Zero Carbon Castle

Tips and links – Reducing waste

The tip of the iceberg

Below are a few ideas on how to reduce waste. We lived for thousands of years without creating significant waste and with modern technologies and some age old principals we can return to being resource efficient beings without living in caves.

At the bottom of this page is a method for developing this list of “Tips and links” into a strategy and time line that can help you eliminated waste.

1. Consumerism

• Search out non-material pleasures, if you have to spend your money buy services over goods, buying local services are not only less waste intensive they’re generally less carbon intensive
  List of things to do in Bedford http://www.experiencebedfordshire.co.uk/
  Buy less by asking yourself, do you really need it? Can you use something else? Can you make one?
  Ask around, does someone have one they don’t want? Do I know someone who can lend me one? Perhaps another member of ZCC has one.
  See the community section of this site http://zerocarboncastle.org/groups
  Use the Local Email Swapshop and freecycle
  Relevant links http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BedsSwapSh… and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freecycleb…
  Buy second hand from charity shops, second hand shops, auctions and at car boot sales
  Relevant links http://tinyurl.com/charitybedford http://tinyurl.com/secondhandbedford http://tinyurl.com/carbootbedford http://tinyurl.com/auctionbedford
  Reuse things, adapt them for a new purpose, make art and reuse components
  Pass things on to family and friends or to second hand shops or via charity shops and the swapshops and freecycle as above.

2. Value what you have

• Buy things that will last
  Maintain things properly
  Repair things when they break
• Value what you have could also apply to water; don’t waste water, use aerated shower and tap heads, “hippo’s” or simply fill a bottle of water and place it in your toilet cistern, dual flush or compost loo, 2 in a bath, switch off taps when brushing teeth, save cold water in a bucket when waiting for hot to run through, be frugal with water when washing up and cooking

3. Eliminate packaging

• Don’t use process foods that are heavy in tin cans, glass jars, plastic and cardboard packaging.
  Search out packaging free products; e.g. certain soaps and cleaning products as well as grains, herbs, nuts, fruits and vegetables etc
  Shopping locations for packaging free items http://tinyurl.com/healthfoodbedford
   http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/food/homemade-no…
  Use reusable shopping bags
  ZCC and other reusable bags http://www.wen.org.uk/NappyPartnerships/…
   http://tinyurl.com/orangebagbedford
  Find what other items that can be recycled at different locations
  Relevant links http://tinyurl.com/recyclepointbedford
  Monitor your waste and strike off from you shopping list items that can’t be recycled, reused or composted

6. Compost

• Source compost bins and kitchen waste caddies; some are subsidised
  Relevant links http://www.recyclenow.com/home_compostin…
  Learn the best way to compost for you
  Relevant links http://www.recyclenow.com/home_compostin… and http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/compo…
  If available, and you don’t want to or can’t compost, use a community-wide scheme, that offers doorstep food waste and/or garden waste collection

6. Measure and plan

• Use the above ideas to develop a resource efficiency strategy and timeline that is good for you based on the ideas below.
  Measure your inputs and outputs;
  Inputs – Write out your monthly or weekly “shopping list”, include all the materials you can think of by source i.e. bought in supermarket or second hand shops, given by family, borrowed etc
  Check – To see how you can reduce and improve the quality of the material inputs; i.e. are there any items that aren’t needed or product packaging items that are non-recyclable that can be replaced with packaging free items
  Outputs – Monitor the amount of waste or resource that leaves your house on a monthly or weekly basis by disposal method (landfill, recycle, charity shop and compost etc)
  Check – To see if you have any waste “hot spots” with particular items or material types that are causing resource inefficiencies; i.e. items in your landfill bin that could be recycled perhaps at the recycling points rather than kerbside.
  Once you’re on your way, measure your inputs and outputs again to check you’re on the right track
  Repeat the measuring and rewriting your resource efficiency strategy and time line until your waste is eliminated

PLEASE ADD YOU COMMENTS – So we can continually update and improve the tips and links.