ZWW - The Waste Audit

The sheet was on the fridge - and very soon I realised I would have lots of repeats. Some of this was stuff for recycling.
FOOD

• All the tea bags and coffee grounds can go into the food waste bin, which Dorset Council sends off to an anaerobic digester- making soil improver, compost, and a renewable energy source.
• Plastic milk bottle go into recycling [now Kids' Club is over, I no longer need to keep the tops for making snakes]
• Food scrapings from the plates go in here too, and trimmings from fruit/veg prep. I wash much of my veg rather than peel it these days.
• lots of my food was in tins, card packets or glass bottles - these all went into recycling.

PAPER PRODUCTS

• Post - junk mail, and envelopes, and newspaper [pretty papers kept for crafting with]
• paper bags, if ripped[if not, they are folded and put in a drawer for further use]
• cardboard boxes from food - pizza etc [plastic window ripped out, see below]
• one roll of loo paper, flushed - paper core retained for crafting.

LANDFILL

But sadly there were landfill items, which I ended up putting in our regular black bin

• 'security' collars from a jar of mayo
• plastic wraps from cake, biscuits, salad goods, cucumber
• the plastic/foil sheets which contain my daily meds. It proved impossible to separate the foil from the plastic- so all went into the black bin
• a tetrapak carton which had contained UHT milk - not easily recyclable round here. Perhaps Hans Rausing, multimillionaire head of the family who developed this packaging  who died last week, has left some of his fortune to pay for more recycling plants! and a second one which contained orange juice
• 4 little packets from dishwasher tabs
• a polystyrene box which contained Bob's fish'n'chip lunch
• 3 wipes
• 4 paper tissues
• a piece of clingfilm, used to wrap something from the freezer

So, did I decide there were areas where improvement is possible?

1. I've  considered changing my dishwasher tabs for the unwrapped capsules- but these are usually made of plastic. That will flush straight into the ocean! The only non plastic ones I have found are these - but they are twice the price of my regular ones. Many of the plastic free liquids contain palm oil. I think I shall stick with my current choice as the best of a bad set of options.
2. I'm trying to find a better source of UHT milk [I use it for my homemade yogurt] which is not in a tetrapak. I note that more expensive brands of orange juice often come in recyclable plastic bottles - maybe I can find a brand where the price differential is manageable within my budget,
3. I'm using real hankies a lot more- but sometimes a paper tissue is more hygienic!
4. I'm wondering what my favourite chippie would say if I raised the issue of polystyrene boxes with them. I cannot see the old days of chips wrapped in yesterday's newspaper returning, can you?
5. Many medications - especially over-the-counter ones now come in blister packs. For a number of years, I've asked family members who holiday in the US to bring me back a bottle of acetaminophen tablets [aka paracetamol] One large bottle lasts us ages - cheaper, and more eco friendly a dozen little boxes of 16 pills individually encased in plastic&foil. An odd holiday present, I admit, but most useful

As Liz says, much of the waste-reduction is managed by thinking ahead. If you plan, purchase and prepare your fresh food, you don't need to buy pre-made, pre-packed meals. My salad came in a single use bowl, with a thin plastic sheet over the top. The sheet has gone, but I've been using the bowl all week to hold pins and thread as I am sewing. If things are going to landfill eventually, it is good to use them more than once.

Finally - there is one thing I have implemented this week; a number of mailshots we receive come in a plastic sleeve- this week, two came in plastic labelled "Recyclable- place in the 'bags' bin at your supermarket" So I have labelled an empty tissue box and it is in the kitchen, ready to receive these, and any other plastic carriers I acquire [like the ones from the pharmacy when I get my repeat prescriptions]. Once it is full I shall take it to the supermarket.

HOW WAS YOUR ZERO WASTE WEEK?
update - thank you to everyone who has made the helpful comments below- some great ideas there. I shall find out about Dorset and tetrapaks. And I love the idea of a 'charity basket' hung on a tree for the birds!