Little ways in which you help the environment and/or reduce waste

[GunpowderGelatine]

I thought we could have a thread where we share the small low-effort ways in which we can make changes and reduce waste.

• we have a good waste digester. Smarter than a regular compost bin as it takes all food waste even bones. Got it at a discount at £30 and I love it, it gives me really lovely compost too and we literally have no food waste going in the black bin

• I buy as much second hand as possible, if the kids need new clothes I look for bundles on Facebook, I only really buy new shoes or specific clothing like costumes for book day. Most things are like new when given a good clean anyway.

• I've stopped buying DVDs and subscribed to Netlifx, and if I do get a specific DVD I go to CeX and get it second hand

• i refuse to buy anything with unnecessary packaging, like fruit and veg (I only buy it loose)

• use less bath water and limit the number of baths we take

• I wash everything at 30, if it's stained I'll go to 40 with a bit of Vanish on it and if it's smelly I use a white wine vinegar solution on it before I wash it

• I only use eco friendly cleaning products (this has helped with our allergies massively too, no more sneezing after wiping the tops down)

Recycle as much as I can, take a water bottle to work so never use those little plastic cups, shower rather than take baths, cutting down on cling film use, ensure all switches/electronics are off before bed, try to use as little bleach as possible- a drop in the ocean compared to some people though, yous have my full admiration

Slightly off topic but I'm asking for suggestions.

My carer's hobby is making soap. He has been looking into starting a business but wants to be as eco friendly as possible, ie just a cigar band round the soap rather than a plastic covering.

But - if it gets wet it will turn to mush and exposed to the air it begins to degrade, not a huge problem in a bathroom but if he sent it through the post it would be.

We have been discussing options, one of which would is some sort of reusable packaging, a bento box is one suggestion.

If you were buying soap online would you be happy to return packaging? Obviously there would be a cost implication so what would you think was worth paying?

Or any other ideas / suggestions?

Since reading this I'm thinking or looking into bamboo.

I buy soap online in paper packaging - usually a paper wrapping for the soap and e.g. shredded paper in a cardboard box as the mailing box.
Never had a problem with wet soap arriving!

Some great suggestions here, I have got a shopping list of alternatives now.
One thing I recently discovered, if you have any old, knackered shoes that you can’t pass on to someone else or give to a charity shop because they are in too bad condition. Clark’s will take them (in any condition) as they have a shoe share programme with UNICEF.

“ShoeShare is a campaign in partnership with Unicef and Clarks Shoes. The campaign collects old or unwanted shoes, which are sent for re-use. For every tonne of shoes collected, a donation is made to Unicef which goes towards education programmes around the world.”

They don’t have to be Clark’s shoes that you drop off. So one less thing in landfill and money raised for a good cause. Win, win!

Soap nuts sound interesting, I think I'll look into that. If nothing else, it'll reduce the amount of stuff in the space I store wash powder, etc.

We do have a cold water dispenser at work, plumbed in and able to take sports/drink bottles and cups easily, so most of us have a water bottle on our desk as well as or instead of mugs of tea or coffee etc.

My family (including extended) also re-use gift bags and tissue paper. In some cases, we've had a couple circulate round the family more than half a dozen times (and probably longer, as I don't see every time they get used).

I realised I have a number of different cleaning chemicals stuffed under the sink, so I'll go through them this weekend and work out what I want to keep using from now on, and if they need switching to a more friendly product.

I drive a fully electric car. I commute 15k miles per year for £20 a month home charging. I'll never go back to ICE.

We moved into a new house (individual village build - not an estate) with excellent insulation and super efficient air source heat pump heating (very rural area - no gas, so everyone else is on oil).

We use a renewable electricity supplier. We aspire to have a solar array and home battery too eventually but can't afford it yet.

We use virtually zero household cleaning products - instead both us and our cleaner use e-cloths for pretty much everything. Exceptions are toilet cleaner, limescale remover and a specialist spray for cleaning cat urine (we have 3 cats).

Gave up bottled water with 1 small exception - I keep a few emergency bottles in the car for when I am at the stables as there is no drinking water to refill my re-usable bottle - and sometimes I am there for an entire day so need more.

We moved back to block butter in a butter dish last year - no more plastic tubs of spreadable.

I've just ordered some of the Jangneus cloths mentioned by a pp. I don't like the feel of microfibre cloths.
Sadly our milkman stopped delivering milk after 28 years so we are now using plastic cartons.
We grow a lot of fruit and vegetables and have done for years. We do not use weedkillers or fertilizer.

OK, anyone who is thinking of buying the Who Gives a Crap recycled paper, it is actually crap.

I have just received a box on the basis that it was a good thing, however it is very soft which is OK but is the type that will disintegrate as soon as you touch it. I don't know how they can call it 3 ply. It is actually going to cost more because it will require many more sheets to be effective.

And they don't take PayPal due to the costs.

All very well to do a good thing with the toilet providing but would be better to produce a better product and charge more. It really is a disappointing purchase.

I hace come home early in order to sign for my WGAC delivery on the third attempt. I M not prepared to take a half day off work every time I get a delivery, so unfortunately I won’t be ordering again, as they insist on a signature.

GiantKitten I can't even try the Felix in tins because I have a Giant Cat who has learned from his predecessor that the only food to eat is Felix Meaty Loaf which is not sold everywhere and as far as I know is only sold in pouches. Due to being a Giant Cat he eats more than the Average Cat that I used to have and two or three times as much as the Tiny Cat who would leave the chunks for him to hoover up after licking off the pate. Now it is only him and he has become King of the Meaty Loaf.

Some sugars are natural so may not be added, but I am not keen on the cassia gum. A while ago I examined some of the pet food content and only bought those that were soya free as it apparently affected behaviour and I had a 'difficult' cat. I tend to check labels for everything I buy to avoid certain things like palm oil or fat but it all began with the search for good cat food. I would be the only one in the pet food aisle that was there for hours just reading labels while all the other cat ladies came and went.

I admit to using microfibre cloths but only because I already have them so when they are gone I will be looking at alternatives, will take a look at your links, thank you.

Re: packaging for soap. Some sellers used to use popcorn instead of packing peanuts, plain popcorn obviously, not the stuff that is coated in sweeteners.

Not sure how it would hold up on a day like today when my parcels (one being the crappy toilet rolls) arrived in damp boxes and the poor guy only had to bring them a few yards.

The soap from the Friendly Soap company comes in a tight-fitting box, I order 4 or 6 bars at a time and the bars can't move. Each bars is wrapped in a thin card box too, all recyclable.

Splosh cleaning products are packed to reduced the amount of packing used and for it to be compostable and/or recyclable. You can return the pouches liquids come in to be recycled too.

We use Who Gives A Crap recycled paper, on our third delivery so far.
IMO it's of perfectly acceptable quality for wiping your arse and then flushing down the drain!

I agree. WGAC loo roll is absolutely fine for my delicate arse.
I've never signed for the box either.

Same, i have found the WGAC loo roll to be quite robust, more than adequate for my bum... When i ordered I'm sure i ticked a box saying that i gave permission for the delivery person to leave the box outside the front door if i wasn't in. That's what they did, anyway!

Drookit star wrapping paper has arrived... Decent quality, not as thick as brown parcel paper, but better quality than my usual cheapest-in-card-factory wrapping paper of choice. Have just wrapped a present without ripping it anyway.

Re butter instead of soft spread - is the butter packaging just paper or paper coated in plastic i.eis it recyclable? I realise still less packaging than soft spread in a tub. Do you keep the butter in the fridge or on the side? As I find it so difficult to spread!

Thanks for the Clarks shoes tip i have some totally worn to pieces old school shoes of dds and was wondering what to do with them. I wish these things were more advertised!

I've started saving the stretchy type bags and bottle tops thanks to this thread

Has anybody seen stuff about ecobricks? Check out the FB page, it seems a good idea but quite difficult to do!

@foxessocks
Butter lives on the side in a butter dish. In very hot weather we only put part of a block in the dish at a time though. It’s always spreadsble but keeps well.
The wrappers vary though-some are recyclable and some aren’t. The papery ones are snd the coated foil ones usually aren't. But even those are less packaging than tubs.

I'm very happy with my Who Gives a Crap toilet paper.

And the delivery people just leave the box outside the door.

I keep a chunk of butter in a small dish in the plate cupboard (away from the butter-eating cat). In cold weather I give it 5-10 seconds in the microwave, which works pretty well; in very hot weather it stays in the fridge & gets 10-15 seconds.

Thanks all. Do you get salted or unsalted for normal use on toast etc? I've never actually used real butter apart from in cooking when I always get unsalted! I think I might give it a go. Probably healthier too. Dh will still have soft spread for him as he doesn't like real butter but at least it would cut plastic down if me and the dc switch.

I changed to unsalted, now when we're out and about I find the butter they give you for scones etx too early and can't eat it.

Salted here - unsalted too bland for me.

According to this there’s only 0.15g salt in 10g of salted butter & I don’t use much salt anyway.

Salted lurpak here and I think it keeps better than most other butters. I keep it in a lidded tin on the side in the kitchen.
You used to be able to get a Lakeland insulated metal butter dish.