Change the World Wednesday – 17th Jul

Zero waste this week….

So why did I have three bags of rubbish to put out tonight instead of my usual one or sometimes two?

Another of life’s paradoxes.

It was all packaging, so I didn’t actually waste anything. No food went out (I didn’t burn any toast this week), nothing reusable went out.

How many of you would have tossed this orange?

I made juice from three of them that had snuck up on me in my fruit stand, it was delicious. Just cut the mouldy bits off, perhaps a little more generously because the soft pulp extends further into the fruit than the affected outside signs

So much food is thrown away because of blemishes or a little mould, when they could be used.

I didn’t even throw the broken wine glass out, it has been put to the side. I didn’t break it, I discovered that the base was broken in two when I unpacked it. Unfortunately it was past the date when I could have taken it back to the store. So eventually, I will glue the base and use it for…. something; I haven’t decided yet.

It’s too small for a fish bowl. Besides some clown would put wine in it, then I’d have weekly trips to AA with a fish.

Probably end up as a candle holder.

Some rocks, compost and moss, perhaps. A mini terrarium with a fern…

Update:

My turning to the new fangled lights is timely. Brazil is banning the sale and manufacture of incandescent light bulbs from next year.

Small suggested, in a comment, that my Bread’n’Butter Pudding sounded great. (Last week)

Mine aren’t as burnt… but you get the idea.

Recipe:

Old bread crusts or rolls saved in the freezer.

Pyrex dish, butter bread (NO margarine, it’s yucky) and line dish. Throw in some sultanas. Slop on some dollops of any jam (jelly for our US cousins). Make scrambled egg mix with less milk than eggs and with some brown sugar and a dash of vanilla essence, pour over bread until soaked and covered. Sprinkle with some cinnamon or nutmeg. Bake at a low heat until solid. Serve, eat, enjoy. It’s about as simple as a dessert can be. This recipe originated in England during WW II when there was food rationing and nothing, but nothing  could be wasted.

Click on the banner for the full post

Okay, on with this week’s CTWW.

This week review your activities and come up with at least one more way to live green. Similar to our energy challenge, this will be easy for “newbies” who have plenty of options to choose from and tough for seasoned “greenies” who will have to dig deep. Let’s see how green we can be!!

Oh, pooh!

Recycle, upcycle, repurpose… They’re all on the cards around here.

Lixo at lunch

Here’s an example. My cat Lixo (means rubbish in Portuguese) is a green cat.

I love my Lixo, but I don’t pamper him. He’s a cat after all. Here he is at lunch -terrible photo.

You’ll notice that there isn’t a special cat bowl, nothing that has been especially bought  for him.

He’s a happy cat.

Now let’s take a closer look at Kitty Korner.

Kitty Korner is a cut down milk box carton, lined with two polystyrene slabs cut to fit. His dish is a polystyrene tray, and his milk dish is an old margarine container. Lixo is quite happy with his Kitty Korner and asks for nothing more. He’s only interested in the food.

Now while I try to avoid buying stuff in polystyrene, sometimes it’s unavoidable, because of supermarket or hygiene rules. But when I am lumbered with the stuff, it gets reused, upcycled, repurposed. Oh, and when it gets dirty, I wash it and use it again and again, until it breaks, then it goes out in the trash. For example, that marg container, I have been using for three years, it rotates with a cream cheese container of about the same age.

So, my suggestion for something green and new. Is don’t buy your pets purpose specific things, where possible, reuse, recycle, upcycle or repurpose.

Perhaps with a dog, you may have to use something a tad more sturdy than polystyrene as most dogs would just chew it to pieces all over the backyard. Perhaps an old enamel dish…

How green is your pet?