Win a Zero Waste lunch kit with Forge Recycling!

This competition has ended. Thank you to all who entered. The lucky winner was Alison Barlow on Twitter.

Was one of your new year’s resolutions for 2017 to waste less, to cut out plastic, or perhaps to save money? Whichever of those camps you fall into, this competition is definitely for you! Or, maybe you’d just like to win a fantastic zero waste freebie for yourself or a loved one.

Of all the zero waste challenges in life, lunch is a big one. After all, how many of us grab lunch from a local shop or café, which involves all manner of ‘single-use’ plastics? Even if you pack your own lunch at home, avoiding waste can be very tricky – many people use cling film, foil, and sandwich bags as habit.

So, how can you pack a zero waste lunch? With a zero waste lunch kit, of course!

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London breached its annual air pollution limit in five days

London broke its annual air pollution limit last Thursday, just five days into 2017. UK law states that hourly levels of toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO2) must not exceed 200 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) more than 18 times in a whole year, yet this limit was reached and broken on 5th January on Brixton Road in Lambeth. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise however, when you take a look at last year’s air pollution statistics for Brixton Road: in 2016 it broke the hourly limit 502 times.

It is expected that many other London hotspots will also frequently break the limit throughout the year. London’s Putney High Street broke the hourly limits 1,221 times last year, vastly exceeding the permitted 18 annual breaches, and many other busy areas such as Kings Road, Oxford Street and the Strand struggled with the limit, and will continue to do so this year.

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Food waste education is counteracted by composting education

Ohio State University has released the results of a study of food waste, which observed the actions of restaurant diners. The results show that education is a successful tool in beating the production of food waste, however if people are informed their waste will be composted, the education benefits disappear and people are happy to waste as much food as those who are completely uneducated in the environmental impact of their waste.

Lead researcher Danyi Qi, a graduate student in agricultural economics at The Ohio State University, said of the matter:

“This presents a tricky situation for policymakers figuring out how to manage food waste, because the top tactics are prevention (through education) and diversion (through composting). When you do both, they cancel each other out — they work at cross purposes.”

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Four in five Scots would welcome a second-hand Christmas gift

A survey backed by Zero Waste Scotland has found that four-fifths of Scots would welcome a pre-loved gift for Christmas, but 65 per cent of those surveyed said they wouldn’t consider buying a second-hand gift for a loved one. Only one quarter of Scots have ever gifted someone a second-hand item.

Iain Gulland, Chief Executive with Zero Waste Scotland, said:

“People may worry that friends and family won’t be happy with a second-hand gift, but these new figures show the majority of people would actually welcome a pre-loved gift. Now that there are over 80 Revolve certified shops across the country, including high street branches of Sense Scotland and Capability Scotland, it has never been easier to find a place to shop second-hand with confidence.”

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England’s recycling rates have dropped

England’s household recycling rates have dropped for the first time ever, prompting calls for drastic change, and no doubt ending the UK’s chances of meeting the EU recycling target of 50 per cent by 2020.

The amount of waste being recycled by English households had been heading in the right direction, steadily increasing for a decade, however it had flatlined for three years more recently. Now newly released figures have shown that the amount of waste recycled between 2014 and 2015 in England had decreased, from 44.8% to 43.9% respectively. This is the first drop since the country began tracking recycling figures, and means England has fallen back to pre-2012 recycling rates.

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5 ways to save a ruined meal

Something that causes a lot of food waste in the home is when we cook a meal and ‘ruin’ it – often by adding too much of an ingredient or burning it. Don’t panic though: here are five easy ways to rescue your meal, and save it from the bin. Don’t go calling for that takeaway just yet!

How to correct too much salt

We’ve all adding too much salt whilst cooking a meal at some point in our lives, and if it’s too salty it’s just not edible. So, how do you correct it? If it’s a soup or a stew, you have a few options:

  • Add extra water, to dilute the salty liquid
  • Add more of each ingredient (except the salt)
  • Add a potato to the pot, peeled and cut into large chunks, to absorb the excess salt, and then remove the potato once you are happy with how the liquid tastes
  • Add a puree made of unsalted cooked white rice and water to your pot

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How to have a Zero Waste Christmas

Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but it is also unfortunately a time of excess waste: packaging, gift wrap, food, and more. However, Christmas doesn’t need to be so wasteful, and it can be just as much fun without all the additional waste. These tips will help you get started with a zero waste Christmas you and your family will never forget.

Gifts

If you’re aspiring to live a zero waste lifestyle, or even to cut down on the waste you produce, Christmas gifts can be a minefield. This will involve tact and patience, but if you truly don’t want any gifts this Christmas, talk to your loved ones and explain to them why. Or, instead, you could request that people buy you presents that will support your zero waste lifestyle, such as:

  • A stainless steel lunchbox
  • Lush toiletries
  • An e-book
  • A plant
  • A course or experience day
  • An IOU for a task or homecooked meal
  • Packaging-free consumables
  • A donation to a charity of your choice
  • Tickets for a concert, movie or sports event (these can often be emailed to the recipient)
  • A spa day
  • Fresh flowers
  • Reusable glass storage jars for the kitchen

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What is your waste recycled into?

We all know that it is important to recycle (and even better to reuse, removing the need to recycle altogether). However, have you ever thought about what happens to the things you recycle once they leave your house or business premises, and what they get turned into once recycled? Focus is always on how important it is to recycle what you can, but not so much on what your waste gets recycled into. Today we thought we’d share that information with you, as it’s pretty interesting. What will the next glass bottle you send for recycling be turned into? How about that can that used to house the baked beans you had with your lunch? Prepare to be surprised.

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How to throw a zero waste kid’s birthday party

Children’s parties are generally synonymous with waste – they bring to mind piles of paper plates full of half-eaten food, broken disposable decorations, and party bags full of cheap plastic tat and sweets. However, this potentially highly wasteful situation can easily be turned around by a few simple changes that won’t cost you any more time or money. The kids won’t even notice the difference, but are perfectly capable of creating that party atmosphere whatever their surroundings anyway. Try some of the changes below:

The party invites

Paper invites aren’t necessary, and often get lost or thrown away before the party anyway. Instead, give all of the parents a quick call to invite their child, or send out a simple invite email. This will take less time than buying, writing and posting paper invites, costs less, and creates no waste. If you’d like to send out fun digital invitations instead, try a service such as Paperless Post.

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Recycling tips for Halloween

Halloween gets more popular every year in the UK, and it can be great fun to get involved with, but also fairly wasteful with its various aspects; the tasty treats, the crazy costumes, and the dastardly decorations. So, you may be wondering how you can celebrate Halloween without creating a load of extra waste. Whether you’re throwing a Halloween party at home, or you’re off out trick-or-treating with the kids, our tips will help you cut your waste, recycle more, and enjoy a guilt-free Halloween.

Halloween decorations

Photo: Subbotina Anna
Photo copyright: Subbotina Anna

In the past you might have bought a bunch of decorations from your local shop, then chucked them all out after Halloween. This year, a little bit of planning will make all the difference. Here are some great ideas on how to cut waste and recycle your decorations:

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