Well, I think I achieved about an 80% reduction in waste – I did not reach my goal, but this is just the beginning.
The festive period, of course, was the source of many additional waste – but even so, I still managed to only have half bag of household (non-recycling) waste , and half-full recycling boxes for the last collection of the year – and of course, much of this was from gifts and packaging which I was not in control of. I am quite proud of myself! I honestly think that if I had set this goal earlier, without the festive period, that I would have achieved the 85%!
What is in place
- Avoidance of ANY purchases with plastic packaging
- Up-cycling of anything possible
- Re-use of boxes and envelopes
- Slow integration of alternative products with waste reduction and environmental friendliness as core motivations for choice.
Outstanding
- There are still so many items in my house (e.g. olive oil bottles, lotions etc) with plastic packaging, which are still not empty. What is reusable, will be. What I am unable to use, will be placed in the recycling where possible. As these gradually get used, my waste will decrease further.
- I still need to find better alternatives for:
- Household cleaning products
- Sanitary towels
- Tampons
- Toothpaste
- Mouthwash (this is particularly annoying, as I currently only like the one brand that comes in a bottle)
- ….
…. the list – surprisingly – goes on. Every week, when sorting my rubbish and recycling, I find something else that could be reduced or avoided.
So my Final Progress Report is NOT THE END. My efforts, and the blog (I am not managing to write up reviews for many products due to time constraints, but will aim to do so at least once per week) will continue. As always I welcome your feedback and any suggestions that you have!
