Each July there is a campaign called ‘Plastic Free July”, encouraging people to try going without buying new plastic for one month. The campaign shares ideas and tips for reducing waste, and I find that while some of them are just too basic for people already clued into the issues of plastic waste, it always makes me look again at ways I can do better. It can be very inspiring to see other people’s ways of reducing waste, and to get some fresh ideas.

Waste reducing campaigns used to just be about reducing, reusing, and recycling. Now, there are more parts to it: re-think, refuse, reduce, repurpose/ repair, reuse, recycle, rot. I thought I’d have a look at these, and share my tips for reducing waste and reducing your carbon footprint at home and in your daily life, as well as some resources and organisations I personally find helpful and inspiring.

Plastic Free July is just a prompt- this should be something we strive for every month, and as I’m writing this at the end of July, I suggest you pick your own month to give going plastic free a go and see if you can change your habits.

Tips for Reducing Waste

As a start, here are some suggestions for some easy ways to reduce plastic and packaging. It’s by no means an exhaustive list, just some easy ones if you’re not doing these already.

Use shampoo bars and soap bars, rather than products from bottles (unless you have a good refill shop near you)
Washable face wipes
You can buy laundry detergent in sheet form and power form, that comes in cardboard boxes.
Toothpaste tablets- no more plastic tubes!
Choose natural fibres over synthetics like polyester, nylon and acrylic. Synthetics shed micro plastics in the wash.
Find your local refill shop- for shampoo, laundry detergent (these are all I can get locally to me, but if you’re luckier than I am, you might also be able to buy grains, pastas, and cereals loose, providing your own containers).
Reusable produce bags (easy to make, for loose fruit and veg).
Bees wax wraps instead of cling film. You could even make your own!
Glass jars for freezing things (just leave space for the food when it expands a bit as it freezes)
Washable/ reusable period products

Re-thinking Consumer Habits

It’s easy to think that you can buy your way out of using plastic (for example buying a re-useable cup, water bottle and travel cutlery), but this is really about changing our consumer habits. It’s Reducing waste at home is about re-thinking our relationships to ‘stuff’, and how we want to live and experience life, while knowing this can be hugely rewarding, as well as saving us money.

I think it’s probably safe to say that most of us could do with changing the way we consume things in some way or other. I know I certainly need to make many more changes! It’s less overwhelming to do what we can, and make small changes bit by bit rather than trying to do it all at once.

Refuse unnecessary plastic and packaging

This first thing is to start considering if you really need something, and saying no if it isn’t really necessary. You might actually already own something that would do instead (you probably have a bottle you can re-use as a water bottle, or plastic bags you can use for shopping rather than buying yet another bag for life or tote). You can choose not to buy things that come with excessive packaging, or come wrapped in plastic when there’s no need for it. Every purchase comes with a decision, and it’s in your power to decide what comes into your life and your home, and what kind of businesses you want to support. You hold more power than you might think!

Why not research just one product that comes into your home? Research the company that makes it, the ingredients or materials that go into it, and then you can make an informed decision. A lot of cleaning products come in plastic containers and contain a lot of harmful chemicals. There are simple ways to make your own for example. Eartheasy has lots of information and ideas.

I suspect that most plastic in my life comes from food packaging. One way to solve this and reduce your waste at home, is to avoid supermarkets. Support your local shops and producers, and then it’s much easier to avoid ending up with lots of packaging to dispose of.

Home grown veg from my garden. This year I’ve gone for as much variety as possible, with the aim of not being overwhelmed by any one type of veg.

Why not research and support local food producers? This might be finding a veg box scheme, going to local farmers markets, asking your local butcher or fishmonger where their produce comes from, and asking them to support local sources if they don’t already. Your food will have travelled fewer miles to get to you, and you’ll be helping support local food growers. The money you spend will go into your local economy, instead of to a huge organisation. Chances are you’ll be eating more healthily too!

A few years ago, I saw Claudi Williams in a discussion about reducing plastic use. She and her family had been horrified by the amount of plastic they pout in the bin each year, and decided to cut it out of their lives. It led to a packaging free journey that’s very inspiring- and she’s documented it on her blog , with lot of resources, which is really helpful.

Reduce

Reducing waste and reducing our carbon footprint can mean having to change our habits. To do this, find ways to make it easier and rewarding. Choose one way you want to reduce waste, then work out ways to make it easy and enjoyable, and work out a way to make sure you remember it every day. Plan a reward for yourself (one that isn’t shopping related!).

Reducing our consumption or certain polluting actions can make a difference.

This isn’t really a plastic or packaging waste example, but a resource use one. I had wanted to not fly again, for environmental reasons, and I haven’t for the past 6 years. This year though I am flying to Norway to celebrate a significant birthday of my brother, who lives there. I did look into public transport, but it takes many days each way, and I decided that wouldn’t be a good use of a week, so as it’s a special occasion I’m making an exception. While I think it’s dangerous to rely on carbon offsetting as any kind of solution, I will do that for this trip. Maybe giving some things up entirely isn’t practical, but we can significantly reduce our use of them, and that makes a difference too.

Choosing to reduce car use is also a great option. Leaving the car behind means more exercise, saying hello to other people and to all the dogs you meet, fresh air and who knows what other adventures? There are lots of schemes to help you cycle to work if you would like to but need help to get a bike.

If you’re able to go car free completely, it will be a huge saving too!

Reducing Waste at home

Food waste is something I’m very aware of in my home, and something I’m trying to reduce. I find it harder perhaps, as I live by myself, and if I buy packets of fresh produce, there’s often more than I need for just myself.

Here are some ideas tips for reducing food waste at home:

Batch cooking, freezing left overs- things like a few slices of lemon, or lemon juice
Grow your own. Even if you don’t have a garden, you’ll still be able to grow some healthy greens on your windowsills and save money and packaging in the process. You might opt for herbs, or salad leaves, or sprouts. I’m lucky enough to have a bit of garden, so I generally grow herbs outside, but I have a jar that grow alfalfa sprouts and bean sprouts in on my windowsill, for nutritious additions to salads.
Cook meals (rather than get takeaways), prepare lunches, get creative with leftovers.
Eat with others- invite your neighbour over, or friends. This generates a sense of community, and saves on heating individual homes. You could start a supper club!
Compost! Try to avoid putting any food in general waste/landfill that could be composted. If you don’t have your own, maybe your community garden will take your veggie scraps? Or try Share Waste- an app that will connect you to someone nearby with a compost heap!

Repurpose/ Repair, Reuse

“The most sustainable garment is the one already in your wardrobe”- Orsola de Castro

Re-wearing and repairing clothing reduces the need for new resources, saves water use and reduces the amount of clothing sent to landfill each year.

So many things can be re-purposed, either by you or somebody else. They can be turned into something else and be re-used. I turn old clothes into cushion covers, or save the fabric for patches. My mum has turned some old sweaters into baby clothes, making the sleeves into the legs of little dungarees.

Repairing is where I come in if you need to repair your knitwear. I have lots of guides on visible mending that will help you learn the skills you need.

One thing I’ve found since I started repairing my clothing, is that I now look for ways to repair anything else that breaks in my life. Repair or re-purposing something is the first option, before throwing it away/ recycling it and replacing it.

Mending has also become my go to de-stressing activity, and I can’t recommend it enough for a calming, creative and satisfying activity!

Rot

It’s always worth thinking about the end life of the thing or garment you buy before you buy it. There’s no such thing as ‘away’- everything has to go somewhere. What will happen to it? Look at the materials it’s made of, do a little bit of research about them if you’re not sure what they are.

No Regrets Actions

Recently I came across the term “no regrets actions”, and I love it! These are actions that will reduce our carbon footprint and make our lives better regardless of their environmental impact. Such as strengthening community, improving our health, staying off screens, gardening, learning new things, buying second hand, local holidays, eating locally grown food etc.

Join a community garden, or volunteer your time in your community another way, and you will find yourself more connected to the place you’re in, making new friends, and with a greater sense of purpose. I’m involved in setting up a community garden in Galashiels (it’s going very slowly, but going), and I’ve met so many people already who are enthusiastic, keen to share experiences, helpful, inspiring and like-minded. I can’t recommend it enough! I hope we will start creating some community food resilience, an interest in locally grown produce, and help improve mental health and wellbeing within the community in the process. Despite living in a rural agricultural area, there’s very little local produce available, and I would love to see that change.

Reducing Waste at Collingwood-Norris

For Collingwood-Norris, I’m always thinking about tips for reducing waste. How I can do better, what changes I can make and what the lifecycle of my products will be. I’m increasingly thinking about the lifecycle of garments I haven’t created too and helping you to keep and repair your own garments is part of that.

In the last few years, I’ve changed to using paper packaging, so that there’s no plastic involved in my packaging, and I try to minimise the packaging involved too. The packaging is re-usable and recyclable and made in the UK. I sometimes worry that maybe I should be sending out products in boxes or something “fancier”, but I always come back to that being more packaging than is really needed.

One business decision I’m very proud of is that I’ve chosen not to sell my visible creative mending book through Amazon. From what I’ve read about them, their way of doing business doesn’t sit well with me. They have a reputation for not treating staff well, for avoiding tax, for putting independent bookshops out of business by constantly discounting in a way independents can’t compete with, and for burning excess stock. I think it is highly likely that I will sell fewer books as a result, but I feel it’s the right decision. I can refuse to deal with big businesses that don’t share my values.

The end life of a product has always been a consideration for me when making new designs. It’s why I always choose to work with natural fibres, and each product is pure lambswool, pure cashmere or pure silk. The pure fibre content ensures they will be recyclable if that’s where they end up, and natural fibres like these are biodegrade.

It’s also why I choose not to use darning “wools” that contain synthetics, and instead repair my garments with pure natural fibres. It’s also why I’ve made the yarns I use available to you, as I’m aware that good quality, fine yarns in natural fibres can be hard to find.

I try to waste as little as possible. Any fabric I make that falls off the knitting machine gets saved, until I find a way to use it.

Resources

Milkwood- permaculture living course. So many ideas for reducing waste and consumerist habits, as well as inspiring ideas of things you can do for yourself, even if you don’t have a garden.

Permaculture has 12 principles for living, that include “Produce no waste”. There are lots of really interesting ways to be more thoughtful about the way we live and how we treat the world around us.

Transition Network (there are Transition groups worldwide) - lots of inspiring community projects.

“The Art of Frugal Headonism” by Adam Grubb and Annie Raser-Rowland. Lots of idea for enjoying life while consuming less.

“Cradle to Cradle” by Michael Braungart and William McDonough (I highly recommend it), and one of the things they discussed was that waste should equal food. When something comes to the end of its life, it should provide nutrients or parts that can continue being highly valuable- a closed loop system if you like.

I hope you’ve found this interesting! If you have any other great tips for reducing waste then please leave them in the comments.