Secondhand September and Zero Waste Week

So I'm doing my bit in regards to single use plastic and using up all the plastic in my house. using my own bags in the supermarket and I've purchased washable food nets and ditched the cling wrap for reusable covers. I have my coffee mug for when I go out and carry a reusable water bottle.

Nothing that can be used gets thrown away here, ever. Cardboard boxes and toilet rolls get used to make seed trays, even shopping bags when their handles or sides can no longer be repaired are reused.

Sometimes I have no control over what waste comes into my house in the form of packing and often when I do a large food shop I find that despite my requests not to pack in plastic, that while I'm unloading the trolley a few bags have sneaked in.

We had a tonne of personal and work paperwork that needed shredding, the last lot I cut up by hand, but this time we purchased a shredder to ensure all personal details were destroyed. All blank sheets have been saved to use for printing, writing shopping lists, drawing plans for the garden on etc. Once shredded I used the plastic packaging and the box to put the shredded paper in.

I will attempt to find a paper recycling bin somewhere in Dubai that isn't already over flowing, but recycling is not an easy option here.

We've been having a bit of a sort out, reusing old sheets in the car for the dog and covering outdoor furniture to protect it from the harsh summer sun. Our steam mop and fan both broke at the same time and needed replacing, the old ones were put outside by the bin as people will often take to use for spares and repairs, however you try finding someone that can repair or actually has the spares.

All this is being donated to a friend from Sri Lanka who organises and arranges aid for those back home.

Hubby had a sort out of his wardrobe under duress, there's a suit in there over 20 years old, he hasn't worn for 15 years. These clothes will be put out the front of the house for the local workmen, gardeners, car washers, dog walkers to help themselves too. There's a pile of my clothing in a suitcase waiting to be distributed to a care home in South Africa later this year.

I'm in the UK next week, we have a flat in a small Welsh town, it's full of charity shops. I shop in these when I'm home before I go into the main stores. I'll also be using eBay to purchase pre loved goods for Christmas and birthdays.

Our son gets married later this month, I've completed my Mother of the Groom outfit with a fascinator from the British Heart Foundation.

I've returned and borrowed books from the local dog park, been using the washing up water for the plants and grass, selecting low temps on the washing machine as the cold water runs at 30c anyway, buying products in bulk to reduce packaging and save on finances and using the air con sparingly and turning the temperature up a notch or two.

I'm doing what I can and where I can to recycle, reduce waste and re purpose unwanted goods. Every bit we do, helps more than you realise.

South Africa - Waste - reusing and recycling.

I'm currently in South Africa. I've really noticed the extremes of waste and recycling in Pretoria. From Starbucks to the townships and how those throw away items by some are a source of income to others. There's a lot more that can be done though. Houses have recycling bags for collection, but I've witnessed on many occasions both general waste and recycling being tipped into the same bin.

Preventable waste

Coffee cup in Starbucks, pre warmed with hot water, something they do also in Dubai and irritates the life out of me, the cost of heating the water and then just tipping it down the sink. They also automatically serve in a paper cup unless you ask for a ceramic one, even when you say 'to drink in'

Fast food take away. Box for the burger and put in a paper bag along with sauces and a tonne of paper napkins. Why put it in a bag when you're eating in? I've noticed more places using paper straws, but they just don't work with coke, it fizzes everywhere. Again all fast food places, all around the world.

Recycling and reusing

I love how these jeans have been up-cycled into flower pot holders. The weather in South Africa is perfect for this and I guess it would work the same in Dubai, not so sure how long this would last in the UK though.

Reused

This old car tyre and kids bike make a great feature in the garden.

Repurposed

Old wooden pallets made into book cases, coffee tables and planters. The workshop is on site on the side of the road, 

Then this. General household waste dumped on the side of the road, on the edge of every township. You see people picking through the waste for plastic bottles and cans that can be sold for recycling.

People walk for miles daily to collect the waste paper and bottles from the sides of the roads and go through people's bins at the end of their drive to sell to the recycling depots in order to make a living.