Naked deliveries make my day

I feel I must apologise for my absence over the last few days. I'd been so looking forward to tucking into some tasty British food and blogging about my discoveries, but by Tuesday I was all struck down with a nasty cold. Then my appetite skedaddled and my tastebuds followed suit, all disappearing into a big black hole.

Hardly being able to speak today I was home alone feeling sorry for myself, coughing with one breath and then sneezing with the other, when suddenly I heard a rat-tat-tat at the door.

And what a surprise!

It was my lovely friendly postman making a naked delivery.

Now, stop your rude thoughts.

Granted, the Royal Mail might make a few extra bob if they did strip-o-grams, but then again....

I can reassure you that our friendly postie was most definitely suitably dressed in all the right clobber, but he was holding before him a naked flower.

Of course, I had to to grab my camera to snap it before saying thank you and closing the door.

The felt flower, which was all pink and fuzzy, had been sent to me by Henry and Jayne, home of a beautiful range of hand made gifts. It was part of an experiment to see what would happen to flowers sent in the post without any packaging whatsoever, focusing on ways to reduce unecessary packaging. You can read more about their experiment here.

Well the great news is, the flower has arrived in one piece, completely intact with no damage at all.

Just perfect.

It even had an address tag made from a recycled Christmas card.

So thank you to Liz at Henry and Jayne for letting me take part in this wonderful experiment. I am now a joyful owner of a beautiful flower that's taking pride of place in my dining room.

And as for the postie, well he says, it's the most beautiful naked delivery he has ever made.



I promise to be back soon with further news of my local gastronomic adventures, as well as some other exciting news that has made my day even more exciting. For now though, I'm afraid I have to go and sneeze.

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Thinking differently: An international perspective

(Photo credit: The Green Giving Company)

Yesterday I had the privilege of giving a presentation about The Rubbish Diet to our local International Women's Group.

I say it was a privilege not just because of the chance to share ideas about zero waste but because of the invaluable opportunity to find out more about other people with vastly different backgrounds. It was great to listen to their stories about how waste is regarded in the places they have lived or through which they have travelled.

But what struck me most deeply was a conversation with a lady from Russia, who moved over to the UK about seven years ago. She told of her surprise over how different things were here compared to her home country.

One particular anecdote she shared was the culture of giving presents and she related her experience of growing up in a society where friends and relatives gave each other gifts that were unwrapped. No paper was involved. Just the gift itself.

Of course when she arrived in the UK, she was surprised at the waste created through the process of gifting with the wrapping paper, tags and ribbon, which might all be able to be reused or recycled but often end up dumped in landfill with no further use at all.

Her story really got me thinking about the way we do things as a society and how we accept our traditions because they are simply the traditional way. It also made me reflect on my own expectations and what I would think if someone gave me a present that was unwrapped.

And indeed I recall a particular occasion, ten years ago, when we visited friends at Christmas time. As I handed over our own beautifully wrapped and festively adorned presents, they passed back several gifts in a Tesco carrier bag, with an apology that they didn't have enough time to wrap them.

At the time I felt rather put-out. Didn't they care? Didn't we matter to them? And yes, I felt cheated - because I'd cared enough to make their presents look pretty and I'd stayed up late to make sure they were wrapped in time for the visit because that was tradition and how things were done. And it was polite!

Goodness me, I can't now help think what utter nonsense!

My ingratitude! I was like Hyacinth Bouquet - or should I say Bucket - from Keeping up Appearances, fussing over just a few sheets of paper.

How blimmin' petty!

And I am very pleased how I've changed.

Of course these days if someone offered me an unwrapped gift, whatever their reason I'd say "good on you" and thank them as much for the unwrapped status as I would for the gift itself.

I now consider a gift to be a lovely surprise in itself because it's the offering of that gift and connecting to the recipient that is really important. And despite being an admirer of luxury presentation with beautiful adornments, which can often cost as much as the gift itself, I now feel that such things are unnecessarily excessive.

When thinking about such matters, I can't help recall the words of eco-designer Oliver Heath and the wisdom that he shared during an interview last year.

When I asked him about the experiences that have had the most prolific influence on him, without any pause for thought he said travelling. He told how it had given him the opportunity to see how different societies lived and how he has soon realised that just because we do things a certain way in our society, it doesn't mean it is the right way.

Those words still ring loudly in my consciousness and meeting people from other walks of life keeps the message at the forefront of my mind.

These days I like to encourage friends to ditch the wrapping when passing presents on to me and when I give gifts, depending on the recipient and their expectations, I offer them unwrapped, or in reusable packaging such as a material Kerchief. I also have a large present sack at hand for special events such as birthdays in the Almost Average Household.

Gifting is only one cultural habit where waste-free practices can make a difference but I can't help wondering what other opportunities there are for comparing with other cultures and the chance to enjoy the sustainable benefits of other societies.

So I'd like to thank the ladies at the Bury St Edmunds International Women's Group for listening yesterday but most of all I'd like to thank them for sharing their perspective and wisdom. It certainly makes you wake up and realise it's actually okay to think differently.

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Day 4: A Real Rubbish Parcel

Blow me down with a feather, but I think word has got out about my rubbish challenge.

Folk have resorted to sending me rubbish through the post.

Honestly! If you don't believe me, have a look below.



It might look like some innocent newspaper but can you see the Royal Mail sticker? Someone's really sent me some rubbish.

WOW! That's never happened to me before (with the exception of Mrs Green's sellotape reel of course).

When I picked it up it felt quite weighty. There was obviously something inside.

Fish and chips perhaps?

Well what else could be wrapped in newspaper?

"There's more to this than meets the eye." I thought, so I opened it carefully.

And I smiled, for inside the layers of newspaper there was a very pleasant surprise.

It was a beautifully wrapped gift, packaged in blue and white checked fabric, accompanied by a note wishing me luck.



It was then that I remembered the conversation I had last week with a lovely chap called Hugo, whose business The Green Giving Company makes a product called the Kerchief, a fabulous alternative to wrapping paper, which embraces the fine Japanese art of gift wrapping, called Furoshiki. Hugo had promised me some samples to try out and kept to his word to put some in the post. Carefully reused newspaper is his packaging of choice, which is very sustainable when it comes to sending out orders.

And how exciting.

He had also sent me a gift.

How kind. I had told him about my challenge last week and I was grateful for this unexpected token of support.

So, under the eager watch of my 4 year old, I carefully untied the knots. I couldn't wait to see what it was.

Yet with the most amazing control, I slowly unfolded the gorgeous check fabric, in anticipation of a pleasant treat.

Could it be chocolate?

A book?

Or was it some other special gift?

Er...

.....nope.

It was....ahem....

Yep, it was ...

...........a pile of bin bags.

"Bin bags Mummy?" said my 4 year old, scratching his head like Stan Laurel.

"Yes" I laughed, looking at the black shiny things laid out against the beautiful fabric wrapping.




What a cheeky chap, eh!

But how I chuckled.

Hee hee, with the reputation I've acquired over the last twelve months, it'll be no surprise that I haven't bought a pack of rubbish bags during all this time. And Hugo thought I might need some.

And I might, if I ignore my conscience that's standing in the way of this week's challenge.

We'll see.

But in the meantime, the great news is I've already had an opportunity to try out one of the Kerchiefs on a present I had bought to cheer up a good friend who's been having a tough time of late. But being a Furoshiki novice, I popped over to www.thegreengivingco.com for instructions.

And look what I created. I admit I had my doubts over how a Japanese idea could translate into western culture, but I am really pleased with the results.



Of course this is a very simple wrapping technique but The Green Giving Company website has lots more ideas on using more advanced techniques. I particularly love this Rabbit, which is a great way of wrapping up those unpackaged chocolate Eggheads sold by Cadbury.



Isn't it gorgeous. And just in time for Easter.

So huge thanks to Hugo for giving me a real rubbish laugh and for the samples to try out. I think I am now a Furoshiki convert. And at just £1.99 per Kerchief, I'll most definitely be trying more out.

But I couldn't chuck the newspaper in the bin. It's gone into the compost instead, together with the sellotape that was used to seal up the parcel. And as for the bin bags, we'll just have to wait to see what fate awaits them.

I might ask the experts for some advice. You see, it's tomorrow that I am going on my sponsored Bin Round, where I will be hard at work sticking recycling stickers on St Edmundsbury's wheelie bins to raise some cool cash for Comic Relief.

So while I am doing that, please feel free to discover the art of wrapping presents with fabric. Here's a little video below, which reveals how it is so easy to say bye bye to disposable gift wrap for good.





Furoshiki gift wrapping from RecycleNow on Vimeo.

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Day 1: Rubbish Shopping

Now what's that old saying?

Ahh, that's it.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

I love that phrase and when it comes to shopping it seems very appropriate somehow. For instance, have a look at the photo and tell me what you see.

Is it just a week's shopping for a family of four?

Or is it a whole load of treats?

Perhaps it's a whole bunch of healthy ingredients?

Maybe it's not just this week's food, perhaps it's next week's wasted leftovers?

Now look at the packaging.

Do you see recycling opportunities?

Or are you looking at a pile of potential rubbish, like the picture of landfill below?

SETTING THE SCENE

When I look at that photo of my shopping, as well as anticipating the taste of the food and the satisfaction of a good meal, I am also staring at a table full of stuff that could end up in the bin. And that's what it's like when I go shopping these days, trying to avoid creating rubbish while I fill my basket. So, I try and buy loose wherever I can to avoid creating waste in the first place. After all, if it comes loose, that's one less thing to bung in the bin at home regardless of whether it's landfill or recycling. But if something comes in packaging, I always consider the opportunities for recycling as well as a complex combination of other facets including price, quality, shelf life, origins and its versatility as an ingredient.

Now I know focusing on zero waste isn't normal behaviour in many people's eyes and most people would think that it is a huge inconvenience to shop in this way, but the reality is that it doesn't actually take that much time and more and more people are following the simple methods.

Okay, I'll be the first to admit that when you start out with a zero waste challenge you have to look at things carefully and read the labels to find out if you can recycle certain packaging, but after a few more visits to the shops, you gradually become comfortable with the brands that serve you well and indeed the places and routines that help make a zero waste or minimal waste lifestyle a real possibility.

In business terms, it's as simple as "Outcome Thinking". You just look at your goal, which is a slimmer bin and then you make changes accordingly and most importantly you take small steps to incorporate rubbish-free choices into your life.

It just takes a little time and some research and very soon you'll find the ability to focus on products that create so little waste you'll be wondering how you created so much rubbish in the first place.

And a whole year later, you'll find yourself not looking back.

Well that's what happened to me, until I found myself wondering what it would actually be like to go back to my old shopping habits, like journeying through time to explore the kinds of things I would have bought on what would be a normal visit to the supermarket.

Don't get me wrong. My zero waste lifestyle hasn't meant that I've abandoned supermarkets, but where I used to rely on them 100% and NEVER visited the market, I now flirt between the market, supermarkets, farm shops and the farmers' market, depending on my routine.

So what I'm trying to say is, I fit shopping around my routine, instead of creating a routine specifically for shopping, picking things up "en route" on the way to somewhere else and buying little and often in accordance with what we really need. Shopping this way has been very liberating to say the least and has meant it's been easier to cope with my family's eating habits and has contributed to a life of less waste. With a monthly online delivery for basics and picking up fresh ingredients as I go along means it has become less of a chore.

So when considering going back to my "old ways", I was intrigued what it would be like if I did a whole week's shop in a supermarket, just like I used to. And my port of call just had to be our local Sainsbury's store not least because it's on my doorstep, but it's also supporting Red Nose Day too.

NOT SO CAREFUL PLANNING!

So on Sunday morning we pitched up and Little J and I were raring to go shopping in style.

But we'd not even entered the supermarket and we were already breaking away from my zero waste habits. You see, zero waste shopping is all about planning!


No.1: Never go shopping when hungry. It makes sense really. If you don't want to splash out on unecessary treats, always go shopping AFTER you've eaten. But oh dear, by the time we'd got ourselves sorted and got out of the house, our arrival time was 11am. I'd hoped we might make it home by 12pm, but the truth is we were at the supermarket for 2 hours...yes TWO HOURS ... shopping through lunchtime. Now that's a guaranteed way of buying more food than necessary if ever I've seen one!


No.2: Avoid taking the kids. It's a great idea to leave the kids at home, because they have an amazing way of making you buy more than you need. So the top tip is to leave the little people with your partner, family or friends allowing you to avoid anything from gentle persuasion to full blown pester power. I didn't quite manage to go child-free yesterday, but Little J came along to pester me in every aisle and indeed he did!


No.3: Choose the smallest trolley you can. The smaller your trolley, the less you'll fill it up. With my infrequent visits to the supermarket, my weapon of choice is normally a basket or a small trolley. But yesterday was different. We were on a mission to fill it with loads of goodies so we needed a cart that could hack it.


No. 4: Take a list. Now if you don't take a list, you're at risk of buying the whole shop and a whole load of packaging to go with it! I never used to write lists and I really used to bring home half the shop. Yesterday I was on a mission to achieve this ambition, so the list went on vacation to the black hole.


No.5: Take some reusable containers. Now it might be bizarre, but whenever I go to the farmshop, I take a container for the meat cuts and the butcher is happy to use them. They think it's a great idea and are alway happy to oblige. But when I go into a supermarket, I get put off by their health & safety regulations and corporate policies and the fear of feeling a freak. So I didn't bother with the containers yesterday and headed off to the meat aisle for alternative products.


No.6: Take some reusable bags: Oh dear, this was a toughie. I can't believe how long it took to train myself to remember my reusable bags and these days I don't leave home without them when I am off shopping. It's just an automatic action, like picking up my handbag and keys. But the only bags I have are for Waitrose, and I felt embarrassed taking them into a competitor's store. It's like taking in an advertising billboard.

So I thought I'd leave them behind and see if I could use the flimsy ones from the checkout instead. After all the challenge was to create as much rubbish as possible. But despite my bravado, it felt strange going shopping without bags and it was as if I'd forgotten something really important like my credit card or handbag, or indeed the children. It was an uncomfortable feeling indeed and I didn't like it. And as I walked through the store I really couldn't bear the thought of picking up the free flimsy ones at the check-out, even if I could reuse them or indeed recycle them.

But look at my discovery - special bags for Comic Relief. And the best thing was, they were made from 100% recycled plastic. Just look at that grin - what approval!

THE SUPERMARKET SWEEP

So when I went shopping yesterday, I was on a mission to find out two key things.

1. Whether I could shop without considering the packaging and forget the concept of zero waste
2. The role of the supermarket in making waste reduction choices easy.

No wonder it took me so long.


Checking out the packaging!

Before I got into the store I had images of me breezing through the supermarket, popping things into my trolley without considering the consequences of what I bought. That is how I used to shop before I started my zero waste challenge last year. I used to walk right in and I would put stuff into the trolley without looking at the packaging, not interested in the recycling symbols and not even thinking about where the packets end containers would end up.

I can't help wondering if this is how most people shop these days, or if much of society has changed too.

And could I hack it? Did I really manage to go all the way around the supermarket without considering the packaging at all, just like I used to.

Well, I'm afraid the answer to that is NO!

From the fruit and veg section to frozen foods, I still gave thought to whether products were loose or packaged in materials that could be recycled locally.

When I envisaged this task, I bravely thought I could grab a bunch of bananas and pop them in a plastic weigh bag and do exactly the same with other produce such as oranges and broccoli. Well that's what I used to do. That used to be my normal behaviour!

But the reality is, these kinds of products don't need to be put into bags. They can just be placed in the trolley loose and that's what I did. I'm afraid my automatic response of REDUCE was still working, as you'll see in the photo above.

And when it came to smaller produce such as grapes and tomatoes, I couldn't even bear to consider the option of punnets, and pulled out my Onya weigh bags, which I bought a couple of weeks ago and which were conveniently tucked away in my handbag for emergencies. Tomatoes in one bag and grapes in the other...and Bob's your Uncle!



But then came the carrots.

Blimmin' carrots!

At first, I popped just a few large ones in the trolley. Then I spotted that a bag of washed carrots was cheaper than buying loose. I couldn't believe my eyes.

How could that be?

So like a game of hokey-cokey I put my left arm into the trolley and pulled a carrot out, then in-out, in-out, I put them each and every one of them back in the box, replacing the loose produce with a packet of pre-washed carrots.

Sold to the woman with the price-sensitive head on her shoulders!

And the same happened with the Buy One Get One Free bags of apples. With two boys who can eat me out of house and home on the apple front, it was cheaper to buy pre-packaged than loose. Well I thought it was, I found it quite hard to compare with the price labelling.

What a palaver!

I normally get my fruit and veg from the market where I hand over my bag to the stallholder, saying "fill her up". No packaging in sight apart from the odd paper bag that ends up in my compost bin. No decision making needed.

Blimmin' 'eck. No wonder I felt exhausted by the fruit and veg section. Decision, decisions, eh. I really could have done with a cup of tea!

And that's what it was like for the rest of the two hours, with me not being able to forget about the packaging.

And as for purchasing things I don't normally buy, well that's another story!

One thing I have discovered from our zero waste experience is that I now concentrate on buying the things that we really need and avoiding the things we don't. I used to go to the supermarket and regularly spend £120 on a trolley full of treats, but through poor time management a lot of that used to go to waste. These days, our weekly groceries bill just comes to £60-£90, depending on whether we need cat food or toilet paper or other incidentals.

And shopping this way means I have become naturally focused and not distracted by the usual goody-bag top-ups. A good job really, because my willpower is virtually zilch!

And can't you tell.

With a combination of free-rein and pester power my inner shopper was most certainly unleashed!

In went the Sunday Newspaper - which I still haven't opened - along with a box of fresh cream cakes and a few ready meals, including a pizza and quiche. Well I have got a busy week this week, with no time to cook, so a busy mum needed an alternative solution. And thanks to my 7 year old companion there were biscuits, snack bars, crisps, chocolate mousses and a couple of chocolate eggs. And then some mini-cheeses, all individually wrapped up in a little net bag.

And I took advantage of the 3 for 2s in the juice aisle, filling up the trolley with juice cartons, which is something I gave up ages ago, because I don't have the space to store them for recycling. So in they went, six cartons, carefully placed in the trolley.

But there was one thing I just couldn't manage to buy, one particular product that I used to throw in my trolley week-by-week before doing the zero waste challenge.

Strawberry shaped yogurts, in a little net bag.

Lovely looking things and perfect for kids.

But to consume the contents, you have to suck the yoghurt through a teeny tiny opening at the top of the moulded packaging. Convenient for consuming but more cumbersome for recycling.

I was right on the brink of putting them in my trolley and they were just teetering on the edge when I reconsidered the consequences. Could I lazily throw out such packaging to landfill, when an ordinary yoghurt pot could be rinsed and at least have a chance of survival in Suffolk's recycling system?

Oh dear. I decided I couldn't but neither could I be bothered to cut them up to wash them out either.

So they went back on the shelf for someone else to buy.

I'm not very good at creating rubbish am I?

Out of everything, it was the strawberry shaped yoghurt pots, that highlighted I can no longer go shopping without considering the packaging that I put in my trolley.

I was still switching products in accordance with their recyclable credentials.

Oh the relief and cries of "Thank Goodness"!



But how easy was is it to shop waste-free at the supermarket?

The answer to this question is wholly dependent on where you live.

For me, I am confident that having bunged a whole range of goodies in the trolley, there is still hope for a zero-waste result. That is because we have such excellent recycling facilities in Bury St Edmunds that even pasta packaging can be taken to our Household Waste Recycling Centre as well as the plastic used for Cathedral City cheese - our little 4 year old's favourite.

But it's also due to improvements in package labelling, which is vital. And I couldn't help but notice how Sainsbury's packaging has changed and the majority of products I handled, particularly own brand goods had recycling advice for the consumer.

And you can't get bigger or bolder than the instructions on their own brand of Wholewheat Biscuits. The message is loud and clear!

"If every Sainsbury's customer recycled their cereal box, 750 tonnes of cardboard would be reused every year. That's the equivalent to 101 double-decker buses."



It also states that they were the first to make their cereal boxes smaller and are making sure that more of their packaging is environmentally friendly, indicating the box is now made from at least 85% recycled cardboard.

What a great message to pass onto the customers.

But it's not just the the message that's important.

In the words of Frank Carson, it's the way you tell 'em.

And on that packet of Wholewheat Biscuits, Sainsbury's got it just right.

You see, I went to pick up a normal packet of Weetabix, but my 7 year old bag of pester power stopped me in my tracks, clutching Sainsbury's own label alternative. He begged me to buy it because of the lovely picture of the double-decker bus! And he even had the cheek to say "Remember to recycle this carton", happily reading the picture of the post-it note on the back of the box as he held it gleefully in his hands.

Surely that's pester power at its best and if companies like Sainsbury's continue to harness the full potential of this bundle of eco-marketing fun in an ethical manner, then it's an all-round winner, I'm sure.

As I wandered around the store looking at the recycling messages on each item of packaging I picked up, it was encouraging to see the number of references to recycling polythene packaging in-store. And as for using the weigh-in bags, there were even reminders, asking customers whether they really need the bags in the first-place.

However, I couldn't help wondering if there was more that a supermarket could do to help encourage customers to reduce waste. Not just Sainsbury's but other supermarkets too.

Wouldn't it be great if they sold reusable Onya Weigh-in bags, or at least removed plastic bags from sections where they are not needed, such as next to the bananas. Branded containers would be great too, for people to reuse at the deli counters. Just like my local farmshop, it would be fabulous if they could trust customers with the responsiblity of washing them carefully before reuse.

I also think it would be invaluable if they worked more closely with the local authorities and displayed more useful recycling information around the store, promoting details that are relevant to the area. For example in Bury St Edmunds, we can recycle meat trays in our wheelie bins, as well as Tetrapacks at our recycling centre and even rice packaging can be taken there too. I couldn't help think that a few carefully placed signs would help raise awareness of this and add to the council's efforts. After all we're all in this together and it would be a prime example of joined up thinking

But at the end of the day, no matter what role the supermarkets play in waste reduction, it all comes down to individual shopping choices and the personal responsibility for recycling once you pack your boot and take the trolley to the trolley park.

"Your Rubbish Your Choice" is the slogan used by the Norfolk Waste Partnership, just over the border from Suffolk.

And they're quite right.

I couldn't quite leave my Zero Waste head behind yesterday but I still have an issue. When the food is gone I'll have some extra rubbish to deal with this week

But this rubbish is my responsibility. And with our excellent recycling facilities can I really let it all end up in landfill, where it will all go to waste, buried into the ground.

I really don't think so, but let's see at the end of the week shall we.

In the meantime, here's a reminder of what could actually happen to it.


Perhaps it's time to have a look at that picture of my shopping again.

And remember that "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

Then look back at the photo of landfill, with the bin lorry regurgitating all that rubbish onto the ground.

I can safely say, I don't think I've really seen anything so ugly!

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Today's Twitter with Working with Nature

When I've not been busy on the blog, the book or indeed preparing for Christmas, I've been having a really good Twitter. Not just twittering to myself, but twittering to others over at www.twitter.com, where everyone else is having their fair share of tweets too. And it's fab, you get to meet all sorts of new peeps or tweeps as twittering people are called.

And one of those gorgeous tweeps is the lovely Allyson Proudfoot, who runs the Bellingham Soap Company, making luxury soap and skincare products under the brand Working with Nature. If the name sounds familiar, it's because as well as having an online shop, Allyson distributes to a whole range of stockists across the UK, including National Trust gift shops.

Well I couldn't resist ordering myself a treat (or indeed a tweet) for Christmas and it arrived today. So while I'm off to indulge in a Fabulous Frankincense Fizz Bath, I have the pleasure in handing you over to Allyson for her to tell you more about her work.



How long have you been making soap and what inspired you in the first place?

"I've been making soap for 11 years, started selling at my local farmers market in 1999. I started because I needed something to do with my surplus goats milk and then began making creams and balms about 4 years ago, as a natural progression!"






What's your favourite product?

"I don't really have a fave product, I like them all. If I don't like something I don't make it again even if it is popular...like glycerin soap, I could sell cart loads but it is just melted down factory base and even the so called organic stuff doesn't fit in with what I believe in. If I was pushed I would have to say that I love my Patchouli soap."



What kind of packaging do you use?


"I only use biodegradable packaging, natural cellophane, jute bags and fairly traded saa paper. I band my soaps with Ellie Poo paper as it helps to conserve the habitat of elephants in Sri Lanka.

I use recycled packaging to send out my orders, I usually use recycled brown paper and corrugated cardboard but I also re-use what is sent to me, if it is a plastic sack or bubble wrap then I got it from someone else! I use cellulose sticky tape too!"



What would be your top tip for any other small business wishing to reduce its waste?

"My top tip would be think about waste in the first stages of designing a product, and save every thing you can in case you can re-use it later, shred your waste paper and use it as packing."



Huge thanks to Allyson for joining in with The Rubbish Diet. I can truly vouch that the packaging is just what she promotes through her work. It arrived this morning, all gorgeous and eco-friendly, with a few reused bits too. To find out more about her wonderful products, pop over to www.bellinghamsoapcompany.co.uk.

If you want to follow our tweets, log onto www.twitter.com/therubbishdiet
and www.twitter.com/workingnature, where you'll find a whole load of tweeters at it too, with many friends you'll recognise and a whole load of new ones to connect with.

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WRAP CEO thanks consumer campaigners whilst making a big announcement

Today was good news day as the Waste & Resources Action Programme WRAP, the agency which helps industry and consumers reduce waste and recycle more, announced that the amount of waste packaging in the UK grocery sector has halted despite increased sales in 2007.

Hooray!

New figures reported by The Telegraph show that there had been no increase in packaging used by supermarkets and high street stores since 2006 when results weighed in at 2.843 tonnes. This means that the industry has met the first target of the Courtauld Agreement which was set to design out packaging waste growth and can now focus on reducing the amount further, to meet packaging waste targets for 2010.

In its press release announcing the news, WRAP CEO Liz Goodwin thanked consumer campaigners for "helping to push the issue of packaging further up the agenda.”

So I guess we should keep up the good work, keep writing those letters and making those phone calls, because to quote a famous marketing catchphrase,

"Every Little Helps"

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Jo Beaufoix's Rubbish Diet Plan

Do you remember the Beaufoix Bin from Mansfield?

The key problem is that it is always full to its 240 litre capacity. On top of that there are often extra bags of rubbish that can't even fit in, which owner Jo Beaufoix has to take to the dump on a regular basis. That all works out at an estimated 260 cubic litres of waste, every fortnight.

This bin needs some help and the aim is to slim it down to around half its size.

Jo kindly provided me with a lot of detail about what goes in her bin and is now ready to tackle her rubbish head-on.

Her Rubbish Diet Plan includes the following recommendations:


SEEK OUT NEW RECYCLING OPPORTUNITIES

One of the priorities of Jo's Rubbish Diet Plan is to reduce the amount of plastic packaging that goes into the landfill bin. As her local recycling facilities aren't as extensive as those in my neck of the woods, this will be a tougher challenge for Jo and her family.

Jo carried out an audit of her rubbish, which revealed that things like margarine tubs and yoghurt pots couldn't be recycled. However, the great news is that as recently as last month, the local council has included these in their recycling facilities, so they can be ticked off the list straight away.

For anyone who attempts to slim their bin, progress like this always offers a sense of relief.

A call to the council today also revealed that as the pots of jellies and some of the sauce pots used by Jo are made of the same material as the yoghurt packaging, these can be added too. All this shows an encouraging start for the Beaufoix household.

Other news is that Tetra Pak recycling has also been available for some time at the local Household Waste Recycling Centre, so these can be dropped off when the family is passing by.

Further opportunities for recycling additional materials may also be available from November when a new Materials Recycling Facility is introduced near Mansfield. However, not much is yet known about this and should not be seen as the solution.


REDUCE THE PACKAGING

It is important that Jo should try to replace products that have packaging with where possible loose items (e.g. satsumas). Where packaging cannot be avoided, Jo should look out for items that can be recycled (e.g. glass jars) or those that may be composted.

The key is to look at changing just a few habits, just tackling one thing at a time to make things easier.

As Jo often uses a supermarket Internet site to do her shopping, it's worth visiting the supermarket for her next shop to try and look for alternatives to over-packaged culprits that she regularly buys. Even flimsy plastic bags from the deli-counter help to reduce waste when compared to more solid materials associated with pre-packaged produce, which cannot currently be recycled in the area.

When buying chocolate bars, she could consider replacing the products wrapped in plastic film with those that use paper and foil. Paper can be recycled or composted and foil could be used for junk art at home or donated to the local school.

If tinned food is normally bought in multi-packs, it's worth checking if buying single tins is just as cheap and order those instead. This way, the plastic wrapping that is used for multi-packs can be avoided. Pet food, baked beans, tomatoes and tuna are regular culprits.

Of course, if Jo feels she can incorporate it into her lifestyle, shopping at a local market and at local shops to replace some of the supermarket products would be a great step towards reducing excess packaging.


COOKING

On the culinary front, Jo often makes use of pre-prepared sauces, which come in pots. Some of these can't be recycled in her area. I've suggested that she experiments with making her favourite sauces from scratch. Simple chilli sauce can be made from fresh\tinned tomatoes with fresh chillis or dried spices. Some of her other favourites could also be created in minutes.

Jo already cooks frequently and loves engaging with the readers of her blog, so it might be an appealing idea to ask them to suggest some quick and fast recipes for some of her favourite sauces. She could then test them out and even feature them on her blog.



COMPOSTING

Last week, I also recommended that she should take advantage of Compost Awareness Week and buy a home composter at a bargain price.

Jo’s garden is big enough to accommodate a composter and once “installed” she will be able to remove fruit & veg peelings from her landfill bin, as well as tea bags & coffee grains and old bedding from her gerbil cage.

She is keen to do this, so there should be further news on this soon.

Cooked food waste should be handled by trying to reduce portion sizes if possible. Alternatively, if it continues to be a problem, a Bokashi system could be considered.

A Bokashi system is an indoor bucket that can be filled with most food waste, including cooked meat products. Active bran is added to the food in layers and left for two weeks to ferment. The liquid must be drained off regularly and can be poured down the drain or diluted with water as a fertiliser for plants. After 2 weeks, the fermented food can be put into the composter.

A Green Cone is another option that could be considered if appropriate for Jo’s Garden. It is similar to a compost bin but will also accept cooked food, meat and fish. The idea is that contents decompose and drain into the surrounding soil. However, I have not yet tested this so am unable to comment in detail.


SANITARY PRODUCT & NAPPIES

Jo is planning to complete her daughter's potty-training this summer, which will be great for removing night-time nappies from the bin. However in the meantime, she might want to consider getting a few reusable ones. If this isn’t practical, using degradable alternatives might be a solution. It’s not a perfect answer, but is one that could suffice in the short-term.

If Jo fancies a go at ditching the nappies, there is are products on the market called Eenie Undies, which are sold as part of the Weenies range. They are waterproof pants that can be used with compostable weenee pads. Jo will need to assess whether they will be suitable for her daughter and whether they could fit into her budget.

I have given her details of the Lollipop online store, so she can find out more about the Weenies training pants. The online shop also sells washable sanitary products, which may be of interest to Jo should she wish to eliminate disposable products from her landfill bin. Some are not as gruesome as they sound and are much friendlier on the environment as well as the pocket.


CLEANING

I have recommended that Jo invests in cleaning cloths that can be washed many times over and use these instead of kitchen towel and regular sponges. I have used E-Cloth products which have worked very well and now feel that I have got my money's worth. However normal sponges can be boiled to extend use if necessary. Also, used kitchen towel can be composted as long as it hasn’t been used to mop up spills and scraps associated with cooked food, meat, fish or indeed has come into contact with cleaning chemicals.

Priority targets: If Jo and her family focus on reducing the amount of packaging that comes into the home, they should be rewarded with a noticeable impact on the size of their bin. If composting is managed alongside this, they should soon be well on their way to cutting their household waste in half.

I'm going to leave the Beaufoix household alone with their Bin for a while. A little privacy is always useful. I'll catch up with them in a couple of weeks to see how they are getting on...and of course I will report back on progress.

Thinking about progress, I wonder how Ruby's rubbish is coming along. She's been in York for a few days and even managed to meet up with one of the site's regular visitors. I'm left wondering how much rubbish they talked. So while Jo's busy working on her rubbish, I'm going to track down Ruby.

More on that soon!
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