nil by bin

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nil by bin
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alisjs

Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 1497
Location: Conwy

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 5:31 pm Post subject: nil by bin
there's an article in the latest Centre for Alternative Technology magazine by a bloke who set himself the challenge of putting nothing in the (landfill) bin for a month. Made his own bread, toothpowder etc, bought un (plastic)wrapped fruit and veg etc. interesting challenge and way of raising awareness. it's on here www.nilrubbish.blogspot.com

mimborin

Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 895
Location: near Southampton/ Winchester (Romsey)

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 5:50 pm Post subject: Re: nil by bin

alisjs wrote:

there's an article in the latest Centre for Alternative Technology magazine by a bloke who set himself the challenge of putting nothing in the (landfill) bin for a month. Made his own bread, toothpowder etc, bought un (plastic)wrapped fruit and veg etc.

interesting challenge and way of raising awareness.

it's on here

www.nilrubbish.blogspot.com

Very interesting. I will try the "tooth powder".

3 parts baking soda
1 part salt
Few drops lemon essential oil
Few drops vanilla extract

As for the other stuff it is a good challenge to make yourself aware.

marigold

Joined: 02 Sep 2005
Posts: 12458
Location: West Sussex

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 5:56 pm Post subject:
Nice one alisjs. I don't put much landfill out for the refuse collection, but I suppose I could try harder to reduce the amount of plastic that passes through my hands... I've been meaning to try making baking soda toothpaste for ages, so another prompt is useful. Those dehydrators on dryit.com look good .

alisjs

Joined: 23 Jun 2006
Posts: 1497
Location: Conwy

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 6:02 pm Post subject:
I might write to the local paper.....it's always full of letters from people whinging about fornightly blackbin collection (alternating with kerbside recycling) and how disgraceful the council are for this poor service..........do them good to realize where the rubbish is coming from.....wasters!!!!!!

Barefoot Andrew
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 21 Mar 2007
Posts: 22780
Location: In the 17th century

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 6:03 pm Post subject:
Hmm, not had my copy of Clean Slate. Better investimagate... A.

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 6:16 pm Post subject:
a great blog - enjoyed that. Whilst I've reduced our rubbish, I am slightly guilty of out of sight out mind. I've been putting plastic rubbish in the recycling dumpster at the farm shop. It only says soft plastics on the outside and as there are no other guidelines its entirely possible that I'm putting stuff in there that will end up in landfil.

hedgewitch

Joined: 26 Nov 2005
Posts: 5834
Location: Daft wench GHQ

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 9:00 pm Post subject:

Very interesting - really made me think.

One thing that I haven't found a way of avoiding are the plastic bags at the greengrocer's. There is no local market and the local shops are self-service. I don't use a bag for many things, but anything like mushrooms, carrots, potatoes etc. ends up in a bag so the someone can weight it. Has anyone found a way of avoiding the curse of the flimsy plastic bag?

I remember shopping as a kid at market stalls where my mum would say how much of something she wanted, them the quantity would be weighed and put straight in her shopping bags.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 10:59 pm Post subject:
Yep. Put all the stuff into a basket in the shop. Chuck it all into one bag when it's been weighed. Sort it out when you get home.

dougal

Joined: 15 Jan 2005
Posts: 7184
Location: South Kent

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 11:09 pm Post subject:

hedgewitch wrote:

... One thing that I haven't found a way of avoiding are the plastic bags at the greengrocer's. There is no local market and the local shops are self-service. I don't use a bag for many things, but anything like mushrooms, carrots, potatoes etc. ends up in a bag so the someone can weight it. Has anyone found a way of avoiding the curse of the flimsy plastic bag?

A traditional solution would be paper bags. (Normally offered for mushrooms...

)

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 07 11:28 pm Post subject:

hedgewitch wrote:

And anything soft like strawberries that couldn't be tipped in your bag went in a brown paper bag---which by the time you got home were leaking ---so immediatly tipped out into a bowl---the ones that were dry were folded up into the drawer to be reused

Mrs Fiddlesticks

Joined: 02 Nov 2004
Posts: 10460

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 07 8:34 am Post subject:

hedgewitch wrote:

could you ask them to stock paper bags instead? Or write to them suggesting it?

I save the odd plastic bag like that for wrapping up say a meat or fish wrapper before it goes in the bin to avoid smells as our kitchen bin doesn't need emptying that often now.

mimborin

Joined: 24 Oct 2006
Posts: 895
Location: near Southampton/ Winchester (Romsey)

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 07 8:35 am Post subject:

hedgewitch wrote:

Has anyone found a way of avoiding the curse of the flimsy plastic bag?

Maybe reusing them?

On a related matter i really find it quite annoying when people use the plastic bags for things like bananas or lemons.

Nothing against the people, but why do they do it? Are we so brainwashed into believing everything must be packeged by plastic?

I really think we should tax for usage of new plastic bags.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 07 9:40 am Post subject:

hedgewitch wrote:

Has anyone found a way of avoiding the curse of the flimsy plastic bag?

Have you a box scheme nearby? It really made a difference when we went over to one, as almost all their packaging was recyclable, and they don't package stuff that doesn't really need it. I was disappointed when things turned up in plastic bags, when I asked why they didn't use more paper, I was kindly told that they aren't plastic, but something biodegradable, and can be composted at home along the green waste (it does say that on the bags - oops!) Bacon, ham and cheese still came vacum packed in plastic, and are binned, but everything else is recylable - even the big plastic bag everything comes goes back to be reused.

I do find you get more greenwaste with a box scheme, because things come less 'prepared' that the supermarket, but that's hardly a problem if you can compost it.

Green Rosie

Joined: 13 May 2007
Posts: 10498
Location: Calvados, France

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 07 12:01 pm Post subject:

alisjs wrote:

I might write to the local paper.....it's always full of letters from people whinging about fornightly blackbin collection (alternating with kerbside recycling) and how disgraceful the council are for this poor service..........do them good to realize where the rubbish is coming from.....wasters!!!!!!

Of course I am all in favour of reducing as much as possible the amount we put in the bin. Mine, for a family of 4 adults and 2 young children rarely exceeds 2 carrier bags full per week - but I still feel that we do need weekly bin collections. Most of the stuff that goes in my bin is what cannot be composted or eaten by the ever obliging dog ie bones and fish left-overs plus other such nasties that even after a week in the bin really do pong. We do try and eat bony fish the day before bin collection day but I wouldn't want to restrict my fish intake just to stop a stinky bin - and I have nowhere for an-all composting green cone thingy. As ever there is no easy solution but perhaps if people could reduce what they bin, the bin lorries could be smaller and so more energy efficient - and if all councils had to collect bones etc (as I believe happens in Bexley) these could be composted "professionally" thus saving all that smelly stuff ending up rotting away in landfill.

lottie

Joined: 11 Aug 2005
Posts: 5059
Location: ceredigion

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 07 12:39 pm Post subject:
We don't have bins here just bags, which can be put out only on collection day. Most of what isn't composted goes into the recycling bag the council provides[ for glass,cans,paper,cardboardand plastic] but I don't want the very small amount that comes under neither category hanging round in a bag for a fortnight. Before we moved we had bins and I had no strong feelings either way.

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