It’s been four months since our last update, and you’re probably all wondering how our Waste Reduction Plan is going.
The answer is…not bad.
We’re still managing to keep our waste down to one medium kitchen bin bag per week (most of the time). We haven’t opened the cling film box or used a paper towel all year. But some things have been trickier to stick to than others.
1. Paper
We’ve had great success cutting back our single use paper consumption – the cotton napkins I made from the Daiso tenegui (Japanese tea towels) have lasted more than 40 washes and I haven’t had to repair (or iron) a single one…
We used to go through mountains of kitchen paper towels; now we don’t even buy them. They’ve been replaced completely with tea towels, knitted or crocheted dishcloths, and absorbent waffle weave squares that I cut from an old bedspread…
I can’t rave enough about the knitted and crocheted dishcloths – they’re as sturdy as iron, wash well, and just keep going. The ones Rose sent me in 2013 are still in regular rotation, and I finally had to repair one after six years of constant use. These get washed every day or two…
We’ve substantially reduced the amount of parchment paper we’re using by switching to reusable teflon sheets for most of our baking, although I still weaken and use parchment for anything that’s going to be too gross to wash up…
The KeepCups are a winner and I haven’t bought a coffee in a takeaway cup all year. These days if I don’t have my reusable cup, I’ll skip coffee or sit in to drink it. Having said that, I have bought a few bottles of water this year – not by choice, but sometimes a food court won’t offer water by the glass, and I don’t always remember to bring my water bottle.
Small Man (gently) chastised me for forgetting my KeepCup the other day. “I always have mine in my backpack”, he told me. I was very proud of him – he’s the true eco-warrior of the family, the one who pulls me up if I get lazy and throw a teabag into the bin instead of the Bokashi bucket… (Edit: since writing this post, we no longer put teabags in the Bokashi. Pete has dug them up after six months and noticed that they weren’t breaking down. Bugger…)
. . . . .
2. Plastic
In terms of plastic shopping and vegetable bags, we’ve done well. We travel with mesh bags, small carry bags, furoshiki, and our lastest discovery, t-shirt tote bags…
I sketched a rough pattern if anyone is interested in making these – there are also lots of instructions online if you’d prefer to make them without sewing…
Cling film no longer even lives in our kitchen, as we’ve found that the beeswax wraps replace it almost completely. For the few items that can’t be wrapped in beeswax (like meat or soupy leftovers), we use a bowl covered with a plate, a piece of foil, or a reusable plastic box.
The best thing about the beeswax wraps is that they aren’t just an eco-friendly alternative solution, they’re actually massively better at keeping things fresh. Coriander, ginger, cut avocado…all the fruits and vegetables that might have oxidised or gone slimey in plastic…stay crisp and colourful under beeswax. And it’s the perfect way to keep sourdough fresh in our humid Sydney climate…
. . . . .
Unfortunately we’re still a long way from eliminating plastic completely, but we have tried hard to reduce our single use consumption.
There are two areas that we continue to struggle with – the first being purchased items. We buy all our meat in bulk, and it almost invariably comes in sealed plastic bags. We wash and RedCycle these as much as possible, but it’s hard to get them really clean, and I don’t want to run the risk of contaminating the recycling process. Similarly, anything purchased online arrives packed in plastic of one sort or another – again, these can be RedCycled, but it’s not an ideal option. Medicines, skincare products, cereals – we’re still a long way from being plastic free.
I’m also not sure what the best options are – is buying something in heavy thick glass which needs to be recycled better than purchasing it in thin recyclable plastic? Glass and aluminium can both be recycled, but rarely are they reused, and the energy output to change them into a different form is huge.
. . . . .
The other area that’s been tricky has been freezer storage.
We’ve invested in sturdy plastic freezer boxes, which seem to work well. We tried glass containers, but found them too heavy for stacking. We particularly like these 800ml boxes from Daiso – they’re cheap, wash well, and don’t go wonky in the dishwasher…
Instead of using lots of small plastic bags, we’ve been wrapping items in our rescued food safe paper from Reverse Garbage, and then freezing them in bulk in reusable plastic bags or boxes. It seems to be working well so far…
. . . . .
3. Organic Waste
Between the chickens, worms, and the Bokashi bucket, very little organic waste now goes out in the red bin.
The Bokashi has been trickier to use that we expected, as the worms won’t go near it, so we’re having to bury the remains in the garden. Also, some things don’t seem to break down, including large bones, rind, and anything overly fatty. Still, it’s been a great success, particularly for all the items that couldn’t go into the worm farm, such as citrus, alliums and cooked leftovers…
. . . . .
4. Shopping
Over the course of this year, I’ve become a committed Salvos store shopper!
Not only do my purchases donate much needed funds to the Salvation Army, but they also save me a fortune. I recently picked up this brand new Turkish plate at the Salvos as a gift for my mother’s birthday. It retails for $80, but I paid just $4…
The added bonus is that buying secondhand reduces our environmental impact – I’m sure it’s better to cut back on shopping altogether, but I don’t appear to be genetically or culturally wired to be able to do that.
I am, however, trying to make more informed choices. At my niece’s wedding recently, I realised that everything I was wearing had a story – my jacket was sewn from upcycled vintage saris, my jewellery was made from old watch parts by my friends at Oli and J, and my bag was handpainted vintage Japanese silk. Not surprisingly, I didn’t run into anyone with the same outfit on!
. . . . .
5. Mend and Make Do
I’m mending constantly these days.
At the beginning of winter, Pete pulled out an old jumper that I’d knitted for him when we were in college. It took me forever and he wore it just once before declaring it to be too hot for Sydney. I married him anyway.
The jumper was full of holes, so I washed it carefully and mended it badly in mid-June. Pete still wouldn’t wear it and neither would Small Man. Admittedly, it’s no longer particularly fashionable and it weighs a ton. But Big Boy, who is the essence of kindness, said “It’s ok, Mum, I’ll wear it when we walk in the mornings”. And he did, for most of winter. I love that kid so much it hurts…
When spring arrived, he gave it to me to wash and store for next year. It came out of the wash (I promise I was very gentle) with even more holes! By this stage, I’d learnt how to darn, so I set about patching all the broken bits. The end result looks a bit like a starry constellation, but it should last another year of morning walks…
Our new mindset is…with the exception of underwear that is so threadbare that you can see through it, everything can be mended. I bought this e-book of old war instruction flyers and have found it inspirational (it reads well on the iPad but probably wouldn’t be great on an old Kindle reader)…
Here is one on saving fuel for the war effort – “Buttered Toast – or Bullets” – was particularly thought-provoking…
. . . . .
Our waste reduction plan is a constant work in progress! As always, when I write these posts, I learn so much from all of you, so please let me know your tips and suggestions in the comments below. And if you’re on a similar mission, I’d love to know how you’re going with it! ♥
. . . . .
Here are the posts so far on our Waste Reduction Plan:
27 Jan 2018 A Waste Reduction Plan
2 Feb 2018 A Long, Rambling Catch Up
15 April 2018 Our Waste Reduction Plan – Progress Report
20 April 2018 Our Waste Reduction Plan – Fine Tuning
1 June 2018 Our Waste Reduction Plan – June 2018 Progress Report
. . . . .
Tips and tutorials for making your own eco-friendly products:
Mesh Bags (pattern at the end of the post)
Crocheted Acrylic Dish Scrubber
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
You are a wonder and continue to inspire me/us. I too have given up on paper towels! Thank you.
You’re always so kind, thank you!
Well done you lot – although I’m still trying to work out the correlation between toast and bullets. How does one actually turn toast into bullets – give up just bread, or breakfast in it’s entirety, and donate the cash to the local ordinance factory?? They’re right, it certainly made me think, but it doesn’t actually make sense.
I didn’t put the first page. Sorry! It was about saving fuel – I’ve just added it in for you!
My mother-in-law passed away almost 7 years ago. We still have the dish clothes she crocheted.
How great is that! :)
Oh I wish I’d seen that food safe paper! I love it for wrapping the parmesan cheese hunks I buy from the Italian deli. Nice pick up on the Turkish plate. I’ve bought a lot of pyrex, and I found brilliant pyrex bowls on Catch, and I use these now which has reduced cling wrap use a lot, though not totally yet.
Josephine, I think there was still a couple of packs at reverse garbage! Maybe give them a call?
Well done you. We’re also doing much better. No cling film, paper towels etc. I have a suite of plastic containers with lids for freezer bits and I love the plastic stretchy seals in different sizes for left overs. Just the two of us so I no longer buy meat and fish in bulk, just shop for 4 days at a time. I still bulk cook spaghetti bolognese sauces, curries, casseroles, soups etc but prefer fresh flesh. Recycling wrappings, packaging etc is easier now we are better informed and I have a separate container for cling film wrapping (on pre-packaged fruit and veg) I take to Woolworths. Some things need not rechargeable batteries (like Bill’s hearings aids, his transistor radio) so they are all saved and taken to recycle centre. We don’t really waste food but things like onion & garlic peel, mandarin peel, avocado skin I just put in the red bin, there’s so little of it I’m not going to fuss about that. I threw out a cotton, twill weave tea towel today that I bought in Darwin in 1995, the fabric was rotten. Believe I looked at it with a critical eye with a view to recycling but there was no help for it, it was just rubbish. I had to buy a long single hospital style bed for Bill a week ago. I bought a fitted sheet designed for the bed but I’m remodeling some queen size sheets for the top. Yes recycling is a skill to learn, let’s hope everyone continues to help save our precious planet.
Sandy, I’m so sorry you’ve been in the wars – I hope Bill is feeling better. Great to hear that you’re waste reduction plan is going so well! xx
Thanks for all your ideas. Absent suitable tea towels, I’ve also eliminated paper towel by serging flannelette squares into serviettes. (Online post suggested flannelette as alternative to baby wipes, which seemed to fit the messy sort of things we used paper towel for. I just needed bigger squares. I’ve decided 30cm is optimum, getting 9 flannels out of metre of fabric. Knitting up cotton wash cloths was such fun I started knitting garments again. Turning my jar of wax mix into cloths is my next project.
I started off knitting dishcloths but switched to crochet – I find it easier on my hands and much quicker! I haven’t thought to use flannelette, thank you for the tip!
I got a $5 napkin holder from Officeworks that holds the 30cm flannels folded in quarters, that sits on my table so I don’t have to go digging in drawer with dirty hands. Also DH was worst offender re paper towels and this makes it easy to change over.
Knitting is hard on my hands too. Will have to try crochet ones. The knitted cloths are good when you need texture for getting something off.
https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/lemon-lime-wire-napkin-holder-le46173
Ooh that holder is nice! We use a drawstring bag that hangs on the wall – no more bench space! I find the crocheted dishcloths are textured enough to scrub well, but I’m actually a better knitter than crocheter, so sometimes they’re a bit wonky. :) A link to the very basic pattern I use is in the post above.
Our kitchen is all windows (Queenslander style) so no room to hang things. Napkin holder sits in reach on dining table.
You are my inspiration. The amount of plastic we dispose of from bringing prepared foods home from the grocery store is embarrassing. Thanks for the update.
Pat, we can only do so much – packaging is an ongoing problem for all of us!
You really are inspirational. I’ve just started making beeswax wraps, although I have trouble with the larger sized ones. Not cling film free quite yet, but I’m working on it. I must get Big Man to bring my Make Do and Mend book from Spain next week!
Ooh, what’s the problem with the large wraps, hon? We make ours with sheets of wax, so it’s quite easy. They’re really fabulous, aren’t they?
I’ve been using beeswax and doing single layers, so by the time I get to the other end of the piece of material, the other side has cooled down and when I pull the greaseproof away, it’s all a bit solid. I think folding the fabric could be the answer! They are proving very successful, cling film useage is on the decrease :)
Yay Celia! You are doing SO well! Good score on that plate also. I’ve been an avid 2nd hand shopper for years now – I cringe to see full price clothing items in the stores now, and they are so badly made. I can find better quality and more variety (so don’t look like everyone else as you say) in the 2nd hand stores. Plus I love buying anything 2nd hand – just got a brand new, never been used popcorn machine for $5 for the grandies the other day – now that’s a bargain!
That IS a bargain! It’s a little scary to see how much is thrown away though – often in brand new condition!
I think you’ve made lots of really great and inspiring changes! I use pyrex in my freezer, I’ve gradually built up a range of those containers whenever they’ve come on special. They last a long, long time! Cling film free here too, beeswax wraps do a fantastic job. Must get on to the paper towels and keep my eye open for some waffle weave at op-shops. Meg:)
Meg, I think old cloth nappies or towels would work well – the waffle weave is just less fluffy for things like drying mozzarella or steaks. I have real problems with the weight of pyrex (and I tend to chip it), so we’ve stuck with plastic. Hooray for beeswax wraps! :)
I love hearing about how your waste reduction is going. I still use reusable plastic in the freezer and for leftovers… given that’s our version of takeaway food I can live with it but I’d prefer an affordable alternative, same same with plastic packaging on foods. I do my bit to avoid it as much as possible but processors and supermarkets need to up their game too. What works for me is that it’s a lifestyle… we make, reuse, mend, make do, op-shop etc… with aspirations, challenges and rewards.
Dale, you’re so right – it’s the change in mindset and subsequent changes in lifestyle that make all the difference. Even though there are still areas we can’t fix, we’ve still cut our outgoing waste by 80%!
Love these posts Celia. I used to compost tea bags until I found out that the paper is manufactured with the inclusion of various plastics fibres which I don’t want to add to my soil. Since reading various reports on this topic, and contacting most of the tea companies to verify this, we have reverted to brewing a pot of tea, or a thermos of Chinese tea, but when we do use teabags, they now go into the bin, not the compost.
I very rarely use paper towels, but when I do they also get added to the compost or become fire starters in winter.
One of the most important waste reduction issues, for me, is water. With minimal rain here in Melbourne over September and October, normally our wettest months, we are now back to water conservation – buckets under showers, a bucket near the kitchen sink for the relatively clean water that gets to run down the drain and is wasted, washing machine water goes out our back door, via a long hose, and onto trees and gardens ( not vegetables). I’m on tank water and so measure daily rainfall which we turn into a yearly chart, by month, then graph by year. we have done this since 1980. For our city friends who run taps or use water without thinking, time to take stock, especially as more pressure is put on water supplies as the population increases, and as climate change affects rainfall.
That lovely old jumper could be cut up to make more dishcloths, hemmed or crocheted edged, once it gets too ‘ratty’.
The Turkish tea bags I buy are marked as 21 PAP recyclable, so I’m hoping they’ll break down in the Bokashi. Pete is less convinced so I might need to go back to putting them in the red bin – time will tell. Unfortunately I can’t get the teas in loose leaf form! I do know the english breakfast tea bags the boys drink can’t go in the Bokashi as they’re paper but heat sealed with polypropylene. Water conservation is a huge deal but you’re correct in saying that those of us in the city so often take it for granted. We have to try harder with it too, and little changes make such a difference – I noticed a drop in our bills when we switched to eco mode on all our appliances. Are you getting any rain at the moment? We’ve rained non stop for over a week, so our garden tanks are thankfully full! Sadly, the jumper is pure wool, so it’s not going to make a dishcloth, but I reckon it’s got a few more years of wear left in it. :) x
No, not much rain down here at all. My garden is looking rather sad, not like the usual inviting Spring garden. We got around 20 mls last rainfall which was welcome, and our tanks are full, but this isn’t enough for the bush and water catchments: I fear that unless the rain becomes a bit more constant and reliable, we’re in for a frightening year.
Pure wool- old jumper, hmm, what about a lovely felted hat and handbag. I have a friend who scours opp shops looking for pure woolen clothes to boil up, then she cuts them up and puts the felted wool in her stash, until she has a variety of colours that go well together to make a lovely handbag.
You inspire me so much Celia. Not sure I can darn things but any clothes we throw out go to other people to use or to cleaning cloths. I have switched to leaf tea – I hear that tea bags have plastic in them. I have a couple of really neat tea maker devices (one just for one cup). Very economical too. Keep meaning to blog about them…..watch this space.
Sally, I have several tea making devices too, but I can’t find the Turkish teas I drink in loose leaf form. I might need to hunt harder. As I mentioned to Francesca above, the tea bags are marked as paper recyclable, so I’m hoping they’re ok.
Wow, Celia…I am in awe of you…Believe or not my post tomorrow is on waste food waste but I will add your link as you have gone so much further than I have yet …I am only on the food and bamboo straws:) Well Done :)
Carol, good for you! It’s baby steps for all of us…
I am so impressed, your family is doing great! I just haven’t gotten around to making the beeswax squares but I have purchased quite a few of them as gifts.I love that they save on plastic but also help the fruits and veg last longer (a constant struggle here).
[…] don’t stop there…Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial goes even further to reduce waste and save money… She has a brilliant waste reduction plan so […]
An excellent update. When we were small, my mum used to rip the sheets in half and then reverse and sew a seam up the middle. These days the sheets are probably a little more hard wearing. Having said to that, we also cut up old cloths for the floors, wiping etc. We haven’t used a paper towel in so long, I had to buy some before the home exchangers stayed in July. Still plenty more we are striving to do!
Very impressive. Like you, I find packaging the most difficult to deal with. We haven’t ordered any Christmas decs for the barn that have plastic glitter (though we still have plenty in stock from last year so there’ll be a bit of sparkle), but even the eco-friendly wooden things come in a mountain of plastic wrap.
I freeze all my bread in cloth bags. I can get six small loaves in each bag and just tie them up by the handles. No freezer burn because bread doesn’t stay in the freezer very long.
We are still doing our bit here – though I get increasingly frustrated at how difficult it is to buy goods ‘plastic free’.
As an aside I was amazed to find that my daughter has converted to bars of soap and all manner of environmentally friendly things when I visited. Some of my nagging has clearly rubbed off!
(I’m playing catch up so i’m late ;) )
Love this post x so inspiring x I’ve just come across a coconut scrubber to sit along side my crocheted dish cloth