Ecobricks

Okay, let’s assume you’ve done just about everything you can to avoid single-use plastic but something has defeated you. Maybe somebody sent you a present in the post wrapped in the stuff. Maybe you just couldn’t resist that bag of cheese ‘n’ onion crisps, that pot of salted caramel yoghurt, that packet of chilli peanuts. […]

Toilet Paper

Ah, loo roll. The one bathroom essential for which we’re not even considering a reusable alternative. So how to wipe in an eco-friendly way? Even the recycled stuff usually comes wrapped in plastic, and it’s not exactly soft or strong. But when we saw that our local zero waste store, The Eco Larder, was selling […]

Sanitary Towels

Plastic-backed pads, individually wrapped in plastic, then bundled up in batches of twelve, packaged in even more – yes, you’ve guessed – plastic. Single-use items that clog up the drains when flushed (don’t, for God’s sake, flush!) and landfill when binned. And tampons are just as bad – worse, if they’ve got a plastic applicator. […]

Sweet Treats

One of the biggest challenges for us has been placating our sweet teeth (is that really the plural of ‘a sweet tooth’? It sounds very odd…) while avoiding anything wrapped in single-use plastic. Warning: there’s not much out there! Luckily, we both enjoy cooking, so we’ve been satisfying those sugar urges as follows: Biscuits: Trays […]

Ice Cream

Our ‘go to’ pud has always been ice cream. Let’s face it, not much compares to the delight that is salted caramel! But buying those little tubs from our local supermarket came with a built-in disposal problem. That Ben and Jerry’s or Häagen-Dazs container may look like recyclable cardboard but, of course, once we started […]

Milk & Yoghurt

Milk We’ve never really used a lot of milk. I don’t like it much, although I do use it in baking. But Phil drinks it in coffee, and likes it on his cereal. And even a pint a week means fifty-two plastic bottles added to landfill every year. After seeing a friend post about how […]

Meat

We all know that a plant-based diet is better for the planet. There’s no denying it. But, while we’re happy to cut down, we don’t want to give up meat and dairy completely (we’re not good with absolutes). So where does that leave us? Under the badly named ‘reducetarian’ or ‘flexitarian’ umbrella, that’s where. These […]

Featured

We are the Zero Wastrels…

We all know we need to use less single-use plastic. But it’s easier said than done. Here we’ll chronicle the experiences we’ve had so far: the triumphs and the setbacks. If it’s useful to others, that’s great – and if you have any advice or hacks, let us know. Together we can achieve great things. […]