Zero Waste Week
#ZeroWasteWeek is a movement dedicated to reducing waste and promoting sustainable lifestyles.
This could mean choosing reusable products, reducing our use of single-use plastic, reducing the amount of food we waste, and cutting out unnecessary use of power. It can also mean asking ourselves questions such as:
Do we REALLY need to buy this?
If we don’t really need it, WHY are we buying it? Can’t we reuse something else instead?
If I buy it, what will I do with it after I’ve used it? What will happen to it?
What could we do with it that means it isn’t wasted?
What will it mean to me if I don’t buy it?
How far has it travelled?
You can ask yourself questions such as: How much do we waste each week? Why? Are we (and our pets) over-eating? How many miles has our food travelled to get to my plate? What can we buy locally? What can we make and grow ourselves? What food are we wasting week after week?
Consider...
How can I cut out waste and reduce my costs in the process?
How can I cut out this waste and reduce my costs?
Growing your own and making your own is a great way to cut waste – you can re-use tins and storage containers so you’re not throwing away packaging. Kitchen window ledges can happily take herbs. You don’t need acres and acres of land to grow fruit and vegetables – there are plenty of ways to do this with vertical gardening. You only use what you need for a recipe. You can share with a neighbour or friend! It’s a great way to teach children where food comes from.
Re-use it! Use it over and over again
Give items a second career, as I call it - for instance, a t-shirt that really has had its day can be made into dusters, or you could use it for patches on another outfit. Buy second-hand - and find out about fast fashion, which has a huge impact on the environment. There is huge waste in the fast fashion industry and you can find out why here.
How can I make the most of Zero Waste Week to get me started?
The Zero Waste Week website has a plan to help you make the most of the week and it includes tips such as…
- Pick a theme – e.g. food waste, plastic packaging and repair - something you want to focus on.
- Set yourself a goal – if you can give yourself a measure, it is easier to see if you’re doing well or not. For instance, you could write a week's menu which reduces your food waste by half
- Think about why this matters to you. If you can link the WHY with helping others, it often strengthens resolve because you don’t want to let them down e.g. stop buying products with non-sustainable palm oil in them because it destroys the home of the orangutan and Sumatran tiger as their homes are destroyed for palm oil in Indonesia.
- Go public! Tell people what you’re doing and inspire them!
- And if you have a slip up – forgive yourself and try again. We’re all human!
Little and bigger ways to delete waste could include...
Making small changes at home
- Get rid of as much plastic as you can. Use plastic bottles for drinks and bags to carry your things. In January 2024, a study called found that Plastic bag bans in the US reduced plastic bag use by billions
- Turn taps off and leaving them on whilst brushing your teeth. I put water we don’t need straight on to the garden – it only takes a minute or two
- Use your energy where you can and walk or cycle instead of taking the car
- Go solar – even if it’s for just to power up your phone and laptop
- Don’t leave items on standby – it will save you £!
- Hang your washing out to dry on the line or using a clothes horse instead of using a tumble dryer
- Look to recycle and upcycle where you can.
- At Christmas, look to conservation charities for ways you can have a greener Christmas. The Wildlife Trusts have tips and advice on how to have an eco-Christmas
- For gifts, send a tree or bush or houseplants instead of flowers. Tree2mydoor.com can help.
- Use soap and shampoo bars rather than bottles
On food...
- Buy local and support local farmers and producers. Many farm shops use paper bags for purchases, too, and their fare won’t have travelled a long distance
- Don’t over-feed your pets or yourselves – for instance, food for livestock and animals takes the earth’s resources to produce. UK Pet Food has a way you can check if your pet is overweight. A pet who is overweight may run into more health problems which will cost you money. And please, adopt a pet, don’t shop for a pet.
- Grow your own or make your own! This doesn't just apply to fruit, vegetables, cakes, bread and biscuits - you could make your own soap and beauty products too!
In the garden...
Imagine what it would be like to turn on the tap and find there is no water coming out. We have 11 ways to make water go further. A water butt can help make your water go further.
The RHS Mains 2 Rains campaign shows all sorts of different ways to collect water and re-use it - you just go from mains to rains!
Vegetables and fruit (not citrus) can go into a compost bin and into a composter so you have your own compost! EvenGreener has lots of help if you’re just starting out.
Use an alternative to artificial grass if you want a lawn free garden and say no to artificial grass - you can read the SGD's leaflet here
Don't waste a space! Give some to wildlife and create a corner for them with an old pile of logs and an old washing up bowl to create a wildlife pond (make sure there's a slope for the animals to climb out!)
Go online
- Give waste a voice: write to companies asking what they are going to do to get rid of e.g. plastic packaging – you could ask them online so that everyone can see their answer and what they intend to do.
- Delete where you can from your systems – it takes up a lot of power for storage. There’s a Digital Clean Up Day every year (15 March 2025) but you don’t have to wait until then to do it! See how much you can delete during Zero Waste Week!
Re-use, recycle, upcycle...
- When you’ve finished with something, send it to people who can make good use of it. Many charities will take old postage stamps and postcards to sell to fund their work. See a list here.
- Take a look at recycling your ink cartridges to a charity - it all helps.
- Buy reusable goods and give recycled gifts - Paper High has gifts made from recycled newspaper, elephant dung, and recycled plastic.
The Zero Waste Week has lots of resources and tips for anyone wanting to get involved, including businesses, schools and communities so don't waste any time getting over there to find out more!
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