We visited the Good Fair at the University of WA last weekend. The market was a place to find WA’s vibrant community of ethically conscious businesses and organisations. We could browse and shop ethical fashion, gifts, food, home wares and eco products.
The Rubbish Fairy from EarthWise in Subiaco was there, talking rubbish. Earthwise is a community organisation which has a community garden, op shop and numerous activities for aspiring eco-activists.
The Centre for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees (CARAD) was there providing us with delicious Iraqi food, made by local refugees and asylum seekers.
This is Rebeccah, founder of Plastic Free July (which started in 2011 right here in Perth), telling her story and inspiring us to keep up the good work.
My new Keep Cup, which I am taking with me on a holiday soon. I have a little back pack and it will go in there with a stainless steel water bottle.
Our plastic free experiments have had mixed success:
- Rinsing hair with cider vinegar instead of condition was not successful for DH or myself.
- the bin seems none the worse for not having a liner. Most of our food waste goes in the compost or worm farm, so wrapping up chop or chicken bones in the pages of the community newspaper seems to work well.
- I picked up a free net curtain or three, which I will use to make produce bags and gift them back to the community.
- I picked up a free tiny glass and metal table for the lounge room from our local Buy Nothing group. This enables us to extend the coffee table so the room is not so crowded. It is a big room but the chairs were all crowded around my too-small glass and metal coffee table. I only recently found this group, and I am impressed with the amount of community creating giving-it-away that goes on. Buy Nothing? Great idea to keep waste down.
We have a new bulk eco-shop opening up soon in my suburb. Maybe the best thing we can do re the conditioner thing, will be to be able to take it to the bulk shop and refill the bottle there.
I am also putting in our first order for Who Gives a Crap totally recycled toilet paper that builds toilets in the third world. It comes wrapped in paper in a cardboard box. I usually buy bulk toilet paper anyway -my family goes into melt down if we run out, so this has been my way of reducing unnecessary stress.
How are you doing? Are you reducing any part of your plastic consumption? I would love to hear from you.
3 comments:
We have used that toilet paper for a couple of years now and found it to be a good product. I used to order it just myself but am now part of a group who puts in a bulk order for large boxes and it is cheaper that way. Meg☺
I've been trying to reduce buying plastic though sometimes it's really hard or impossible to avoid them.
I like using vinegar as a conditioner and fortunately it works on my hair. :)
Have you tried shampoo bars? Or those 2 in 1 shampoo/ conditioner ones? That might reduce the number of plastic bottles.
just found you through another blog, but do not see a place to sign up for getting you in my email box. Frowny face here. I am appreciating your point of view from another part of the world. I take canvas cloth bags with me when I go shopping and intend to make some of my own. I too want to reduce our plastic waste, and help keep our planet safe for future generations. Am enjoying your opposite view of the seasons from the "bottom of the world". One person I was reading mentioned that as a child her mother decided to entertain the kids by making up a game of Paint The House, with paint brushes, small buckets of water and the kids. Helped get them out of the house and out of her hair for a bit all summer long. Is that the plan with dear grandson number 1 and the garage door? His doing that gets rid of the dust under the overlaps anyway.
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