Zero Waste Food Shopping (on a budget) and a little about us…
I work in a coffee shop right next door to a very busy supermarket. This gives me the opportunity to witness first hand the madness that is grocery shopping. PLASTIC IS EVERYWHERE!! They are now shrink-wrapping bananas !!!! What the??With the label “for your convenience” – how is it more convenient to have to unwrap the plastic off of an already perfectly naturally packaged item such as a banana?! Seriously, we as a society have become obsessed with plastic. So much so that they have predicted that by 2025 there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans!!! What the???!!
(Near) Zero Waste Wedding – How I Did It
So a lot of people have asked me how I did our wedding last October “Waste Free.” Answer – I’d call it 80% waste free – pretty good with a $3,000 budget (that included the honeymoon!).
Back to School Zero Waste Style
Ah that time of year again when you see the shops filled with stressed, overtired parents, dragging their winging kids behind them, carrying stationary lists, looking confused, bewildered and longing for it to be “over.” So many $$$ spent on brand new latest and greatest “things” because it’s not cool to use the same backpack or lunch box or shoes 2 Years in a row – heaven forbid.
It saddens me that we as a society are raising kids that simply expect that this is the way that life is. Just because we no longer particularly love the item, or we’ve seen something better, prettier, more flashy, these days that means we simply shove our previous items in a cupboard or drawer, and go buy the latest thing. How very, very sad…
My 1st Year Of “Buy Nothing New” and Why I Am Going to Do It Again
2017! Wow, what a year. My first year of “Buy Nothing New.”
Many people have done this challenge, however few have done it while living in a home with 2 small children and a partner that is still in the early stages of understanding “zero waste.”
Last year while on our annual motorcycle ride, I had 2 weeks to just think and re-evaluate our world, consumerist wise. As I packed for the bike trip I looked at what I was taking for a 2-week trip and realised just how little I needed to be clothed, warm and happy.
Disposable Coffee Cups
It is believed that Australians throw away around 1 billion disposable coffee cups each year, with 90 percent of disposable coffee cups end up in landfill. While many look like they’re made of paper, they contain plastic linings that don’t biodegrade. Disposable coffee cups are estimated to be the second largest contributor to litter waste after plastic bottles. With Australians’ growing love of coffee, without action the problem could become even worse....
Plastic Bag Waste in Australia
According to Clean Up Australia, it is estimated that Australians use 5 billion plastic bags each and every year. That equates to 20 million new plastic bags being used every day. Around 200,000 are sent to landfill every single hour. Plastic bags are a global problem, with millions ending up in the ocean each year. It’s not surprising that so many countries have sought to restrict plastic bag use by making retailers charge for each one they give to consumers, or even banning them completely....