Stumble It!Do you really need a bin liner?
I reuse carrier bags as kitchen bin liners because I do fling some yucky stuff in there and to be honest it does make life easier. But the more I reduce my rubbish the less bin liners I need, and the more I’m thinking about what is going in my bin.
It’s a challenge raised by the My Zero Waster’s too - Do you really need those bin liners? Isn’t it just another bit of plastic sealing away the pile of stuff we pile into landfill? We each throw away far too much as it is - Mr & Mrs Green, and Little Miss Green, have reduced their average weekly landfil contribution to under 100g, so it’s possible, it’s doable and it’s not that hard really. It’s all about rethinking from the start.
For example - When you buy sausages - where do you get them from? Prepacked in plastic from the big supermarket? Is there an alternative packed in recyclable material of some sort? Could you buy them loose? Could you get them from a local butcher instead? Would he put them into a container that you provide instead of a plastic bag?
What about that squash that you get for the kids? It comes in a plastic bottle right? Do you reuse the bottle? I do, I use an old bottle to make up squash to keep in the fridge, and another to keep a bottle of chilled water in the fridge, after that they get cut into mini cloches if it’s the right time of year and only then do the bits go into the recycling centre. But I could change squash brand and use a glass bottle instead…..
So, going back to the bin…. If what goes into it is rinsed and dried and not sticky or slimy, then do you really need that bin bag?
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October 30th, 2008 at 9:33 am
Cool post - it’s really been quite a revelation. If I’d have read this six months ago I would have been horrified at the thought of a plastic liner-free bin! But now it’s become a reality.
Great ideas with the squash bottles and using your own container at the butchers. It’s great to see so many people considering other options
Mrs G x
October 31st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I nicked the butchers and containers idea from your site Mrs G!
I’m keeping a small stash of bags for the few really not compostable and truly disgusting things we might produce but even my kitchen bin is bag free now.
November 27th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Funnily enough it’s something I’ve been wondering about. I’ve used carrier bags as binbags, which does mean that we do run out quite a bit (as I don’t often use carrier bags now as of course I tend to have bags with me) and even so carrier bags probably still aren’t the best things to use as binliners.
We tend to buy Rocks squash so atleast the glass can be recycled and get milk from the milkman so the bottles go back to him, but even so we do produce far more rubbish than I am comfortable with.