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)

Ooh another one, and I don't care that people my family think this is gross - using excess water from baths/watering cans etc to flush the loo instead of using the flush. I quite enjoy doing that

Lol @GunpowderGelatine, your answer re preventing pregnancy made me spit out my tea speaking of tea, Clipper have no plastic in their unbleached bags, and are the king of teas in my opinion.

Question re materials in clothes. If man made materials shed micro plastic particles into the oceans, and non responsible cotton is a environmental nightmare, what should we be buying clothes made from? (I am trying to buy all second hand at the moment, but wondering in general) I know fast fashion is an environmental disaster, and we should be buying things to last, but that's not always easy for e.g. with kids who outgrow things so fast

Only here could "bum sex" come up (no pun intended!) on a thread about doing our bit for the planet!

I bloody bloody love Mumsnet sometimes!

We use Evover washing up liquid as (and the manufacturer confirmed this) when I'm done the water is safe for watering plants/garden. Was extremely helpful last summer!

@nomorespaghetti

I think bamboo is meant to be the best alternative to cotton. I could be wrong though. And there don't seem to be too many clothing companies that use it!

Splosh for washing powder, toilet cleaner, kitchen cleaner and dishwasher tablets
Soap bars instead of handwash
Bamboo washable kitchen roll
Bamboo washable make up remover pads
Recently installed a radio frequency thermostat so we're not overheating rooms without realising

What's the Who Gives A Crap recycled like? I've been using bamboo toilet roll recently, and it's fine but I think the recycled is supposed to be greener. Happy to be corrected.

Viscose is in-betweeny - part natural, part synthetic - made from wood pulp? Shrinks worse than cotton though, IME.

www.contrado.co.uk/blog/what-is-viscose/

I love bamboo, as both fabric (mixed with cotton as a rule?) but also as a hard material for eg kitchen storage, compost caddies & trays. As the plants are cut-and-come-again & it grows really fast it’s like magic

www.simplififabric.com/pages/bamboo

FaceLikeAPairOfTits

What's the Who Gives A Crap recycled like? I've been using bamboo toilet roll recently, and it's fine but I think the recycled is supposed to be greener. Happy to be corrected.

Yes, the company says the recycled is greener. I recently finished my first (HUGE ) box of bamboo so I thought I’d try the recycled paper this time - it’s not as good, I’m quite disappointed. Sounds like an anti-Andrex ad but it’s less soft, less strong & less absorbent.

Oh no, those are three important qualities in toilet roll. Did you buy an enormous box and are now hoping for an outbreak of D&V to get rid of it?

tellmewhenthespaceshiplands & GiantKitten

Re: opened tins in the fridge - I have never found a cat that would eat food once it had been put in the fridge in a tin, even briefly in the summer to keep it out of the way of flies, even once it had reached room temp. They would eat chicken, and half an open pouch, even straight from the fridge but not anything from a tin.

I found that anything still in a tin seemed a bit tainted, in the past have popped them in the fridge after lunch and taken them out before dinner, thinking it wouldn't hurt for a short time, never seemed quite right, lidded or not. I always remove from a tin and use a small ceramic bowl. Even condensed milk for making flapjacks rather than cat use.

In the case of cat food and a cat with cast iron insides you could get away with it but they do know, you know in this house anyway.

I’m at the very very beginning of my efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, to my shame it’s mostly been pushed by my eldest 2 children (who are both under 10) who have been learning about it at school and want to make changes

I’ll admit up until about a year ago we didn’t even recycle I just couldn’t be bothered figuring out what goes where and washing out tins and taking the paper off to put in one bin and the tin in the other etc etc - but now I’d really like to do more

What are the very very first things you all did/changes you made?

PS bum sex most likely made me snort

FaceLikeAPairOfTits
Oh no, those are three important qualities in toilet roll. Did you buy an enormous box and are now hoping for an outbreak of D&V to get rid of it?

48 rolls

I may have to start giving them as birthday presents

I get Who Gives a Crap recycled and think it compares well with other supermarket brand paper. It's also quite economical.

Thanks for the tips re material!

I use microfibre cloths for kids hands/faces, and for kitchen surfaces. And now i think i should be using something different, since they will be shedding plastic particles in the wash what do other people use for kitchen cleaning (if something different to ecloths, which is what I'm using currently). I might invest in a guppyfriend bag, but will be logistically a bit of a pain with my laundry schedule (I need a schedule with cloth nappies!) various boring reasons like you can only use liquid detergent with the bag for some reason

I like who gives a crap recycled, but haven't tried bamboo yet. I like that they don't give off loads of fluff, and the rolls last ages

Purple welcome! One of the easiest I think would be to rinse out tubs/jars/cans etc either in the dishwasher if you have one and there's space or by hand using the dregs of your washing up water. They don't need to sparkling but apparently messy items often contaminate lots of recycling meaning it doesn't all get sorted at the plant so it can make a huge difference.

Thanks Spring I am now going to bow to the knowledge of your moggy! I agree they know things

Oh another one to add ,,,, DH buys lots of cans of craft beer and if you use a can opener carefully you can take the top off after use, Wash and reuse. We've made pen pots, planted succulents in them, funky cutlery holders for when I want to go all Pinterest-y eating in the garden etc.
Would work with any fancy can.

Spring & spaceship

My cats turn their noses up at even freshly opened tins - it’s pouches or nothing here

But occasionally a half-tin of eg baked beans gets left, & the Millicano lids would be handy for a short hiatus!

Has anyone ever tried extreme upcycling? Look at this - used to be a bath! I would love to go to a charity furniture warehouse and take my hand to something like this but I suspect I'd cock it up (ever so slightly ham fisted)

GiantKitten, it must be the tins, unless the recipe is different. The good stuff from Zooplus/Germany was sometimes acceptable, but a can of Whiskas or Butchers would be sniffed and ignored.

So, for the sake of waste I stopped buying tins, much as I hate the use of mass produced GM soya and grains in cat food and human food, I am stuck with the crappy food in pouches.

I have just started using a washing up brush to replace the little sponges, although they do get saved for messy cleaning jobs and used until they fall to bits.

It is almost impossible to find fragrance free dishwasher detergents, I used to use Ecover pure but they seem to have stopped them, at least in the UK and I can't abide perfumed plates and cutlery so that is a bit of a bugger.

www.talkable.com/x/6ewZF9

Here is my £5 off code for Who Gives a Crap, it means I get £5 off too!

There's a website I think it's ethical consumer which rates lots of products like cleaning stuff and gives a score on how ethical / environmental etc they are...it's quite good but it doesn't rate any own brand products at all, I think it's very frustrating that everything that is better is so expensive also on that website it did say that ecover and method I think it was have been taken over by a different company who aren't as ethical (I can't remember the details now I need to read it again!) Just wondered if anyone else had heard about that.

SpringForEver
GiantKitten, it must be the tins, unless the recipe is different. The good stuff from Zooplus/Germany was sometimes acceptable, but a can of Whiskas or Butchers would be sniffed and ignored.

It’s exactly the same stuff as far as I can tell, so it must be something about the tins!

They hoover up the pouches but walk away from the tins. I also tried buying various Really Good Brands from zooplus but they never appreciated those either.

The Felix tins are somewhat cheaper, but the pouches only cost about 40p per day per cat, & they love them, so I’m not going to argue (And there’s no grain in them - the only evil is some sugar. )

They also get Royal Canin neutered female biscuits (even the boy) which appeases my conscience.

Re the little sponges, have you ever tried cellulose? The nylon ones are basically useless & just spread water around but cellulose are great & leave surfaces almost dry.

Supermarkets used to have them (I like the ones with scourers on the back) but they all stopped; Amazon seems to be best source now though I’ve just discovered Waitrose still do them.

www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/spontex-non-scratch-super-absorbent/819356-483945-483946
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00OBDSNEW/ref=mp_s_a_1_17_a_it?keywords=spontex+sponges&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1549485150&sr=8-17

Or, have a look at the glorious Swedish ones I linked earlier

www.jangneus.com/dishcloths.php

foxessocks

yes, I did hear a few months ago about Method being taken over. Can’t remember details though. I know another alternative supplier was recommended to me but I can’t remember who that was either.

I do love method products though, esp their general purpose kitchen cleaner...

Haven't read thread and sure all of these have been said but:

Shampoo bars, soap bars and bubble bars
Bamboo Toothbrushes
All clothes and toys second hand (Facebook groups for kids, charity shops for adults)
As much else second hand as possible. Eg needed weaning spoons for my son, put a message on a face group group and someone local said I could have theirs for free.