Browse Forums Eco Living 1 Feb 07, 2015 7:13 am For anyone who hasn't already found this I'll add this link to an RN program on living with zero waste. I thought I was pretty good because I only buy things that need replacing, I take bags to the supermarket and I try to give things away rather than sending them to the tip but this is an eyeopener. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/pro ... ste/606515 Bea Johnson's latest blog post about the size of her wardrobe reminds me of a comment made by Richard Ayoade, the director of The Double, a film in which the characters basically wear the same clothes throughout the entire film: "People change clothes too often". Re: Zero Waste living 3Feb 07, 2015 11:33 am Hi Stewie, Sorry about that! I'll try again and see if it works this time. (Bloody cuts to the ABC budget!) http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/pro ... te/6065156 And this is the link to her blog if all else fails: http://www.zerowastehome.com/p/about.html Re: Zero Waste living 4Feb 07, 2015 1:33 pm My contribution to council garbage collection is one supermarket plastic bag every 5-6 weeks. It is not hard to manage. I have: Mulcher mower. 3 compost bins. Recycle bin. Veg garden (no packaging). Don't use toxic sprays. The S.A. Government Zero Waste - Organic Pest Control In The Garden linked below is worth reading. http://www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/upload/a ... atives.pdf One thing that does currently annoy me is that I use to give my glass jars to a friend who had a market stall but they go into the recycle bin now. Minimisation is not hard to do and requires little effort, just the proper mind set...I wouldn't advocate going to the extreme as experienced by Box and Cox. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Zero Waste living 5Feb 07, 2015 3:30 pm SaveH20, I'm seriously impressed! I have to admit we have more. I must really pay attention to what is going in there. We do compost so it isn't vegetable scraps though I do put leftover cat food in there and scraps of meat. You can't put those on the compost. Most of the packaging goes in the recycle bin but we do still end up with at least a couple of small bags of rubbish every week. Re: Zero Waste living 6Feb 07, 2015 4:03 pm Liliana Most of the packaging goes in the recycle bin but we do still end up with at least a couple of small bags of rubbish every week. You are doing well, I am in a single household. I am currently recycling plastic ice cream container sides on a new product design/prototyping. I actually bought a heap of modelling clay but it wasn't suitable for the purpose. Toilet roll inserts are used for containers to grow seeds. Used batteries and printer cartridges are recycled at drop off points. A lot of rolled up newspaper goes into the compost bins. Worms breed in it. Another thing that annoys me though are those bits of soap that are too small be be useful. I would like to know if they can be collected and used for some other purpose. Any ideas? 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Zero Waste living 8Feb 09, 2015 1:24 pm Squish them together to make a new cake of soap or put into a panty hose sock for outdoor soap on a garden tap Re: Zero Waste living 11Feb 13, 2015 7:06 am I've been thinking a lot about plastic in the last few days ... yes, I don't have enough to do. In particular I've been thinking about clingfilm and where it ends up. We live near a school and the streets surrounding it and the local shopping centre are always full of rubbish. Sometimes I just go for a walk, pick up one of the numerous plastic bags stuck to fences and railings and fill them with the rubbish strewn about the streets and then take it home and sort it. It barely makes a dent in the detritus but one of the ever present items is the cling film I presume was used to wrap lunches. Today I got this in my mailbox: http://theconversation.com/eight-millio ... ach%20year We are 85 years away from "peak waste"? Re: Zero Waste living 12Feb 13, 2015 7:39 am Liliana, if you want to make your own pesticides, most "green" sites have a section on homemade household cleaning recipes, soaps, pesticides etc. Some insects like citrus miners lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves. A pesticide with some soap in the mix leaves a slightly soapy film on these leaves so the adult insects can't lay their eggs or with some it blocks the breathing pores on the insects themselves. How to Make White Oil You will need: • 2 cups of vegetable oil • 1/2 cup pure liquid soap (or leftover soap bars grated finely) • Empty jar or wide-mouth bottle • Plastic spray bottle Pour the vegetable oil and liquid soap into a bottle or jar and shake until the mixture turns white ( or use a blender ). This is concentrated white oil and to use it, it needs to be diluted with water. To use, add 10ml per litre or water (two teaspoons per litre of water), put in a spray bottle, shake well. Now you can spray your plants or trees. Store in a cool, dry place, shelf life is approximately three months from the day it’s made. Note – use during mild weather, if you use it when the temperature is around 30 degrees Celsius or higher, it will damage your plants as the oil will clog the pores in the leaves. Morning or late evenings area a good time. Also, don’t use it on plants that have hairy or soft leaves, as it will burn their leaves. Spray on both sides of the leaves, branches and bark to target pests wherever they may be hiding. A note on your last post: I've read quite a bit on these garbage patches that float around the Pacific and they are scary indeed. Lots of anecdotal evidence from yachties that have traversed this area and have been amazed at the size of some of them. "Plastic soup" is another term I have seen used. Stewie Re: Zero Waste living 14Feb 13, 2015 12:32 pm Stewie D I've read quite a bit on these garbage patches that float around the Pacific and they are scary indeed. Lots of anecdotal evidence from yachties that have traversed this area and have been amazed at the size of some of them. "Plastic soup" is another term I have seen used. The amount of plastic in the Pacific Garbage Patch and the immense size of the area is staggering plus there are others. A remedy is insurmountable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qT-rOXB6NI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxNqzAHGXvs 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Zero Waste living 16Feb 13, 2015 4:49 pm 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. You must be new to the internet. You're also the only person anyone here has ever heard of washing their garage wall. I hate to break it to you, there are insects and… 6 4864 I am building in claymore NSW and this is shown in the building envelope plan. … 0 10040 I would be wary. Is you site demilished but nothing else done? Sounds like liquidity problems to me. Our builder did the same. Got hundreds of thousands of dollars of… 2 15414 |