This year's Zero Waste Challenge Week was a great success with nearly 200 people taking part reducing their waste to half of what they would throw away on a normal week. More than 80% of people said they would be making some kind of a change as a result of the week and over 70% said they would take part in the week again.
The most common things that people did to try to throw less away during the week were to reuse more things and replace or avoid items that were difficult to recycle or compost. Over 1/3 of people said they composted more and took measures to reduce the food they wasted. People also recycled more items and were more careful about what they bought when out shopping.
The areas that people found most difficult when it came to reducing what they threw away were non recyclable plastic items and plastic packaging. There were also a range of broken items that had to be thrown away including a broken umbrella, watch, guitar string and several items of broken pottery. Plastic lids also proved to be a problem to a number of people.
A lot of people took the trouble to report back on their week in quite some detail and some of the more unusual and innovative things that people did to reduce their waste included:
- Keeping chickens to eat their food waste
- Taking reusable plastic tubs to be refilled at the delicatessen
- Keeping small plastic bags for refilling loose veg such as mushrooms and tomatoes
- Hiding cotton buds from the children for the week
- Sharing a neighbour's compost bin
- Composting items such as the contents of the vacuum, cotton wool, receipts and corks
- Posting plastic film to a recycling plant in Norwich
- Avoiding cottage cheese in plastic tubs
- Repairing old socks
- Making popcorn for the children instead of crisps
The main changes that people said they would be making as a result of the week included thinking more carefully about the items they purchased and avoiding excess packaging, composting more and generally doing their best to keep their rubbish down with one participant setting themselves the challenge to carry on zero waste week.
A full report on the Zero Waste Challenge including the results for 2008 is due to be published early next year. For further information about the week, please go to Zero Waste Challenge Week.