I am on a mission to reduce the amount of waste our household produces. As Zero Waste week is just around the corner – 6th to 10th September – I thought it was timely to go through some of the things I do. Maybe you will be inspired to reduce your waste too? Here is a brain splurge for you!
36 WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR WASTE
1# Refuse paper receipts in shops and at the cash point.
2# Refuse anything you can do without. For example, I recently purchased a new pair of glasses. As usual, the optician offered me a case with them. As I have plenty already, I politely declined.
3# Use bar soap instead of hand wash or shower gel, etc.
4# Buy whole fruit and vegetables and cut them up yourself rather than buying plastic trays full of prepared stuff.
5# If you have cause to get a skip, leave any items that other people might use in front with a free sign rather than mindlessly dumping it. This includes pieces of wood, whole doors, etc. If you see a skip, ask the owner if you can have a look for useful things.
6# Ask your local council to start a shop at your local tip, encouraging reuse of items others have thrown away by selling them off cheaply. Some councils are already onto this, but many others need a little push.
7# If you are handy with a needle and thread, repurpose or refit charity shop clothing. Dianne does this on her YouTube channel and creates some beautiful things!
Buy recycled
8# Buy recycled products such as stationery, toilet paper and items made from plastic waste. Help create a strong market for these things to encourage further recycling.
9# If possible, buy your fresh produce loose to reduce your waste. It annoys me that there are few options offered in many shops and that, where they are offered, they are more expensive!
10# Give consumable items as gifts rather than pointless plastic tat. For example, chocolates, cakes, wine or beer, bath salts, shampoo bars, etc.
11# Choose items in easily recyclable glass and cardboard instead of plastic containers wherever possible.
12# Try to reuse product packaging before recycling. I save small cardboard boxes and flat pack them in the shed, for those occasions when I sell something fragile on eBay. Bubble wrap and Jiffy bags are also really useful items. Nice glass jars can be repurposed to hold tea, coffee, etc, or passed to any jam makers you know. You can also offer them on Freecycle or Freegle.
13# Look out for second hand gifts at charity shops and at boot or yard sales. I often see unwanted toiletry gift sets at a fraction of their original price. Maybe you can find them a home where they will be appreciated by the recipient!
14# Keep old envelopes and bits of scrap paper for writing notes and shopping lists on.
Go back to big box washing powder
15# Use box washing powder instead of bottles or liquid or pods that arrive in plastic containers.
16# If you use a dishwasher, make sure your tablets arrive in a cardboard box with dissolvable film rather than plastic wrapping. Alternatively, make your own dishwashing detergent.
17# If you have a refill shop near to you (and you can afford it), take your own containers along and see what you can find package free. I like the ethos of these shops and they will help you reduce your waste, but they do tend to be far too expensive for those of us on a tight budget!
18# Buy your bread whole and package free. If you don’t have a bakery nearby (and many of us don’t these days), Lidl do a great bakery section. I am a fan of their sour dough bread, which I take home in a reusable produce bag.
19# Buy loose tea and use a teapot or diffuser. Alternatively, make sure your teabags are biodegradable. PG Tips seems to be ahead of the game when it comes to ecof-riendly packaging and affordable products. I recently found both standard and decaf versions of their teabags in biodegradable form. Their loose tea also comes plastic free in a cardboard box.
20# Buy your plastic free, recycled toilet paper from a company like Who Gives a Crap. The company builds toilets for those that need them with some of their profits. They are also B Corp™ certified for the highest standards of social and environmental impact. If you fancy it, this is my referral link.
Buy second hand
21# Whatever you want to purchase, if there is an option to buy second hand, then consider doing so. By buying second hand, you help to keep things in circulation for longer, out of landfill, and a new product doesn’t need to be manufactured, packaged, transported, and eventually disposed of. I have pledge to buy only second hand for the whole of 2021.
22# If you buy second hand via online sites such as eBay, ask the seller to use recycled packaging to post to you. This will save them money too.
23# If you have pets, try to buy large bags of dry pet food to save on packaging. If they prefer wet food, see if you can convince your pampered pet to eat from recyclable tins rather than those unrecyclable plastic and foil pouches (I have fussy pets, so I know this isn’t always possible.)
24#Avoid fast fashion. Our throwaway culture is very evident when it comes to fashion. Don’t slavishly follow trends. Instead, develop your own style and buy quality items that will last – or buy second hand in vintage and charity shops. You can read about why you should avoid fast fashion here.
Give fast food a miss
25# Give fast food a miss too. There are very few foods available from fast food outlets in recyclable packaging and, even when they are, how many people take them home for recycling? We are lucky if they end up in the bin.
26# Make your own pasta sauce. It’s so simple to make, and not full of sugar as the pre-made stuff in a jar tends to be. Onions, garlic, tomatoes, dried mixed herbs and some seasoning. Easy.
27# Cook your own rice. It literally takes 10 minutes in a pan of boiling water. The microwave packs tend to come in non-recyclable packaging, so this is an easy way to reduce your waste.
28# Stop buying wrapping paper. Instead save paper, gift bags, ribbons etc that you are given to be reused. Look out for fabric scraps and old floaty scarves in charity shops and wrap gifts in those instead, encouraging the recipient to reuse or give back.
29#Buy less stuff! Question each and every purchase. Do you really want or need it? Could you borrow it or get it second hand? Do you already have something very similar at home?
Declutter
30# Declutter regularly. Rehome any non-perishable food items or unused toiletries to the food bank or on the Olio app. Donate old clothing and household items to charity, or sell them. When you know what you own, you won’t keep buying things you don’t need!
31# Learn to repair stuff instead of throwing it away.
32# Buy larger containers of everything to reduce packaging (as long as you will use it all).
33# Make your own fabric softener using citric acid. Dissolve two heaped tablespoons in about 500 ml of water and use in the conditioner drawer when you do your wash. I use an old plastic fabric conditioner bottle and measure a capful. You can buy citric acid in a cardboard box from Dripak.
34# Similarly, make your own cleaning products using washing soda and vinegar. I like this easy to make general purpose spray.
Spread the word
35# Spread the message! Educate your friends and family about the issues of waste and climate change. Get them to sign up to Zero Waste Week here. Use your social media channels to raise awareness. Feel free to share this blog post!
36# Lobby the supermarkets, retailers and manufacturers where you feel they are wasteful. Write to your local MP demanding legislation. We can do so much as consumers, but long term it needs to be much easier for us to avoid waste in our day to day lives. There need to be penalties for mindless waste, such as this example from Amazon.
I hope this list of easy ways to reduce your waste has inspired you. It would be great if you could add your tips to the comments below.
If you want to waste less and make more of your money, don’t forget to come and join my Facebook group, My Second Hand & Frugal Life.
Chrissie says
I am trying hard to be more eco friendly, I have been using ecover detergent boxed detergent for ages and get it when its on offer, it lasts a long time, I put some in a large dispensing ball and dissolve it with hot water and add some softener,give it a stir and stick in the drum, this keeps the dispensing drawer clean and stops it clogging up.I recently did an online shop and chose loose mushrooms to save packaging as they come in brown paper bags, they came in a plastic carrier bag !!!!
I do make my own cleaning products and save my jars, my green tomatoes have made delicious chutney and I have been using frugal Jo’s recipe for marmalade ,yummy. We do have a lovely zero waste shop called “No wrap no crap ” but it it so expensive. I ask for nice smelling bar soaps for birthdays and this Christmas my sister and I have agreed to give home made gifts, she is gluten free so I will make her a Christmas cake and give her some chutneys and jams and pretty up the jars
We haven’t bought kitchen bin liners for years, we line the bottom with any old paper and use only one black bin liner a week,trying to make that two weeks.
I think a good idea for single mums who have a single mum as a friend is to sometimes share a cooked meal, cheaper, use less fuel, kiddies can play ,mums can chat and they all eat together, I was a single mum for a while but knew no other singles to do this with but I would have loved that.
Thank you for your useful hints and tips, Chrissie.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
I love bar soaps as gifts, both to give and receive. I like your idea of giving a meal to a fellow parent. Afternoon tea would be nice, too.
Lisa M says
Hi, I particularly liked the items regarding refusing paper receipts and refusing things not needed, such as a case for newly purchased eye glasses. We live in the U.S., and have started refusing the small group of items (in a plastic bag) our dentist offers after a teeth cleaning, such as a small container of dental floss, unneeded toothbrushes, and a small container of toothpaste. Also, I no longer use wrapping paper of any kind. I reuse the brown paper I receive as packing in a mail-order package. I use garden twine as “ribbon.” Rustic, yes, but it has become my signature.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
I really like that rustic look for presents and have done similar in the past. Thanks for your comment!