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Thread: Zero (or minimal) waste

  1. #21
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    I would love to do more, and yet my lifestyle is not going that way very much. In an apartment I am more limited, however would consider some compost options if anyone has ideas. I can recycle a lot, it is a pain to bring it to the recycle bin on site. If I take it to work there are big recycle bins but it is hard to carry one more bag down with how many other bags I carry.

    I am bringing my own silverware and cloth napkins to work with my lunch which helps. I also use a lot of recycle materials in my after school program, egg cartons, lots of TP rolls, boxes, paper towel tubes.

  2. #22
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    Zoe girl, You have to decide how important the recycling is vs. the extra trip to your car.

    the lunch thing has a pretty good impact. Visualize a pile of 180 paper napkins and forks!

    also, i don't want to discourage you, but when you "use recyclable materials" in a classroom type of activity, what you are usually doing is downcycling - taking something and turning it into something closer to trash. Often classroom projects turn recyclables into something harder to recycle that the family is going to throw away. While that beats using new materials that the family is going to throw away, what is more helpful us diverting items that would have gone into the garbage instead of using new materials.

    i'm starting my seeds in slices of cardboard tube (low quality recycling value) and bagged soil (I intend to wipe off the bag and recycle it when it is empty) instead of peat pellets or pots this year - then the cardboard will end up composted and I won't have all those tiny bits of plastic netting or processed, shipped, and packaged pots.

    if you want to make changes, start slowly. Look for one thing you can change in you life to eliminate some trash - like, cigaret butts! See, you are already not giving yourself enough credit.

    trade one packaged drink (even a recyclable package) for a glass of water every week for a year, and you just eliminated the need to create, fill, package, and shop 52 drink packages.

    one thing about cancelling my trash is that it eliminates "just" throwing stuff away as an option in my home. I now have to personally remove each item that I bring in. It makes me think more.
    Last edited by Chicken lady; 3-4-17 at 6:05pm.

  3. #23
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    Oh yes, I have been on this for decades, sometimes better than others. I think having my kids take the recycling down is my best bet, I have to bug them but they eventually get it done. I also don't like the little ways we get plastic like in hand soap or small shampoo bottles. So I have ivory bar soap in the bathroom and shower, one small piece of paper as compared to a plastic bottle.

    I agree on the downcycling, my reasoning is that much of that was not going into a recycle bin anyways. I 'rescue' things from the trash all the time. We are starting seeds in egg shells for spring break camp and making seed bombs. My 4 year old class is making their own cloth napkins to take home and tye dying with natural dyes like onion skins. We will see how hard that is, I have done easter eggs that way many years. So baby steps in many ways.

    I feel the proudest of the lunches and grocery sacks, I use water bottles and make my own iced tea all the time. In the winter I have 2 great travel mugs for my hot tea. I probably buy a drink in a disposable container 2-3 times a month. And I am gone from home 10-13 hours a day most of the time!

    What do people think about using the 'free and natural' type products, laundry soap, dish soap, etc. I have always bought them for my oldest kids sensitive skin, and I like to think they make a difference.

  4. #24
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    We've always used arm and hammer free and clear since my son had a problem with detergent (he went to stay with my mom once and I packed enough clothes for the week and on day four she called in a panic because his torso was covered with a red rash - she also sent a picture. I noticed the shirt and said "I notice he's wearing the shirt I sent him in. Did you wash it?" And she said "of course I washed it!" And I said "well, that's the problem then."). Anyway, we also have a septic tank that releases filtered water into the yard, so I'm pretty careful about everything.

    goodguide can give you a hand on a lot of cleaners, although sometimes the cheap store brand Is as good or better if you read the ingredients.

    do tell me how the napkins go- I have that on tap for a class next year! A little older though, 1st and 2nd grade.

  5. #25
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    Zoe, we make our own laundry detergent and can control what goes in it thus avoiding allergens. We use the Duggars recipe but instead of Fels Naptha soap I use Yardley soap from the dollar tree. We also drain our washing machine right to the outdoors and have a buried pipe with holes in it, to auto water a vegetable garden. We grew watermelons there last year.

    Does your apartment have any kind of outdoor shared garden space? if so, you can organize a compost pile on site, and invite all the neighbors to contribute kitchen waste. You can also compost junk mail out of the shredder. I use it around my rose bushes, then cover with straw.

  6. #26
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    Can you share the Duggar recipe? I use a cheap detergent but not much because my skin is sensitive. Most people use too much detergent (ruins the clothing and is harsh on the skin).

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by 19Sandy View Post
    Can you share the Duggar recipe? I use a cheap detergent but not much because my skin is sensitive. Most people use too much detergent (ruins the clothing and is harsh on the skin).
    Sure Sandy:
    Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap(Front or top load machine-best value)

    Ingredients:

    4 Cups - hot tap water
    1 Fels-Naptha soap bar*
    1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda**
    ½ Cup Borax

    Directions:

    -Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
    -Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
    -Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
    -Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
    -Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
    -Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
    -Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)


  8. #28
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    So, I "rescued" the product wrap from the food bank last night to go to the recycling. Also brought home a few starting to go moldy snacks for my chickens that added a small amount of plastic trash and some recycling to my accumulation.

    i threw out my not quite full quart bag when I got gas this morning (that makes 3 for March) and dropped off two not quite full paper grocery bags of recycling on my way to work. Snagged a box tops symbol that was sticking out of the recycling dumpster and turned it in when I got here, so my three cents in gas to recycle turned into ten cents for my school.

  9. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chicken lady View Post
    So, I "rescued" the product wrap from the food bank last night to go to the recycling. Also brought home a few starting to go moldy snacks for my chickens that added a small amount of plastic trash and some recycling to my accumulation.

    i threw out my not quite full quart bag when I got gas this morning (that makes 3 for March) and dropped off two not quite full paper grocery bags of recycling on my way to work. Snagged a box tops symbol that was sticking out of the recycling dumpster and turned it in when I got here, so my three cents in gas to recycle turned into ten cents for my school.
    That is very cool, CL! Would your school let you teach a class in this, a let you sponsor a club that promoted this kind of awareness? You could be spreading these great ideas exponentially if you were teaching them.

  10. #30
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    CL - an update. DH took 5 cans to the transfer station. I asked him when was the last trip and he said it was 10 weeks ago. I'm sure some recyclable items were in there. There are only two types of plastic we can recycle, absolutely can't recycle food wraps. There is also a lot of paper and cardboard restrictions (no waxed paper like orange juice box or icecream containers.

    I do buy most of my meat that I have to buy (we get a lot from the farm as well) from the counter. I can't decide if it's better to ask for it in plastic bag or wax paper since neither are recyclable.
    Float On: My "Happy Place" is on my little kayak in the coves of Table Rock Lake.

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