Some of my work involves working with children at primary and secondary schools. Every time I witness break time, I can see a class of 30 take out their bag of crisps each, followed by a chocolate bar.
30 crisps packets per class, in every class, every school day.
My older daughter will be starting school soon and I dread the advent of peer pressure. The other day, on our way home, she already explained to me how she needed chocolates in her lunch box because one child (note, just one!) in the forest kindergarten always had chocolate. I didn't manage to bring across how that wasn't a good idea, as much as I tried.
In the good old time of my own childhood (which of course weren't all that much better) I never saw a bag of crisps. We ate crisps for parties, occasionally as a treat at weekends in the house. My lunch box? Well, I ate at home, didn't get money to spend and would eat a sandwich for lunch which occasionally came with chocolate tablets as filling. I remember waffles which were sweet and probably not very healthy. But most certainly there were no crisps and no chocolate bars ever. Similarly, I would never have thought about spending my pocket money on sweets. It just didn't occur to me. I saved for Hifi's, cameras and later records.
So as of September, will I have to bend down to pressure or will I manage to rule with authority? I shudder to think of a packet of crisps going down my child 5 days a week on 38 school days. How much rubbish is that over 12 school years? Rubbish in terms of nutrition but also in terms of waste. So I had this idea when one group of children (who surely have their bags of crisps too) suggested that we could do a project on a healthy eating theme. Well, how about doing a crisps free lunch, or even a rubbish free lunch day, a day where all the lunches have to be either without packaging or one that can be recycled?
I'm rather excited by this idea. Not sure if the kids will go for it though and they have the say as far as picking a project is concerned. Temptation usually wins doesn't it? Or maybe not?
As for my own children, somehow the school furthest from a shop has taken on a new appeal.
Mummy do that!
Showing posts with label rubbish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rubbish. Show all posts
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Thursday, 8 September 2011
Gimme less rubbish!
It's Zero Waste Week everyone!
And I'm awfully late getting around to blogging something for it, forgive me, life seriously took over.
Some time ago I was flabbergasted by the story of the family behind My Zero Waste. They managed to get through a full year with just one tiny bag of rubbish. I was in awe. I mean really, how many bags of rubbish do you put out each week? Well, in my case it's definitely a bit more than one bag a year...
Anyway, I got pushed into thinking a bit about the waste we produce and how to reduce it. After all, each piece of packaging that goes into the bin doesn't just add to the mountains of landfill that will take years, many years to decompose, but it's also a waste. Not just of that wrapper but of resources to produce it. And once you get your head around just how much unneeded stuff is produced to wrap, package and display, and that the resources used that way are effectively taking away resources from our own children in the future, something has to happen. At least in my head.
With the help of the Rubbish Diet blog I looked at ways to reduce my rubbish. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in it for a competition and producing even less rubbish in a year. I know I'm not the My Zero Waste superwoman. But I know I can reduce my rubbish. Everyone can. And then I try to reduce some more. Bit by bit. Little by litte. One step at a time. Until the day comes when your neighbour's bin is overflowing (because we have changed to fortnightly "normal" rubbish collections) while ours, with a larger family, is still not even half full.
My top tips are:
1. buy in bulk.
With everything, consider the larger quantity. It's mostly cheaper, but it means less packaging. So we have 5 kg sacks of rice and pasta, the largest shower cream possible (though soap is even better on the packaging side of things) etc
2. buy loose veg and fruit. We get a net of fruit and veg from an organic box scheme which is recycled, any additional fruit and veg is bought loose if available, and I try to buy any other fruit and veg with packaging in mind (weighing it against food miles though).
3. Consider packaging with every item you buy. So for biscuits I will only buy those in just one item of packaging, rather than triplicate packaging of something like pralines.
4. Focus on one behaviour change at a time. So, one week/month, change over to only using reusable bags for your shopping until it's second nature. Only then do the next. I'm currently focusing on zero waste lunches for the kids and myself though I'm not quite there yet. When I worked with a primary school the other day, I saw 33 children take out a packet of crisps each at their morning break time. Imagine, one class, 33 foil wrappers, every single day. times every single class. Mind boggling. Surely this isn't necessary?
5. One biggie: cloth nappies or EC (elimination communication). I do use disposables occasionally and at night time and even with that occasional use, it makes for one shopping bag full of rubbish. So I tried going all cloth. It worked for a while, but since my return to work, well, something has to give. All I can say though is that a good cloth nappy leaks less than a disposable! EC is not for me I have to admit, as with everything, you have to weigh up if it's doable for you or not.
6. Look at what you can do outside the house. For instance, at work we recycle paper but we don't recycle milk bottles. So I'll be taking them home now for recycling in my recycling bin.
7. Find out if you can get your milk delivered in reusable glass bottles. It will be more expensive but a) you get them conveniently to your door and b) no more bit ugly plastic bottles!
8. Use tap water rather than bottles. Whenever I can't stomach tap water (in some parts it has quite a chlorine taste) I use diluting juice just enough to cover that taste. That way the diluting juice lasts for months and yet I don't get quite such a sweet tooth for drinks.
9. Get a compost bin. Even if you live in flats, there may be a way that you could get together with neighbours and get one for the block of flats? Community composting is doable, there's lots of support out there for it so you don't need a garden to have a composting bin.
10. Grow your own - on windowsills, in community raised beds, in your own garden. Every pea you eat that you grew yourself has no packaging at all, tastes so much better, gives great satisfaction and makes for better health in so many ways. And it's fun too!
11. Opt out of junk mail. You will have to contact various organisations for that and you may still receive some junk, but less than before at least!
12. Reuse: Look at stuff and consider if you can reuse it. Maybe for a craft activity with the kids? Maybe as a plant pot? Maybe you can use that old garment for sewing something else? Kindle that creativity spark!
And last but not least: Embark on the Rubbish Diet Challenge.
That's the stuff I've managed to do. I still have half a bin of rubbish every fortnight, but that's only half of what we used to have. Which is more than a good start in my eyes. Now I only have to drop some hints to the neighbours how they can prevent their bin from overflowing ...
And I'm awfully late getting around to blogging something for it, forgive me, life seriously took over.
Some time ago I was flabbergasted by the story of the family behind My Zero Waste. They managed to get through a full year with just one tiny bag of rubbish. I was in awe. I mean really, how many bags of rubbish do you put out each week? Well, in my case it's definitely a bit more than one bag a year...
Anyway, I got pushed into thinking a bit about the waste we produce and how to reduce it. After all, each piece of packaging that goes into the bin doesn't just add to the mountains of landfill that will take years, many years to decompose, but it's also a waste. Not just of that wrapper but of resources to produce it. And once you get your head around just how much unneeded stuff is produced to wrap, package and display, and that the resources used that way are effectively taking away resources from our own children in the future, something has to happen. At least in my head.
With the help of the Rubbish Diet blog I looked at ways to reduce my rubbish. Don't get me wrong, I'm not in it for a competition and producing even less rubbish in a year. I know I'm not the My Zero Waste superwoman. But I know I can reduce my rubbish. Everyone can. And then I try to reduce some more. Bit by bit. Little by litte. One step at a time. Until the day comes when your neighbour's bin is overflowing (because we have changed to fortnightly "normal" rubbish collections) while ours, with a larger family, is still not even half full.
My top tips are:
1. buy in bulk.
With everything, consider the larger quantity. It's mostly cheaper, but it means less packaging. So we have 5 kg sacks of rice and pasta, the largest shower cream possible (though soap is even better on the packaging side of things) etc
2. buy loose veg and fruit. We get a net of fruit and veg from an organic box scheme which is recycled, any additional fruit and veg is bought loose if available, and I try to buy any other fruit and veg with packaging in mind (weighing it against food miles though).
3. Consider packaging with every item you buy. So for biscuits I will only buy those in just one item of packaging, rather than triplicate packaging of something like pralines.
4. Focus on one behaviour change at a time. So, one week/month, change over to only using reusable bags for your shopping until it's second nature. Only then do the next. I'm currently focusing on zero waste lunches for the kids and myself though I'm not quite there yet. When I worked with a primary school the other day, I saw 33 children take out a packet of crisps each at their morning break time. Imagine, one class, 33 foil wrappers, every single day. times every single class. Mind boggling. Surely this isn't necessary?
5. One biggie: cloth nappies or EC (elimination communication). I do use disposables occasionally and at night time and even with that occasional use, it makes for one shopping bag full of rubbish. So I tried going all cloth. It worked for a while, but since my return to work, well, something has to give. All I can say though is that a good cloth nappy leaks less than a disposable! EC is not for me I have to admit, as with everything, you have to weigh up if it's doable for you or not.
6. Look at what you can do outside the house. For instance, at work we recycle paper but we don't recycle milk bottles. So I'll be taking them home now for recycling in my recycling bin.
7. Find out if you can get your milk delivered in reusable glass bottles. It will be more expensive but a) you get them conveniently to your door and b) no more bit ugly plastic bottles!
8. Use tap water rather than bottles. Whenever I can't stomach tap water (in some parts it has quite a chlorine taste) I use diluting juice just enough to cover that taste. That way the diluting juice lasts for months and yet I don't get quite such a sweet tooth for drinks.
9. Get a compost bin. Even if you live in flats, there may be a way that you could get together with neighbours and get one for the block of flats? Community composting is doable, there's lots of support out there for it so you don't need a garden to have a composting bin.
10. Grow your own - on windowsills, in community raised beds, in your own garden. Every pea you eat that you grew yourself has no packaging at all, tastes so much better, gives great satisfaction and makes for better health in so many ways. And it's fun too!
11. Opt out of junk mail. You will have to contact various organisations for that and you may still receive some junk, but less than before at least!
12. Reuse: Look at stuff and consider if you can reuse it. Maybe for a craft activity with the kids? Maybe as a plant pot? Maybe you can use that old garment for sewing something else? Kindle that creativity spark!
And last but not least: Embark on the Rubbish Diet Challenge.
That's the stuff I've managed to do. I still have half a bin of rubbish every fortnight, but that's only half of what we used to have. Which is more than a good start in my eyes. Now I only have to drop some hints to the neighbours how they can prevent their bin from overflowing ...
Monday, 7 February 2011
Disposable Catering
:::PS: in the process of changing my blog template the comments feature has disappeared. I've enabled them now but have to repost so it takes effect. I had a thought provoking comment on my facebook account which I'll add to the debate and if you couldn't comment before, hopefully you can now:::
Every week I spent far too much time in the catering provided in Glasgow City Council facilities. The catering is outsourced to a private company, Encore catering. You'll find them in museums, sport centres and generally all Culture and Leisure Services establishments. Of course, Culture and Leisure Services is no longer part of Glasgow City Council in an attempt to half privatise non-essential services.
Anyway, this is what tickled my funny bone. A bit of context, I had a tea and a cake while Cubling and hubby went for a swim (I didn't go with Snowflake because I'm a bit paranoid now about infections and she hasn't had all her vaccinations yet. Instead I had a bit of lovely one-to-one time with her and me time while she napped. I even read a book, imagine.)
A cupa and a cake, right? Rubbish produced: one disposable cup, 5 empty milk containers, 2 empty sugar containers, one disposable plastic plate, one plastic spoon, one teabag.
I do appreciate that washing plates is time consuming and that kids occasionally break them. I also appreciate that it's safer to serve hot drinks to people with babies in paper cups.
However.
Isn't this health and safety gone too far? Snowflake was in her car seat so there was no immediate danger I'd pour my tea over her. In my mind I imagined the daily amount of waste this approach must produce. Waste that will cost the council an arm and a leg in landfill charge (because cardboard can't be recycled here, and neither can the plastic used in the plates and milk containers). Surely the council, and associated companies, should lead the way in reducing waste? Instead, as far as cafe style catering goes, Encore Catering uses a comparatively excessive amount of disposable items. More than, say, Morrisons or Ikea, who at least serve the food and drink in real cups.
Why this excess of disposable materials in a large chain? Is it to cut corners and reduce washing up? Does it reduce space needed? Surely so much disposable stuff needs space too, and with industrial type dishwashers I don't get how this can be a time issue, after all other cafes wash their dishes too.
Is it about safety and breakage, considering that many of such cafes are frequented by families and children will break the occasional plate?
I'd like to know, so will ask them. Maybe this needs to be raised from a few users of these cafes and they may change? I for one have a bit of a dilemma in that on the one hand I'm trying to live more sustainably, and I'm at least twice a week, sometimes more often, all my home efforts are outrubbished by having to significantly contribute to landfill just by having a cuppa.
And don't get me started on kid's lunch boxes (you know the cardboard boxes marketed at kids?).
Every week I spent far too much time in the catering provided in Glasgow City Council facilities. The catering is outsourced to a private company, Encore catering. You'll find them in museums, sport centres and generally all Culture and Leisure Services establishments. Of course, Culture and Leisure Services is no longer part of Glasgow City Council in an attempt to half privatise non-essential services.
Anyway, this is what tickled my funny bone. A bit of context, I had a tea and a cake while Cubling and hubby went for a swim (I didn't go with Snowflake because I'm a bit paranoid now about infections and she hasn't had all her vaccinations yet. Instead I had a bit of lovely one-to-one time with her and me time while she napped. I even read a book, imagine.)
A cupa and a cake, right? Rubbish produced: one disposable cup, 5 empty milk containers, 2 empty sugar containers, one disposable plastic plate, one plastic spoon, one teabag.
I do appreciate that washing plates is time consuming and that kids occasionally break them. I also appreciate that it's safer to serve hot drinks to people with babies in paper cups.
However.
Isn't this health and safety gone too far? Snowflake was in her car seat so there was no immediate danger I'd pour my tea over her. In my mind I imagined the daily amount of waste this approach must produce. Waste that will cost the council an arm and a leg in landfill charge (because cardboard can't be recycled here, and neither can the plastic used in the plates and milk containers). Surely the council, and associated companies, should lead the way in reducing waste? Instead, as far as cafe style catering goes, Encore Catering uses a comparatively excessive amount of disposable items. More than, say, Morrisons or Ikea, who at least serve the food and drink in real cups.
Why this excess of disposable materials in a large chain? Is it to cut corners and reduce washing up? Does it reduce space needed? Surely so much disposable stuff needs space too, and with industrial type dishwashers I don't get how this can be a time issue, after all other cafes wash their dishes too.
Is it about safety and breakage, considering that many of such cafes are frequented by families and children will break the occasional plate?
I'd like to know, so will ask them. Maybe this needs to be raised from a few users of these cafes and they may change? I for one have a bit of a dilemma in that on the one hand I'm trying to live more sustainably, and I'm at least twice a week, sometimes more often, all my home efforts are outrubbished by having to significantly contribute to landfill just by having a cuppa.
And don't get me started on kid's lunch boxes (you know the cardboard boxes marketed at kids?).
Monday, 24 January 2011
One month on: my living As Sustainable As Possible Pledge
Taking the ASAP pledge was a welcome start at just about the right time. The thing about making a pledge is that you take something seriously, make a commitment, and it's a start on a journey that may take you further than you initially thought. Not always, but if it comes at the point where it fits in with stuff that you've been trying to get your head around, it can be the start of quite a lot of things.
Of course I'm not pretending that I've turned my life around in a month. Far from it. It's just that it's a welcome start which could possibly lead to a bit more than just fulfilling my pledge.
So, what have I been up to in my quest to live more sustainably (or even finding out what living as sustainably as possible might mean in my humble world):
I've not bought any veg/fruit in plastic containers. It's quite easy to do that. It's sometimes the more expensive option, but on the whole I'm actually saving money, and this is how:
I've also tried to buy as locally as possible. We already get a vegetable bag delivery from an organic Scottish producer. There's so much in it that we'll have to reduce our order because I'm running out of freezer space for soup. I'm amazed how much of a difference having this weekly bag makes to my cooking and shopping habits. I've saved money on the weekly shopping, I almost never shop at any of the big supermarkets now although we used to do all our shopping there, and I've expanded my cooking skills. It's an all win situation. I've also effectively eliminated the weekly car trip to the supermarket, a sore thumb in our family time as I can't do it on my own with two kids, it was usually a family outing - time that could have been spent in a much nicer way.
How does it all work? Well, I try to use up all the delivery and because it's so much I cook from scratch and use much less of ready made items. I never thought this would actually save money, but it does. It also translates to less packaging, less plastic, less landfill.
Next, we got this leaflet from our local dairy through the door and found out that they do milk deliveries in plastic bottles. Perfect, milk delivered to our door at 5am and no more plastic milk bottles (which up to now were collected for the nursery's project to build a milk bottle green house, but they now have collected enough).
In the supermarket (that'll be the co-op rather than Tesco/Asda now because I can do my weekly shopping in the window between nursery drop off and rhyme time start, half an hour is all it takes) I've tried to stick to products with less packaging, fair trade, UK produce and, to reduce waste, in large packages. 240 teabags instead of 80. It's tricky because we haven't got much space, but with more fresh food we don't need as many tins anymore. Magically, there's now space in the cupboard. Space that can be used for large bags of rice and pasta, tea, etc.
Going shopping on a weekly basis also makes me realise the type of packaging that accumulates. Once again, the cartons are sore in my eye because our local council doesn't recycle cardboard and there are a lot of cardboard boxes in my shopping. Cardboard is better than plastic, but still. They could be avoided and I might consider this (different cereals, no more snack bars - that alone would at least reduce my cardboard waste by two thirds).
I'm considering taking up the rubbish diet challenge to learn a bit more about types of packaging and how to reduce my rubbish, although I'm not ambitious enough to manage a zero waste week (as much as I admire people who manage this!).
One other biggie for me is the ever present child's lunch bag in cafes. Cubling insist on it. Big cardboard box with a half sandwich (white bread), crisps (more packaging and not exactly healthy), an apple (which Cubling won't eat) and a juice in a carton (more packaging) - value about £1, cost between £3 and £4. I try to take a picnic lunch but sometimes I don't, and we end up with these lunch bags more often than not. Of course I'm in control of what my daughter can have, and maybe there will be a lunch bag ban (difficult if you're with other kids who are having them). There will be protest but maybe eventually she will understand why they are not a good idea.
So a few changes that seem realistic. And as with everything, once you've changed your habits, it'll become natural. And then I can tackle another few things on the list. And bit by bit, small steps make an increasingly bigger difference.
Time and time again I've read about how it's not about totally turning your lifestyle around, but about making those little changes, one step at a time, and before you know it you're on a journey that leads you to new and exciting places. Reducing your consumption and your waste by 1% is infinitely better than not doing anything. Because even starting the thinking process turns your habits around, and you sure won't stay at the 1% level. It's like running really. When I started running, I couldn't even run for a minute. 2 years later I ran a marathon. Once you start something, it can take you further into realms that you thought were more than beyond your reach.
Of course I'm not pretending that I've turned my life around in a month. Far from it. It's just that it's a welcome start which could possibly lead to a bit more than just fulfilling my pledge.
So, what have I been up to in my quest to live more sustainably (or even finding out what living as sustainably as possible might mean in my humble world):
I've not bought any veg/fruit in plastic containers. It's quite easy to do that. It's sometimes the more expensive option, but on the whole I'm actually saving money, and this is how:
I've also tried to buy as locally as possible. We already get a vegetable bag delivery from an organic Scottish producer. There's so much in it that we'll have to reduce our order because I'm running out of freezer space for soup. I'm amazed how much of a difference having this weekly bag makes to my cooking and shopping habits. I've saved money on the weekly shopping, I almost never shop at any of the big supermarkets now although we used to do all our shopping there, and I've expanded my cooking skills. It's an all win situation. I've also effectively eliminated the weekly car trip to the supermarket, a sore thumb in our family time as I can't do it on my own with two kids, it was usually a family outing - time that could have been spent in a much nicer way.
How does it all work? Well, I try to use up all the delivery and because it's so much I cook from scratch and use much less of ready made items. I never thought this would actually save money, but it does. It also translates to less packaging, less plastic, less landfill.
Next, we got this leaflet from our local dairy through the door and found out that they do milk deliveries in plastic bottles. Perfect, milk delivered to our door at 5am and no more plastic milk bottles (which up to now were collected for the nursery's project to build a milk bottle green house, but they now have collected enough).
In the supermarket (that'll be the co-op rather than Tesco/Asda now because I can do my weekly shopping in the window between nursery drop off and rhyme time start, half an hour is all it takes) I've tried to stick to products with less packaging, fair trade, UK produce and, to reduce waste, in large packages. 240 teabags instead of 80. It's tricky because we haven't got much space, but with more fresh food we don't need as many tins anymore. Magically, there's now space in the cupboard. Space that can be used for large bags of rice and pasta, tea, etc.
Going shopping on a weekly basis also makes me realise the type of packaging that accumulates. Once again, the cartons are sore in my eye because our local council doesn't recycle cardboard and there are a lot of cardboard boxes in my shopping. Cardboard is better than plastic, but still. They could be avoided and I might consider this (different cereals, no more snack bars - that alone would at least reduce my cardboard waste by two thirds).
I'm considering taking up the rubbish diet challenge to learn a bit more about types of packaging and how to reduce my rubbish, although I'm not ambitious enough to manage a zero waste week (as much as I admire people who manage this!).
One other biggie for me is the ever present child's lunch bag in cafes. Cubling insist on it. Big cardboard box with a half sandwich (white bread), crisps (more packaging and not exactly healthy), an apple (which Cubling won't eat) and a juice in a carton (more packaging) - value about £1, cost between £3 and £4. I try to take a picnic lunch but sometimes I don't, and we end up with these lunch bags more often than not. Of course I'm in control of what my daughter can have, and maybe there will be a lunch bag ban (difficult if you're with other kids who are having them). There will be protest but maybe eventually she will understand why they are not a good idea.
So a few changes that seem realistic. And as with everything, once you've changed your habits, it'll become natural. And then I can tackle another few things on the list. And bit by bit, small steps make an increasingly bigger difference.
Time and time again I've read about how it's not about totally turning your lifestyle around, but about making those little changes, one step at a time, and before you know it you're on a journey that leads you to new and exciting places. Reducing your consumption and your waste by 1% is infinitely better than not doing anything. Because even starting the thinking process turns your habits around, and you sure won't stay at the 1% level. It's like running really. When I started running, I couldn't even run for a minute. 2 years later I ran a marathon. Once you start something, it can take you further into realms that you thought were more than beyond your reach.
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