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)

Bar soap and bar shampoo.

Cat food in recycleable tins instead of non recyclable sachets

Wash everything on 30

Enormous compost area

Wildlife garden

Feed the birds/badgers/foxes

From what I gather the best thing by a very long way is to reduce meat and dairy. Still in early stages and introducing new meals slowly to my little fussy eaters ( fab with fruit and veg, but beans, lentils and anything with sauce has been treated with suspicion!)

Also, probably as much for the human aspect as the environment- second hand clothing where possible and ethically made where it needs to be new ( underwear, shoes)

Plastics reduced to a minimum

Trialling homemade products like haircare, bodywash etc to avoid nasty chemicals as well as plastic.

@zzzzz there’s a product called guppybag which claims to stop fibers from being washed away down the drain. You just have to clean it out like a filter once in a while.

PET FOOD POUCHES & BAGS NOW RECYCLABLE!!!

www.terracycle.co.uk/en-GB/brigades/petfood

I just want to say thank you for this thread! Very informative.

I have attached myself to a rather lovely travel cup I had for Christmas. Almost never leave the house without it, I've found it useful even just for asking for tap water when out and about.

As above plus

Ecoegg for laundry
Become an almost- veggie family
Bamboo toothbrushes
Saving up for electric car but we walk or take train a lot.

Also, we got solar installed on the roof- not for leccy but to heat hot water. Our gas bill is very low between April and October. Had it 6 years and has almost paid for itself now, think was about £6k.

@Gwenhwyfar apparently you'll be able to recycle black ready meal plastic at M&S soon.

Milk delivered in glass bottles from local farm
Ditto free range
eggs in reused boxes

Havn’t washed anything above 30 for years!! Don’t use tumbler drier in summer, Minimal in winter.
Get lots of clothes second hand for the dc and I.
Browse charity shops - lots of books, games, toys, dvd, kitchen stuff from there.

We all have showers rather than baths, have done for years.

We use bar soap rather than shower gel, although finding one without palm oil is tricky. Working on finding bar shampoo/conditioner.

We’re trying to find bamboo toothbrushes that work, but none have been very “scrubby”.

When we buy stuff new, we buy it to last. High quality, repairable, with low/no intention of replacing it in the short-medium term.

Where we buy clothes new, I favour ethical/organic brands like Howies, Patagonia, Thought, Celtic and Bam.

We get locally reared meat from the butcher. I don’t eat meat, but the rest of my household do. Our village butcher was on Hairy Bikers!

I make jam from local fruit, and “Nutella” because we can’t find a nice one without Palm oil.

We don’t do adult presents at Christmas. Or but new outfits for every special occasion.

I’d love to cycle to work, but it’s too far in time and the nature of my work can take me 100s of miles a day. DH cycles to work when feasible.

Only fly about once a year.

These are just a few things. We do plenty of less good things too!

I never buy bottled drinks, abd am trying hard not to buy cellophane wrapped snacks, although since Walker’s started recycling crisp packets, I have started but the odd bag of crisps!

I'm still using my desk top computer that I bought in 2005, and also my nokia 3310.
Also, use recycled materials - like old jewelry from charity shops in my artwork if I can.
Save any packaging wrapped around bought posted goods, and reuse when sending artwork out. Ditto at art fairs.
Don't have a dishwasher and only wash my few pots once a day in the evening. No tumbledryer too, prefer to see washing flapping in the breeze.

...probably lots more I can't remember right now, and ditto to many mentioned above.

Mine are to save money rather than eco but I use soap rather than shower gel. I have about 6 ikea bags in the boot of my car for the weekly shop, and take a cloth bag if I'm going to town. I don't buy bottled water, tap is fine.

Reusable nappies
Milk in glass
Try to buy produce loose in own bags
Local health food shop has bio d cleaning stuff and faith in nature shampoo etc in refill bottles, so use that
Wash everything possible on 30
I try not to drive much, dh has to for work but that can't be helped.
Mooncup
Never buy bottled water, have stainless bottles that go everywhere with us and have lasted years
Buy mainly second hand where possible
Try to shop for new stuff in good quality, ethical brands

@GiantKitten cordial often comes in glass bottles rather than plastic. Sorry, I'm more into cutting out plastic than general eco friendly.

@BikeRunSki are bamboo toothbrushes quite soft then? Because I'm put off by not being able to specify "soft' which my family and I need or prefer.

Use flannels on the table instead of wet wipes.
Refill laundry detergent and washing up liquid at local health food place. (Haven't got round to swapping the shower gels etc, they all seem prohibitively expensive)
Switched to paper stemmed cotton buds.
Bar soap instead of hand wash.
Tupperware instead of cling film.
Using recycled or recyclable gift wrap. Bits of nice fabric, newspapers with potato prints, brown paper with a nice ribbon, that sort of thing.
Reducing beef to once a month for the family. (Not popular at all!)
Packed lunches and reusable mugs taken everywhere.
Snacks like crisps/biscuits bought in a big pack rather than individual servings.
Constantly reminding children to turn lights off.

Still a long way from where I want to be though.

do many of the things listed so won't list again, but have finally found a good conditioner bar made by a local lady here in Scotland. She trades as "Foam made" and they have a facebook page.

have stopped buying things like ketchup, oil and honey in squeezy plastic bottles and buy the glass bottles and jars. Reusable dishcloths which go in the washing machine - my friend in USA knits them for me and they last for years!

Have also switched to toothpaste tabs as tubes can't be recycled.

Bottle tops often can't be recycled so save them all and then send FREEPOST to Lush who melt them down to make outdoor furniture from them.

@drookit - I have tried a few brands and they have all been soft to the point of being ineffective.

I used cloth nappies - some of them had graced my brother’s bottom nearby 50 years ago!

zzzz I think you can get bamboo heads for one of the electric toothbrushes?
And have you tried cotton fleece jumpers?

Thanks to the pp who said supermarket carrier bag recycling take frozen food bags etc, I've just checked this website and actually there is lots they take that I didn't realise so I'm going to start saving it all for recycling from now on
www.recyclenow.com/what-to-do-with/plastic-film

Little things I do
Use tupperware for lots of things I used to use cling film for
Always take my own bag when shopping
Buy a veg box from the butchers most weeks now and reuse the box it comes in too.
No baby wipes, use a flannel instead keep one especially for the kids sticky hands and wash it when needed
Hardly use cling film, kitchen roll anymore and going to cut down on cleaning products too
I never buy books for me I only use the library. I use the library for the kids too but tbh they end up getting more than enough for Christmas and birthdays.

Generally just trying to buy less stuff! Trying to do a no new clothes for me year this year. I don't need anything. I already buy a lot of the kids stuff second hand, NCT sales are great for young kids.

Oh and switched to a moon cup!

Thanks @BikeRunSki I may give them a try.
@zzzzz foil on lasagne?

Some Boots Opticians have a contact lens recycling dropoff point... I think they also have a contract with Terra-cycle.