Are you a "Wishcycler"?

 

A WishCycler

I love this expression as it indicates that we would all love to do the right thing but practicality and life just gets in the way. People always tell me that life on the eco friendly runway is expensive but I can promise you that if you invest in a little time it really does payoff.

My journey started in 2019 when I decided to take part in the #plasticfreejuly challenge hoping to see that changing my shopping habits could reduce my household waste that the council would need to take away and dispose of in god know where these days. What I found on this journey was a huge saving in my pocket, waste reduction from food waste, recycling waste and black bin waste. When I talk to people about this I usually get brushed off because people want to do more but the wasteless life style has a reputation of being difficult and expensive.

On the difficult side of reducing your waste I found that just changing one thing at a time helped my household change many over time. We are still not 100% plastic free at times because some products are not available unwrapped but reducing waste is 100% happening in our home. Check the labels on your purchases see if they can be put into your green bin.

My council Wychavon District Council are a very proactive council in deed and over the next few posts I would like to highlight what can be recycled and what should not be put in your green bins in our district.

 Why would you need to know this ?

It is everyone's planet and we all need to work together as a team to help it become a healthy planet for our children. One person cannot change or influence much but there are 335000 homes in the Wychavon district alone that could prevent millions of tons of waste reaching landfill due to not being educated on what contaminates a green bin waste

Every home in our district was delivered a magazine that may have reached their recycling bin before being read. So I thought i would do a few posts to help circulate their Wishcycler message again.

Lets start with Glass recycling!

What's What????

Mixed Glass, Bottles & Jars are the only items that can be recycled in the green bin as they have the correct melting points to be able to repurpose it glass type use.

Many glass items cannot be put in your green bin therefore they must be put into your black bin waste.

These are drinking glasses, glass vases, pyrex cookware, glass cookware, light bulbs, nail varnish bottles and window glass or mirror glass. If you have access to a household recycling centre these items may be able to be recycled there. 

If you still have your copy of the magazine please take a read, it is very informative and highlight a lot we are all doing incorrectly as a househole.

Over the next few posts I will bring in more do's and don'ts with your recycled waste.

More information can be found EnviroSort | Severn Waste Services

Waste reduction - Wychavon District Council - Wychavon District Council

November 5th damage to the enviroment

It's that time of year where the firework waste is littered across our communtiy parks and nature reserves. Today's litter pick seen me clear up to areas of firework litter on Hartlebury commons nature reserve. If left unpick the wild life could have been injured especially the cows that graze there. I will never understand why people thi k it's ok just to leave the litter lying around and not take it to a bin?? So frustrating at times. 

Not only firework waste but also Macdonald's waste too. Why do these fast food outlets use so much packaging? 

Visit my website to see how I'm getting on educating kids about litter. www.littlelitterwarriors.co.uk 

 

October 2023 "Just Change One Thing" towards waste free lifestyle

OCTOBER 2023

This weeks "just Change One Thing" towards waste free lifestyle 

I'm so excited by this one as it really is a waste free change in my kitchen.

When my son turned 16 years old last year he wanted the a coffee machine that his uncle has because according to him - "It's the Best Coffee Ever".

We purchased the Nespresso coffee machine as a present but like most you need to buy the single use coffee pods for the machine. (P.S not a happy momma)

Here is the machine, it's very practical and makes lovely coffee                                            

                

But here is the waste from one month on, a pod pack full of pods that I need to drive to a drop off point. As you can imagine I was not happy with the impractical and inconvenient way this company offers a waste free option as you can recycle. Not waste free then??

Role on one year and I can now officially say that I am coffee pod waste free thanks to the reusable coffee pod lids. I have emptied out the coffee cleaned the original coffee pod and purchased a coffee pod lid. These are superb as you can fill your pod with coffee, place on the lid and clean it all after use ensuring the coffee goes in to your compost too. These cost me £19.99 and I can cancel my subscription of £39.99 per month for the coffee pods delivery. I can just by the coffee in a pack and add to my pods. Money & waste saved. RECAFIMIL 4 PCS Reusable Cap Compatible with Nespresso Vertuo and VertuoLine Capsules, Refillable Coffee Pod Caps with Spoon and Brush : Amazon.co.uk: Grocery

There is also this £24.99 metal pod but you will still need to save your original pod bottoms as these are barcoded to ensure the amount of coffee made. They also work great but personally the first one is more practical. RECAFIMIL Reusable Coffee Pods Compatible with Nespresso Vertuo Next Machines Stainless Steel Refillable Coffee Capsule Filter, Use with 230ml Original Capsules(NOT Including Original Capsules) : Amazon.co.uk: Grocery

just make one change and see how you get on

Day one
1st July 2019

So I was really chuffed last night preparing for Plastic free July.

So this morning I woke up to one simple change Milk bottles, I have changed to glass bottles now for about a year so that was simple. PG tips pyramid are compostable tea bags and I was ready to guide my family forward. Then boom, one problem on day one breakfast I find that my goats milk has a plastic lid. I’m cow dairy intolerant and suffer from Ezcema so I can’t have cows products, I’m in trouble now as this is a plastic item. I can recycle the carton and cut off the lid to be recycled by a local company who make items from plastic lids.

Stuck what to do as I can’t buy another this month due to being plastic free, so I’ve decided to email St Helen’s farm to see if they offer a carton without plastic lids.

Wish me luck, first day, first meal then boom gutted but one hurdle to conquer on my plastic free quest.

Interceptor Explained by the Team | Cleaning Rivers | The Ocean Cleanup

Why our behaviours around our purchases have to change #planetfirst #plasticfree life

How System 002 Works | The Ocean Cleanup

Our Village Green shout out

Let's shout it out to the wonderful Nicki who has made sustainable shopping convivence to her local communities. One of the most common comments I receive when talking to people about waste reduction in their homes is that it is too expensive, that they cannot reach local refillable shops or that life is just too busy. My work in the litter picking community allows me to meet and stumble across many who are just trying to do the right thing for the sake of the planet. Waste reduction is one of the most important ways we can help repair our planet by reducing what goes out in our house hold bins.  This bins are picked up by the council and taken to either the incinerators, landfill sites and recycling business Envirosort. For those of you that have never been to Envirosort in Norton I recommend a visit, the waste that 335000 homes produce will really shock you and that's just the green bins. 

I was invited to attend Hagley Village green event this month that is a green living fair offering community members options to reduce their waste. Katherine invited me to take the children litter picking around the Hagley park area where the children found a drinks can dated back to 2012 among buckets filled with food on the go packaging litter.

I would like to introduce "The Village Green" initiative to my local like minded busy community as this service really puts sustainable shopping at the forefront of our busy lives making convivence shine on your doorstep, If we all used this service in our communities around Wyre Forest district, Hagley, Ombersley the service can operate a free delivery too.  Villages could have an arranged date that they would deliver refillable shopping to our door steps. Who's in? There are a lot of supplies we all use on a daily basis and to be able to have these wasteless is a winner for me. #sustainable #wasteless #ownyourwaste

Her website Our Village Green Homepage (sumupstore.com)