Going zero-waste at home: an interview with Mrs Green

by Jo-ann Hodgson in At home on 21.07.08

Environmental blogger ‘Mrs Green’ explains how parenthood and the floods at Boscastle inspired her family to go zero-waste.

Why did you decide to set yourself the challenge of cutting your wastage down to zero? What particularly inspired this decision?

There were several factors. We’ve had an awareness of ‘green issues’ since our daughter was born, seven years ago. Being a parent seems to awaken an awareness of the fragility of the planet and makes you realise that long after you are gone, your children need a healthy and safe place to live.

Secondly, we were in Boscastle on the day of the floods. Watching people’s homes and livelihoods being washed out to sea had a massive impact on us. If this kind of freak weather is part of the global warming problem, it made us realise that every action we take has the ability to affect other people across the country and across the world. Waste contributes to global warming and we felt it was time to take responsibility for our actions.

Finally, I’d played with the idea of zero waste for some time but my husband wasn’t quite ready to embrace it. A few months ago, I read a story about plastic and how it was killing marine life. When I showed it to my husband, it provided a dramatic turning point for him. From the moment he declared ‘no more plastic carrier bags’ and from there things have escalated to where they are today!

How much waste were you producing as a family before setting yourself this challenge?

Before setting this challenge, a typical week for us would be one metal dustbin and two swing bins liners full: about 100 litres in total.

Have you found day-to-day living more or less expensive since deciding to live a zero waste lifestyle? What has been more expensive and where have you saved money?

We have made ‘more expensive’ choices, but now we see ‘cost’ as a bigger picture. So, although some things might cost us more, they cost the planet less.

For example, buying chicken from our butcher costs us more, but, unlike chicken from the supermarket, there is no packaging (we have an agreement with our local butcher where he puts unpackaged meat straight into our own reusable boxes). In addition we know the source of the chicken, as highlighted by Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall’s recent campaigns, and there are less overall food miles – the chicken is local and so is the shop to us.

We’ve bought reusable shopping bags and boxes to take shopping with us, but these will last for years. We’re about to buy a can crusher too, so that used cans take less space to store.

In other areas we have saved money. I now make my own bread which saves on the cost of a loaf and leaves no packaging and I’ve just started making yogurt and the savings from this are enormous; I can save more than half the price of shop-bought yogurt and it tastes superb.

I also make smoothies, which works out heaps cheaper than buying them, even when I buy organic fruit for these. Buying fruit from local farm shops and orchards can also provide bargains.

By not wasting food, if current WRAP figures are correct, we save around a third on our food bill every year. Buying in bulk saves on packaging and my bank balance.

How do people react to your lifestyle choice? Does it cause problems when shopping and eating out?

People have been amazingly supportive and interested in our choice. It’s been overwhelming at times and, interestingly, everyone has something to say about waste and rubbish – it’s a real source of conversation. It’s a subject that touches everyone; everyone has to deal with rubbish, put it out once a week, sort it, carry it, so it’s something that unites us all.

When shopping it can cause problems, but that is getting easier. Sometimes we go without, or we have to compromise.

Family members, friends and neighbours have been intrigued and made some changes too and we think that is because we’re not preachy; we just share information and are there to help if people need help.

What do you think are the main obstacles preventing other families living greener lifestyles?

There can be quite a few hurdles: financial position means that some people have to rely on convenience food which is often excessively packaged. Those without transport cannot get to recycling centres, so have to rely on kerbside collections, and in some places these are very lacking. Others have no storage space so cannot store things to recycle even if they want to. For other people, they do not realise about the effects of landfill. Others are time constrained and for many there is a general lack of information. This is all with specific regard to reducing waste.

For general green living, some things are expensive such as solar panels, hybrid cars, wind turbines etc, but I think the fact of lack of information, time and resources still stands true.

Does your daughter, aka ‘Little Miss Green’, ever feel that she’s missing out on things her friends have that you feel she shouldn’t have?

Not really. I think every child wants what other children have; there is an eternal ‘grass is always greener’ side to us all. I’ve always had certain guidelines about sweets, chocolates and crisps etc – the kinds of things that come in excess wrapping, so it’s not really an issue. Once a week she has access to a box that contains the above and she is free to choose from it. I’ve not changed that, and have accepted that there will be the odd thing that cannot be recycled. What we increasingly find, at an alarming rate, is the amount of sweets that are being wrapped in plastic and foil backed plastic. This may be good for marketing but it is very bad for the environment.

It’s okay for me to have my beliefs and values and for me to make lifestyle choices to reflect this, but I’m not one to tell others how to live their lives.

For example, I’ve been vegetarian for 20 years, but neither my husband or our daughter are. We’ve never had a houseful of plastic toys, preferring wooden ones and things that Little Miss Green has found on walks – she’s very creative and imaginative. We’ve never had a TV, so we don’t get aggressive marketing aimed at her; which means she doesn’t ask for too many things anyway.

She is aware that when we do our first official zero waste week there are certain products for her treats box that come in recyclable packaging and she is happy to choose from those.

I’ve always made our own cakes and biscuits, so all in all, there aren’t too many changes. Plus, if she is given gifts or goes to a party and gets a party bag I would never make her reject it because of the contents; that would be ungrateful to the giver and disrespectful to her.

How has Little Miss Green adjusted to living a greener lifestyle?

She’s been brought up this way. She’s great at turning off the lights and telling us off if we leave them on. She’s always been a litter-picker; much more than me. She’s always had clothes given her from friends with older children so we rarely need to buy new, she’s been brought up that we pass things on as much as we can when we’ve finished with them. I set up the Freecycle group in our area, so she’s been used to the ‘one man’s treasure’ philosophy in life. And I’ve always cooked from scratch and used our local farms and orchards for produce. I think it is a part of her life as it’s been the ‘norm’ for her since day one.

Have you managed to change the minds and practices of any businesses or services since starting your challenge?

We are having a meeting with our local council next week with the idea of working with them on a zero waste campaign throughout the county at the beginning of next year. This is very exciting for us to be involved with.

What is your ultimate goal with regards sustainable living?

Through my rose-coloured dreamland spectacles it would be great to be self sufficient, growing everything we need, keeping animals, running solar, wind and geothermal in a 90% efficient home. It seems a huge goal at the moment, but when I think back to the changes we have made over the past 8 years maybe it could become a reality, especially in a community set-up.

Follow the Green family’s progress on their blog My Zero Waste.

IMAGE by Flickr user Clurr