It’s Zero Waste Week 2017! I have to come clean and say that I’ve only made a half-hearted attempt this time round, and I’m not going to give excuses as to why. I think it’s actually been a good lesson as I’ve scrutinised areas of my life that I’m not as green as I think I am… And it’s helped me to devise ways I can improve. At my best, I’m freezing fruit and veggies to be used another day, and at my worst I’m buying a meal deal and wolfing it down on the tube, with lots of packaging left over. Really, what I need is: time.
If you’ve got said time, I’d recommend giving the following a look over – they’ve got me thinking as to other ways I can reduce my waste and make my possessions last longer. Also, let me know if you’ve taken part in Zero Waste Week – what did you find hard, and what was your best moment?
Reduce, reuse, resources…
It’s time to drop the hippy stereotypes and realise that zero waste is a slick, serious movement. Since writing my dissertation on locavorism (the act of only eating local food) in my last year of university, I’ve kept an eye on its evolution. We’ve seen local veg boxes go from rural farm runs to nationally available, and now resources are spanning blogs, books, and even location-based apps. My top picks include:
- OLIO, an app connecting local people with shops that have surplus food
- Love Food Hate Waste and their Tinder-style food and recipe match maker
- And my new cookbook, Too Good To Waste**, with its design being as clean as satisfying as its recipes are useful. Parsnip muffin, anyone?
Save the planet, save money
The wonderful Rachelle Strauss of Zero Waste Week has not only outdone herself again with a daily newsletter during the week, she’s compiled a list of discounts and offers you can enjoy during the week. These last until Sunday (10th September 2017) so be quick!
Time to bulk up
Beautifully timed, the zero-waste supermarket Bulk Market has opened its doors to London (or more specifically, Hackney) residents. The idea is simple – you bring along your empty jars and cotton bags, fill them with what you need, and off you go. The place is a plastic-free zone, and I have it bookmarked as a place to visit next time I’m in East London!
The bigger picture
My final pick is an article written by the activist and author Naomi Klein, someone who I really admire. Her piece Harvey didn’t come out of the blue was another reminder that there’s a bigger picture we need to consider with all our actions, and it’s probably one of the main reasons anyone is going zero waste. Climate change is happening, and we have to keep talking about it if we’re to achieve a general consensus that we need to do something, that it’s affecting more than just weather, and that we need systemic change.
