Zero Waste

[Cecilia's-life]

Wood good

Plastic bad

Mongo no like plastic


That should be odd enough to actually get people to listen.

*pounds on chest like a gorilla*

 

[flowerbug]

while i dislike plastic, i really dislike plastic films and non-reusable bags even moreso. with a well-made plastic container you can reuse it hundreds of times before it ends up in the recycling bin, cheap plastic films and bags (even ziplocks) can often be used just a few times before they become trash.

my preference though for food storage is glass, i don't mind if it has a reuseable plastic top because that doesn't often come in contact with the food and it doesn't usually get stained or broken. glass itself can be broken a bit too easily but that's just, well, the breaks... :/ i'm ok with recycling that when it happens here or there.

in a multi-generational household almost all my anti-plastic actions are ignored or gotten around by Mom who doesn't get it and doesn't really care. same with aluminum foils. both plastics and foils take a lot of energy to produce and the results need to be recycled. at least Mom will recycle the foils but getting her to reuse a plastic freezer bag or to wash it out might or might not happen depending upon her mood. i hate the smells of most plastics and taste them in foods too much so i always use glass for food storage. now we are using more parchment paper for baking and that is a welcome change, but it doesn't do much good for getting less trash going out the door because Mom won't do much for composting it. her brain just doesn't work that ways.

as a tip the big thing with using plastics as food storage and to keep them reused for many many times is to never reheat anything in the microwave in a plastic container and to let food cool off enough before putting it into a plastic container. that helps a lot.

also if you are sensitive to odors from animal fats it helps to wash the container and then fill it with cold water and add a few drops of bleach and let that soak for a while before rinsing it out and drying it.

 

[Marie2020]

while i dislike plastic, i really dislike plastic films and non-reusable bags even moreso. with a well-made plastic container you can reuse it hundreds of times before it ends up in the recycling bin, cheap plastic films and bags (even ziplocks) can often be used just a few times before they become trash.

my preference though for food storage is glass, i don't mind if it has a reuseable plastic top because that doesn't often come in contact with the food and it doesn't usually get stained or broken. glass itself can be broken a bit too easily but that's just, well, the breaks... :/ i'm ok with recycling that when it happens here or there.

in a multi-generational household almost all my anti-plastic actions are ignored or gotten around by Mom who doesn't get it and doesn't really care. same with aluminum foils. both plastics and foils take a lot of energy to produce and the results need to be recycled. at least Mom will recycle the foils but getting her to reuse a plastic freezer bag or to wash it out might or might not happen depending upon her mood. i hate the smells of most plastics and taste them in foods too much so i always use glass for food storage. now we are using more parchment paper for baking and that is a welcome change, but it doesn't do much good for getting less trash going out the door because Mom won't do much for composting it. her brain just doesn't work that ways.

as a tip the big thing with using plastics as food storage and to keep them reused for many many times is to never reheat anything in the microwave in a plastic container and to let food cool off enough before putting it into a plastic container. that helps a lot.

also if you are sensitive to odors from animal fats it helps to wash the container and then fill it with cold water and add a few drops of bleach and let that soak for a while before rinsing it out and drying it.

I never cook anything on plastic ever

 

[flowerbug]

I never cook anything on plastic ever

me either, but some people reheat things in the microwave oven and don't realize how hot fats or other things on plastics can get (hot enough to melt the plastic). i used to cook a lot more in glass too until i broke my favorite glass pan. still haven't replaced it.

 

[Marie2020]

me either, but some people reheat things in the microwave oven and don't realize how hot fats or other things on plastics can get (hot enough to melt the plastic). i used to cook a lot more in glass too until i broke my favorite glass pan. still haven't replaced it.

I like glass but use plates and bowls anything but plasic

I'm using my microwave again now, thanks to you and someone else here online

 

[tortoise]

@Jabberwonky you might like this thread?

 

[Jabberwonky]

I have read several books on the topic of Zero Waste, and found it to be a very fascinating idea. I quickly realized that there is no way I or my family can be fully zero waste, because so many of the things we use on a regular basis don't work with that lifestyle commitment. However, I am trying to move toward reducing/eliminating any garbage produced by me that will outlive me, and using natural items instead of plastic ones when I can. People who live zero waste have a lot of great ideas for more sustainable living.

Sometimes I get on a tunnel-vision sort of focus and end up focusing on things that, in the long run, aren't going to make that much of a difference, but cost a lot of money. So I like what one of the early posters said in this thread, that it's a good idea to wait till the end of something's life cycle to replace it, or reuse non-biodegradable items that are already out there in the world.

I am embarrassed to say it, but I didn't know that plastic and polyester comes from petroleum! I don't typically buy a lot of clothing, because I usually wear what I have for years, but my most recent project is trying to make sure any new clothing is something made of natural fibers like cotton, linen, wool, etc., that will decompose after it's not wearable. I've found that these types of purchases are 1) difficult to find if you don't make your own clothing, and 2) really pricey... so I've been focusing a lot on thrifting anything that I need for now. At least I won't be contributing to new items that will turn into garbage that outlives me.

I also have tried, in the last 4 months, to save as much food packaging plastic and mailing plastic as possible, and wash/dry it. I wasn't aware that I could return a lot of the bags to the grocery store for recycling. I live in a rural area with long winters, and there are allergies in the family, so we can't utilize bulk/no-container stores, and have a lot of plastic packaging from things we must buy or receive mail-order.

This weekend, I did a plastic audit on all of my non-recyclable plastic after 4 months. Most of the non-recyclable plastic I have comes from things that need multi-layer bags, such as freezer vegetables (not eaten weekly, but eaten occasionally, and it adds up), rice & chocolate bags, and potato bags. I am going to freeze fresh corn today, and that will cut out several plastic bags over the course of this year. We also eat a lot of frozen peas, but I haven't gotten around to researching how to preserve them, and I didn't grow any. I saw online that there might be a company that makes a recyclable bag that I can switch to when I buy frozen peas for this year. Potatoes, I have been buying in a paper bag from a local grower, and am considering stocking up and storing some for the near future. I really wanted to grow my own crop of potatoes this year, as I have in other years, but I wasn't able to. I need to look into whether there is a good way to buy rice in a very large bag and store it for the year, which would probably be cheaper and reduce plastic waste. I had a bin of rice and beans from the Covid era, just in case SHTF, but it's all past it's use date by now, and I ended up feeding it to my dog, so we could probably benefit from a more organized rice storage system!

I planned to upcycle my leftover plastic into fused plastic sheets and sew them into reusable shopping bags, but I tried this over the weekend with my 4-month stash of non-recyclable plastic, and it just took a lot of time and didn't look very aesthetically pleasing at all. It might make a fun project for a weekend, especially with kids, but I don't think it's realistic to try to do this regularly. I got really enthusiastic considering that I might be able to fuse plastic and create garden covers for weeds! The only thing I'm not sure about is whether this method is safe. I went on a kind of manic information binge this weekend trying to figure out where I can put this non-recyclable plastic to good use. I read that there are concerns about plastic that is turned into building materials, because it is not meant to sit in the sun, and may contaminate the soil. I did see one interesting company that creates building materials of plastic, but covers it with something that can keep it from leeching into the soil. So I am curious to look into whether or not I can use my fused plastic, or if I can use it if I cover it with something else. Not sure what that would be or how I would do it.

Other switches inspired by zero wasters over the years... of course, trying to avoid single-use plastics as much as possible. I am planning to get some cheap silverware and sew several fabric silverware kits to store in the car, but of course, I have many more things on my list to do than I seem to find time or energy to do. We also use glass as much as possible in the kitchen--we store food in glass containers with plastic tops, so the plastic tops can be replaced when necessary, and the glass lasts a long, long time. I also have replaced plastic pitchers and stuff like that with glass, which was a little bit of an adjustment as far as handling everyday items, but overall, was an easy switch.

We have also gotten into the habit of taking water in thermoses wherever we go. This past year, I also sewed a bunch of reusable feminine hygiene products, which has reduced a lot of plastic waste. I used to consume fast food a fair amount... not every week, but often, mostly when I was tired or busy. So I've managed to basically cut out fast food altogether, which has been good for my wallet, health, and the planet.

I've switched to bamboo toothbrushes and tooth tablets, which was weird at first, but now pretty normal. I also made a batch of my own laundry soap, which worked wonderfully, but I haven't kept up with my castile soap making, and had to switch back to a powdered detergent. I tried some plastic-free laundry sheets, but they are just insanely pricey, and I do several loads of laundry most days. I also switched to the Grove brand dish soap that they sell in aluminum containers at Target. I heard that you can use regular soap to wash dishes, but dishes are another thing I do constantly throughout the day, so I didn't think I should try to mess around with that. I am concerned that I will do it wrong and end up backed up on dishes due to soap scum. I bought the Grove plastic-free dishwasher pods, but again, they are really pricey, so I need to find a different solution. I made my own dishwasher powder before, but it ended up leaving the dishes kind of streaky, so I either need to try that again and tweak it, or maybe look for a cardboard container that has powder and costs a lot less to use. (I know a lot of those cardboard containers are lined with plastic, so I still haven't found a great solution, but I'm thinking about it...)

There have been a few times over the last year where I've gotten take-out food (which we generally don't do much--we mostly cook and eat at home) and I was too shy to ask to use my own container! So I still have to work up the courage to work out a system for the few times throughout the year that I may need to have takeaway food.

Sorry if this is boring to those of you who are way ahead of me or have a full homestead and don't think about things like takeaway food or dishwashers! I would love to have a full homestead, but it's not something feasible right now, so I'm just doing the best I can with the situation I have currently.

 

[Mini Horses]

I have a homestead. I have some waste but pretty minimal. I don't stress over being "zero" waste. Not enough time for that. . If everyone cut to 50% it would be huge!! I'm waaay below that and raising my own food is more important than a plastic bag. That's just where my priorities lie -- healthy, chemical free foods.

Seems you have done what you can. Kudos!

 

[murphysranch]

I'm like Mini. Recycle, compost, repurpose.

 

[flowerbug]

... I would love to have a full homestead, but it's not something feasible right now, so I'm just doing the best I can with the situation I have currently.

every bit you can do helps as far as i'm concerned.

i do not encourage people to do anything crafty with plastic bags or bottles because all it does is push the waste down the road a bit but then it is also contaminated with paints or will degrade in the sun which means it won't be very good quality if it does eventually make it back to a recycler.

glass may be heavy and break into sharp pieces but it can be washed and reused many times if you treat it right so to me that outwieghs the negatives.

other natural fibers than cotton can be much more ecologically friendly, hemp, linen, bamboo, etc.

i also tend to wear my clothes until they fall apart or you can see through them. i get a lot of them second hand for very little expense or even hand-me-downs which then at least i'm not having to buy them new.

i really like wood and stone for building materials and when wood is done being useful it can be recycled easily and turned into humus for the gardens or turned into paper.