the men on the bins, then please feel free to add a comment or drop me an email by midday. The beauty of mobile technology eh!

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Oh oh...oops I've just remembered. The local newspaper The Bury Free Press said they'd be covering news about my blog today, so here's an embarrassing wave to all those who didn't know I had this blog. Talk about first impressions... I'd have done my hair if I'd remembered.

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Day 4: A Real Rubbish Parcel

Blow me down with a feather, but I think word has got out about my rubbish challenge.

Folk have resorted to sending me rubbish through the post.

Honestly! If you don't believe me, have a look below.



It might look like some innocent newspaper but can you see the Royal Mail sticker? Someone's really sent me some rubbish.

WOW! That's never happened to me before (with the exception of Mrs Green's sellotape reel of course).

When I picked it up it felt quite weighty. There was obviously something inside.

Fish and chips perhaps?

Well what else could be wrapped in newspaper?

"There's more to this than meets the eye." I thought, so I opened it carefully.

And I smiled, for inside the layers of newspaper there was a very pleasant surprise.

It was a beautifully wrapped gift, packaged in blue and white checked fabric, accompanied by a note wishing me luck.



It was then that I remembered the conversation I had last week with a lovely chap called Hugo, whose business The Green Giving Company makes a product called the Kerchief, a fabulous alternative to wrapping paper, which embraces the fine Japanese art of gift wrapping, called Furoshiki. Hugo had promised me some samples to try out and kept to his word to put some in the post. Carefully reused newspaper is his packaging of choice, which is very sustainable when it comes to sending out orders.

And how exciting.

He had also sent me a gift.

How kind. I had told him about my challenge last week and I was grateful for this unexpected token of support.

So, under the eager watch of my 4 year old, I carefully untied the knots. I couldn't wait to see what it was.

Yet with the most amazing control, I slowly unfolded the gorgeous check fabric, in anticipation of a pleasant treat.

Could it be chocolate?

A book?

Or was it some other special gift?

Er...

.....nope.

It was....ahem....

Yep, it was ...

...........a pile of bin bags.

"Bin bags Mummy?" said my 4 year old, scratching his head like Stan Laurel.

"Yes" I laughed, looking at the black shiny things laid out against the beautiful fabric wrapping.




What a cheeky chap, eh!

But how I chuckled.

Hee hee, with the reputation I've acquired over the last twelve months, it'll be no surprise that I haven't bought a pack of rubbish bags during all this time. And Hugo thought I might need some.

And I might, if I ignore my conscience that's standing in the way of this week's challenge.

We'll see.

But in the meantime, the great news is I've already had an opportunity to try out one of the Kerchiefs on a present I had bought to cheer up a good friend who's been having a tough time of late. But being a Furoshiki novice, I popped over to www.thegreengivingco.com for instructions.

And look what I created. I admit I had my doubts over how a Japanese idea could translate into western culture, but I am really pleased with the results.



Of course this is a very simple wrapping technique but The Green Giving Company website has lots more ideas on using more advanced techniques. I particularly love this Rabbit, which is a great way of wrapping up those unpackaged chocolate Eggheads sold by Cadbury.



Isn't it gorgeous. And just in time for Easter.

So huge thanks to Hugo for giving me a real rubbish laugh and for the samples to try out. I think I am now a Furoshiki convert. And at just £1.99 per Kerchief, I'll most definitely be trying more out.

But I couldn't chuck the newspaper in the bin. It's gone into the compost instead, together with the sellotape that was used to seal up the parcel. And as for the bin bags, we'll just have to wait to see what fate awaits them.

I might ask the experts for some advice. You see, it's tomorrow that I am going on my sponsored Bin Round, where I will be hard at work sticking recycling stickers on St Edmundsbury's wheelie bins to raise some cool cash for Comic Relief.

So while I am doing that, please feel free to discover the art of wrapping presents with fabric. Here's a little video below, which reveals how it is so easy to say bye bye to disposable gift wrap for good.





Furoshiki gift wrapping from RecycleNow on Vimeo.

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Day 3: Supporting my neighbours in Essex

Photo courtesy of Essex County Council

Guess what! I've got some news and it is deliciously exciting.

Our neighbours are holding their very own Rubbish Free Week!

Isn't that fabulous.

Not my actual neighbours you understand. I know that would be exciting in itself, but I'm referring to our county neighbours, over the border in Essex.

So while I am battling with my conscience and my well-formed habits to test my rubbish throwing reflexes here in Suffolk, folk all over Essex are trying hard to slim their bins.

Essex County Council, in partnership with district and borough councils, has encouraged almost 600 residents to take part in the challenge to see how far they can cut down on the rubbish they produce for a week.

And the question they're asking residents everywhere is

"Can you go for one week without throwing anything in your bin?"

Yee-ah, what a challenge! We know what that's like don't we?

But hang on a minute. Where does that leave me?

I'm already struggling with my heavily embedded "do not make any rubbish" routine and seeing if I can go back to my trash-chucking ways this week. It's been bad enough with all the thinking I've been doing about landfill as well as discussing reducing, reusing and recycling.

Now there's even more pressure.

How can I even contemplate popping a yoghurt pot in the black bin after communications from elsewhere in the region?

I think it's a sign don't you?

So rapidly moving away from my own little bin - which by the way still only has a Weetabix wrapper resting in it so far - Essex waste attackers may be interested to know that Tesco are supporting the Rubbish Free Week and are providing information at their stores in Harlow, Basildon, Pitsea, Chelmsford (Princes Rd), Colchester (Extra at Highwoods) and Clacton.

And if there are any residents reading this blog from Harlow, Basildon or Pitsea, do go and have a gander at your local Tesco this week to try out their new automated recycling machines.

So please join me in wishing Essex residents loads of luck in the latest zero waste challenge.

The Essex Rubbish Free Week ends this Sunday 15th March. More information can be found at: www.recycleforessex.co.uk

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Photo credits: Tracey Chapman, Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment & Waste; and Janette Potter, Chelmsford Borough Council Cabinet Member for Environment & Waste, with their reusable bags. Helped out by sales assistant Milo Patrick on the Fowlers & Jezard fruit and veg stall.
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Day 2: You should never waste a good egg!

Blimmin' 'eck. I hope I've not put you off your breakfast or made you splatter your coffee over your keyboard.

But look at me. Not my usual calm self, I admit.

But this is how I used to feel on bin day! When I would drag the wheelie bin, with its huge bags of rubbish and couldn't believe the weight of it all.

Would you believe half of it used to be food waste?

There'd be meat bones and chicken carcasses as well as kids' leftovers. Dig deeper and you'd find gone off food, often still in its packaging, as well as a bunch of banana skins stuffed in too - all because the kitchen compost bin was overloaded.

Like most households across the land I'd be scraping the plates and bunging in dregs of the day's menu into the kitchen bin and a few days later it would stink like a troll's armpits after a bath in a ditch of rotten slime.

I never valued leftovers, or the time I'd spent cooking, or even the cost of the ingredients.

But I did care about the smelly old bin and the stink it caused as well as the flies and maggots in summer.

Consequently when I started the Rubbish Diet, one of the first tasks was to eliminate food waste. I soon realised that this was a serious issue and by reducing what we could we would be reducing the methane that such biodegradable matter could create when buried in landfill. I knew we'd save money too, by buying less and using up more.

After all, according to the LoveFoodHateWaste campaign, the average household throws away one third of food that otherwise could have been used.

It's like a whole load of your shopping falling into a blimmin' black hole.

Hmm....so that'll be a bit like this then!



So we quickly held a family meeting to gather ideas and the kids had a lot to say. And I cooked more of their favourite things. It helped to reduce some waste, but we still had more than a few leftovers to manage because I was hopeless at organisation, terrible at planning and awfully lacking in the ability to deal with my three-year-old's fluctuating appetite.

Then I discovered was one thing that could really truly help.

A Bokashi!

Yes a Bokashi!

Now it might sound like a nasty old sneeze, but it's indeed a landfill saver for those who don't have a local authority food waste collection.



And it's magic. You just bung unusable food in a special bucket, sprinkle over some bran that is impregnated with Effective MicroOrganisms and a few weeks later after leaving it to ferment, you can add it to your compost, wormery or even dig it into your garden and it will break down into nutrient-rich organic matter. Much better than landfill and because the temperature of Bokashi is significantly lower than if buried along with the rubbish, there is no issue with methane.

But how disgusting does that sound in practice?

The idea of lobbing your slops in a bucket and letting it hang around for a few weeks, then a month later you end up putting the fermented matter in a corner of your garden. Eurgh!



It's hardly an attractive proposition is it? And it took me a long time to convince myself that this would be more favourable than a stinky old bin.

I worried about the smell of the Bokashi and quite rightly so. It could have been one step too far. But I was reassured that if I could cope with a pickly scent I'd be fine. A whole year on, the system is still fully operational and it's great. Indeed last year's contents have broken down into fabulous compost that we've now spread on the vegetable patch. And the liquid it creates as a by-product has been used as plant food as well as drain cleaner.

But the interesting thing is when we first started out, we'd easily fill it up in just a couple of weeks. That's how much food waste there was. But thanks to careful food preparation and reducing and then reusing leftovers, it now takes up to six weeks to reach capacity, which I would say is a real result.

However, a year on we still have a problem with some food waste - thanks to the lovely lad with the fluctuating appetite. It's not much but still enough that it continues to need managing.

So with potential rubbish on my hands, I have asked the question could I go back to throwing it in the rubbish bin?

After all, this is my Maximum Waste Week.

So this morning I sat and gave it some deep thought and I then seriously considered the consequences.

I then looked at the bowl of leftover Weetabix - or rather the slops of the Sainsbury's Wholewheat Biscuits, the ones that we bought only the other day.

Then I thought about adding them to my rubbish, actually holding the bowl in position, ready for the dregs to slip into my almost empty bin.

Now that made my stomach turn.

The thought of having food waste languishing in my kitchen bin for a whole week or even two, remaining untreated and gradually decaying all seemed a horrible proposition.

It now seems a step too far.

And just imagine the stench once you add scraps of meat, slops of baked beans and anything else that stinks the house out. Then there's the thought of the flies and the maggots as soon as the weather warms up.

Yuk! I don't think I could go back to that.

I never even got as far as thinking about the methane, in the unlikely event that my small amount of food waste would actually end up in landfill.

So folks, I guess another one bites the dust as far as this Maximum Waste Week is concerned.

Hooray....

Landfill is dead! Long live Bokashi!

Or so you might think.

You see, on the journey along the road of wasting less and enjoying more, we've made another discovery that will help us make even better use of what little food waste we have.

And they come in the form of three special girls, who came clucking our way just this weekend.

So without further ado, let me introduce you to Speckly, Snowflake, and Chickie, three gorgeous little hens who are settling into their urban crash-pad in our garden. Perhaps you can guess which is which. It really shouldn't take long to work it out.



I would never have guessed that the road to reducing food waste would result in such a fantastic experience. And the great thing is, the money we've saved in the process has paid for the hen house!

And our lovely chooky chooks have even got cracking on laying eggs. Just look what we found yesterday.



So on day 2 of my funny old Maximum Waste challenge, I must be the happiest failure alive. I'm most definitely a convert and apart from the old giblets, I don't think we'll be throwing out any food waste to landfill again.

What was that about giblets?

Blimmin' 'eck

What in the heck's name is that squawking?

What was that? You say you now know why the chicken actually crossed the road?

Oh dear, I don't think we'll ever be able to eat a roast chicken again.

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Day 1: Rubbish Shopping

Now what's that old saying?

Ahh, that's it.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

I love that phrase and when it comes to shopping it seems very appropriate somehow. For instance, have a look at the photo and tell me what you see.

Is it just a week's shopping for a family of four?

Or is it a whole load of treats?

Perhaps it's a whole bunch of healthy ingredients?

Maybe it's not just this week's food, perhaps it's next week's wasted leftovers?

Now look at the packaging.

Do you see recycling opportunities?

Or are you looking at a pile of potential rubbish, like the picture of landfill below?

SETTING THE SCENE

When I look at that photo of my shopping, as well as anticipating the taste of the food and the satisfaction of a good meal, I am also staring at a table full of stuff that could end up in the bin. And that's what it's like when I go shopping these days, trying to avoid creating rubbish while I fill my basket. So, I try and buy loose wherever I can to avoid creating waste in the first place. After all, if it comes loose, that's one less thing to bung in the bin at home regardless of whether it's landfill or recycling. But if something comes in packaging, I always consider the opportunities for recycling as well as a complex combination of other facets including price, quality, shelf life, origins and its versatility as an ingredient.

Now I know focusing on zero waste isn't normal behaviour in many people's eyes and most people would think that it is a huge inconvenience to shop in this way, but the reality is that it doesn't actually take that much time and more and more people are following the simple methods.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that when you start out with a zero waste challenge you have to look at things carefully and read the labels to find out if you can recycle certain packaging, but after a few more visits to the shops, you gradually become comfortable with the brands that serve you well and indeed the places and routines that help make a zero waste or minimal waste lifestyle a real possibility.

In business terms, it's as simple as "Outcome Thinking". You just look at your goal, which is a slimmer bin and then you make changes accordingly and most importantly you take small steps to incorporate rubbish-free choices into your life.

It just takes a little time and some research and very soon you'll find the ability to focus on products that create so little waste you'll be wondering how you created so much rubbish in the first place.

And a whole year later, you'll find yourself not looking back.

Well that's what happened to me, until I found myself wondering what it would actually be like to go back to my old shopping habits, like journeying through time to explore the kinds of things I would have bought on what would be a normal visit to the supermarket.

Don't get me wrong. My zero waste lifestyle hasn't meant that I've abandoned supermarkets, but where I used to rely on them 100% and NEVER visited the market, I now flirt between the market, supermarkets, farm shops and the farmers' market, depending on my routine.

So what I'm trying to say is, I fit shopping around my routine, instead of creating a routine specifically for shopping, picking things up "en route" on the way to somewhere else and buying little and often in accordance with what we really need. Shopping this way has been very liberating to say the least and has meant it's been easier to cope with my family's eating habits and has contributed to a life of less waste. With a monthly online delivery for basics and picking up fresh ingredients as I go along means it has become less of a chore.

So when considering going back to my "old ways", I was intrigued what it would be like if I did a whole week's shop in a supermarket, just like I used to. And my port of call just had to be our local Sainsbury's store not least because it's on my doorstep, but it's also supporting Red Nose Day too.

NOT SO CAREFUL PLANNING!

So on Sunday morning we pitched up and Little J and I were raring to go shopping in style.

But we'd not even entered the supermarket and we were already breaking away from my zero waste habits. You see, zero waste shopping is all about planning!


No.1: Never go shopping when hungry. It makes sense really. If you don't want to splash out on unecessary treats, always go shopping AFTER you've eaten. But oh dear, by the time we'd got ourselves sorted and got out of the house, our arrival time was 11am. I'd hoped we might make it home by 12pm, but the truth is we were at the supermarket for 2 hours...yes TWO HOURS ... shopping through lunchtime. Now that's a guaranteed way of buying more food than necessary if ever I've seen one!


No.2: Avoid taking the kids. It's a great idea to leave the kids at home, because they have an amazing way of making you buy more than you need. So the top tip is to leave the little people with your partner, family or friends allowing you to avoid anything from gentle persuasion to full blown pester power. I didn't quite manage to go child-free yesterday, but Little J came along to pester me in every aisle and indeed he did!


No.3: Choose the smallest trolley you can. The smaller your trolley, the less you'll fill it up. With my infrequent visits to the supermarket, my weapon of choice is normally a basket or a small trolley. But yesterday was different. We were on a mission to fill it with loads of goodies so we needed a cart that could hack it.


No. 4: Take a list. Now if you don't take a list, you're at risk of buying the whole shop and a whole load of packaging to go with it! I never used to write lists and I really used to bring home half the shop. Yesterday I was on a mission to achieve this ambition, so the list went on vacation to the black hole.


No.5: Take some reusable containers. Now it might be bizarre, but whenever I go to the farmshop, I take a container for the meat cuts and the butcher is happy to use them. They think it's a great idea and are alway happy to oblige. But when I go into a supermarket, I get put off by their health & safety regulations and corporate policies and the fear of feeling a freak. So I didn't bother with the containers yesterday and headed off to the meat aisle for alternative products.


No.6: Take some reusable bags: Oh dear, this was a toughie. I can't believe how long it took to train myself to remember my reusable bags and these days I don't leave home without them when I am off shopping. It's just an automatic action, like picking up my handbag and keys. But the only bags I have are for Waitrose, and I felt embarrassed taking them into a competitor's store. It's like taking in an advertising billboard.

So I thought I'd leave them behind and see if I could use the flimsy ones from the checkout instead. After all the challenge was to create as much rubbish as possible. But despite my bravado, it felt strange going shopping without bags and it was as if I'd forgotten something really important like my credit card or handbag, or indeed the children. It was an uncomfortable feeling indeed and I didn't like it. And as I walked through the store I really couldn't bear the thought of picking up the free flimsy ones at the check-out, even if I could reuse them or indeed recycle them.

But look at my discovery - special bags for Comic Relief. And the best thing was, they were made from 100% recycled plastic. Just look at that grin - what approval!

THE SUPERMARKET SWEEP

So when I went shopping yesterday, I was on a mission to find out two key things.

1. Whether I could shop without considering the packaging and forget the concept of zero waste
2. The role of the supermarket in making waste reduction choices easy.

No wonder it took me so long.


Checking out the packaging!

Before I got into the store I had images of me breezing through the supermarket, popping things into my trolley without considering the consequences of what I bought. That is how I used to shop before I started my zero waste challenge last year. I used to walk right in and I would put stuff into the trolley without looking at the packaging, not interested in the recycling symbols and not even thinking about where the packets end containers would end up.

I can't help wondering if this is how most people shop these days, or if much of society has changed too.

And could I hack it? Did I really manage to go all the way around the supermarket without considering the packaging at all, just like I used to.

Well, I'm afraid the answer to that is NO!

From the fruit and veg section to frozen foods, I still gave thought to whether products were loose or packaged in materials that could be recycled locally.

When I envisaged this task, I bravely thought I could grab a bunch of bananas and pop them in a plastic weigh bag and do exactly the same with other produce such as oranges and broccoli. Well that's what I used to do. That used to be my normal behaviour!

But the reality is, these kinds of products don't need to be put into bags. They can just be placed in the trolley loose and that's what I did. I'm afraid my automatic response of REDUCE was still working, as you'll see in the photo above.

And when it came to smaller produce such as grapes and tomatoes, I couldn't even bear to consider the option of punnets, and pulled out my Onya weigh bags, which I bought a couple of weeks ago and which were conveniently tucked away in my handbag for emergencies. Tomatoes in one bag and grapes in the other...and Bob's your Uncle!



But then came the carrots.

Blimmin' carrots!

At first, I popped just a few large ones in the trolley. Then I spotted that a bag of washed carrots was cheaper than buying loose. I couldn't believe my eyes.

How could that be?

So like a game of hokey-cokey I put my left arm into the trolley and pulled a carrot out, then in-out, in-out, I put them each and every one of them back in the box, replacing the loose produce with a packet of pre-washed carrots.

Sold to the woman with the price-sensitive head on her shoulders!

And the same happened with the Buy One Get One Free bags of apples. With two boys who can eat me out of house and home on the apple front, it was cheaper to buy pre-packaged than loose. Well I thought it was, I found it quite hard to compare with the price labelling.

What a palaver!

I normally get my fruit and veg from the market where I hand over my bag to the stallholder, saying "fill her up". No packaging in sight apart from the odd paper bag that ends up in my compost bin. No decision making needed.

Blimmin' 'eck. No wonder I felt exhausted by the fruit and veg section. Decision, decisions, eh. I really could have done with a cup of tea!

And that's what it was like for the rest of the two hours, with me not being able to forget about the packaging.

And as for purchasing things I don't normally buy, well that's another story!

One thing I have discovered from our zero waste experience is that I now concentrate on buying the things that we really need and avoiding the things we don't. I used to go to the supermarket and regularly spend £120 on a trolley full of treats, but through poor time management a lot of that used to go to waste. These days, our weekly groceries bill just comes to £60-£90, depending on whether we need cat food or toilet paper or other incidentals.

And shopping this way means I have become naturally focused and not distracted by the usual goody-bag top-ups. A good job really, because my willpower is virtually zilch!

And can't you tell.

With a combination of free-rein and pester power my inner shopper was most certainly unleashed!

In went the Sunday Newspaper - which I still haven't opened - along with a box of fresh cream cakes and a few ready meals, including a pizza and quiche. Well I have got a busy week this week, with no time to cook, so a busy mum needed an alternative solution. And thanks to my 7 year old companion there were biscuits, snack bars, crisps, chocolate mousses and a couple of chocolate eggs. And then some mini-cheeses, all individually wrapped up in a little net bag.

And I took advantage of the 3 for 2s in the juice aisle, filling up the trolley with juice cartons, which is something I gave up ages ago, because I don't have the space to store them for recycling. So in they went, six cartons, carefully placed in the trolley.

But there was one thing I just couldn't manage to buy, one particular product that I used to throw in my trolley week-by-week before doing the zero waste challenge.

Strawberry shaped yogurts, in a little net bag.

Lovely looking things and perfect for kids.

But to consume the contents, you have to suck the yoghurt through a teeny tiny opening at the top of the moulded packaging. Convenient for consuming but more cumbersome for recycling.

I was right on the brink of putting them in my trolley and they were just teetering on the edge when I reconsidered the consequences. Could I lazily throw out such packaging to landfill, when an ordinary yoghurt pot could be rinsed and at least have a chance of survival in Suffolk's recycling system?

Oh dear. I decided I couldn't but neither could I be bothered to cut them up to wash them out either.

So they went back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

I'm not very good at creating rubbish am I?

Out of everything, it was the strawberry shaped yoghurt pots, that highlighted I can no longer go shopping without considering the packaging that I put in my trolley.

I was still switching products in accordance with their recyclable credentials.

Oh the relief and cries of "Thank Goodness"!



But how easy was is it to shop waste-free at the supermarket?

The answer to this question is wholly dependent on where you live.

For me, I am confident that having bunged a whole range of goodies in the trolley, there is still hope for a zero-waste result. That is because we have such excellent recycling facilities in Bury St Edmunds that even pasta packaging can be taken to our Household Waste Recycling Centre as well as the plastic used for Cathedral City cheese - our little 4 year old's favourite.

But it's also due to improvements in package labelling, which is vital. And I couldn't help but notice how Sainsbury's packaging has changed and the majority of products I handled, particularly own brand goods had recycling advice for the consumer.

And you can't get bigger or bolder than the instructions on their own brand of Wholewheat Biscuits. The message is loud and clear!

"If every Sainsbury's customer recycled their cereal box, 750 tonnes of cardboard would be reused every year. That's the equivalent to 101 double-decker buses."



It also states that they were the first to make their cereal boxes smaller and are making sure that more of their packaging is environmentally friendly, indicating the box is now made from at least 85% recycled cardboard.

What a great message to pass onto the customers.

But it's not just the the message that's important.

In the words of Frank Carson, it's the way you tell 'em.

And on that packet of Wholewheat Biscuits, Sainsbury's got it just right.

You see, I went to pick up a normal packet of Weetabix, but my 7 year old bag of pester power stopped me in my tracks, clutching Sainsbury's own label alternative. He begged me to buy it because of the lovely picture of the double-decker bus! And he even had the cheek to say "Remember to recycle this carton", happily reading the picture of the post-it note on the back of the box as he held it gleefully in his hands.

Surely that's pester power at its best and if companies like Sainsbury's continue to harness the full potential of this bundle of eco-marketing fun in an ethical manner, then it's an all-round winner, I'm sure.

As I wandered around the store looking at the recycling messages on each item of packaging I picked up, it was encouraging to see the number of references to recycling polythene packaging in-store. And as for using the weigh-in bags, there were even reminders, asking customers whether they really need the bags in the first-place.

However, I couldn't help wondering if there was more that a supermarket could do to help encourage customers to reduce waste. Not just Sainsbury's but other supermarkets too.

Wouldn't it be great if they sold reusable Onya Weigh-in bags, or at least removed plastic bags from sections where they are not needed, such as next to the bananas. Branded containers would be great too, for people to reuse at the deli counters. Just like my local farmshop, it would be fabulous if they could trust customers with the responsiblity of washing them carefully before reuse.

I also think it would be invaluable if they worked more closely with the local authorities and displayed more useful recycling information around the store, promoting details that are relevant to the area. For example in Bury St Edmunds, we can recycle meat trays in our wheelie bins, as well as Tetrapacks at our recycling centre and even rice packaging can be taken there too. I couldn't help think that a few carefully placed signs would help raise awareness of this and add to the council's efforts. After all we're all in this together and it would be a prime example of joined up thinking

But at the end of the day, no matter what role the supermarkets play in waste reduction, it all comes down to individual shopping choices and the personal responsibility for recycling once you pack your boot and take the trolley to the trolley park.

"Your Rubbish Your Choice" is the slogan used by the Norfolk Waste Partnership, just over the border from Suffolk.

And they're quite right.

I couldn't quite leave my Zero Waste head behind yesterday but I still have an issue. When the food is gone I'll have some extra rubbish to deal with this week

But this rubbish is my responsibility. And with our excellent recycling facilities can I really let it all end up in landfill, where it will all go to waste, buried into the ground.

I really don't think so, but let's see at the end of the week shall we.

In the meantime, here's a reminder of what could actually happen to it.


Perhaps it's time to have a look at that picture of my shopping again.

And remember that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Then look back at the photo of landfill, with the bin lorry regurgitating all that rubbish onto the ground.

I can safely say, I don't think I've really seen anything so ugly!

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Pondering rubbish

Blimey. Look what happened last week. I did so much thinking, by Friday my brain hurt so much I disappeared into oblivion, not even leaving an "au revoir".

What's been weighing on my mind is this week's challenge. This time last year I was nervous. The prospect of doing a Zero Waste Week and trying to throw nothing away for seven days seemed difficult enough, but the idea of a Maximum Waste Week, which is what I've got planned for next week, seems even harder somehow and is pushing a whole range of awkward buttons that a ZWW never did.

Don't get me wrong. Even though we are good at keeping our rubbish very low, I haven't become so obsessed that I panic if we throw away more than our regular monthly carrier bag's worth. I've learned to accept that some things happen that are just out of my control and it doesn't matter in the great scheme of things.

Indeed take the other week,when the lovely folk at Abel & Cole sent me a free range chicken to try out. Of course I am always grateful for free food, especially if it's of good quality and has been ethically produced, but as I got ready to put it in the oven, I saw something rather scary poking out from between its legs.


Giblets!

Yes, blimmin' giblets.

I'm sorry, I know I'm the squeamish type - and even typing the word is making me feel ill - but confronting such things, particularly in an unexpected manner makes me feel positively sick.

I tried my best. I closed my eyes, stuffed my hand into the crevice and yanked them out to cries of "eurgh, yuk and ick". It was a scene that resembled a challenge from "I'm a celebrity, get me out of here", but in my very own kitchen. Following the momentary madness I put them in the box and popped them in the fridge, thinking that I'd ring Mrs Green over at MyZeroWaste for advice on how to deal with them. But I was in denial. I didn't really want to know how to deal with giblets so in the fridge they stayed until all I could do was throw them away.

But the giblets were only part of the story. The afternoon that I cooked the chicken, Mr A was three hours late from work. By the time he arrived home the chicken was so shrivelled it looked more like a poussin and as for me, my tiredness had left me in a careless disposition, culminating in opening a cupboard door to pull down a couple of plates and knocking over several cups and other assorted crockery. I could only watch helplessly as they tumbled out of the cupboard, all in slow motion, and smashed the vase and glass that stood on the worktop below.

All wrapped up in a couple of bags and placed in a cardboard box for good measure, the broken bits went in the bin along with a couple of dirty nappies left by some little visitors we had entertained that week.

And I never thought about it again, until a lady got in touch to see if I'd had the opportunity to write a blogpost about the Abel & Cole chicken. How she laughed when she heard my tale of woe. I think she understood how the misadventure would not have been the fairest review of what should have been a delicious wholesome meal.

So you can imagine that the amount of rubbish we threw out that week had not just doubled, it had probably quadrupled.

Throwing away the fall-out of an unexpected set up unfortunate circumstances is one thing. However this week's challenge is another.

This week's challenge is going to be difficult indeed, a Maximum Waste Week eh! Trying to throw away as much as I can. At face value, it might seem simple. Throwing away rubbish is so easy isn't it. After all, I never used to give it any thought at all. But having spent a year of reducing, reusing and recycling and changing our shopping habits to suit our local recycling facilities, can I really go against all that, even for just one week.

It would mean changing habits that have been normalised into everyday behaviour, so much so that everything we do is now automatic. And with all I've learned during the 15 months, there is also the issue of responsibility to address. Having visited landfill last year and understanding why we have to reduce our waste, will I really be able to go back to throwing away food waste and the stuff that we used to bin, now knowing that most of it is recyclable?

That's why I feel nervous and it shows that knowledge and awareness are crucial tools that underpin the waste management issues that affect the UK.

And I can add to that the importance of respect.

Respecting the environment at large, and recognising that our actions have a wider implication on the climate, other countries, other species and our future generations.

Oh dear it looks like I'm doing a lot of thinking again! And you all know where that gets me!

And just before I go to the shops too.

Yes, It's time to head to the supermarket for my first challenge and see if I can fill my trolley with a whole load of rubbish for me to deal will.

Sounds easy in principle, but will it be so easy in practice?

I'm already wondering whether I can really leave my reusable bags at home and pick up some flimsy plastic bags at the checkout. You'll have to come back tomorrow and find out. In the meantime, please wish me a whole dose of luck!

Oh to think I'm doing all this to raise money for Comic Relief.

After all my thinking and worrying, I'll be more in need of Pain Relief! So please feel free to donate any cash to cover the cost of a few packets of Paracetamol here. You can be sure it will go a long, long way and you will be supporting a very good cause indeed.

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