Nine easy zero waste things I'm doing right now, and five more I need to do ASAP

Disclaimer - I'm not currently zero waste, I'm nowhere near zero waste, and I don't reckon I'll get anywhere near zero waste any time soon. I am definitely not the lass that gets all her rubbish in a jam jar. That said, I'm definitely trying to drastically reduce the non-recyclable/reusable/compostable waste that I'm responsible for.

This post should really be called 'nine things I'm doing to cut down the waste I make etc etc' but I thought zero waste is a good, if less accurate, way to describe it -- lots of people are familiar with zero waste, but it's an unattainable target for most, alas. Still, I reckon cutting down on waste is doable for most people in some way, depending on what their time, cash, energy, and life allows.  Whatever step we can take, even if it's a small one, it probably one worth taking. Zero waste is a journey, and I'm definitely at the beginning.

Here's what I'm doing already:

1. Make lunch (better)
Lunch is pretty much always the highlight of my day. Normally, when we break for lunch, there's the option of going to the hospital canteen, getting an expensive meal from one of the nearby chains, or busting out something homemade. I'm always going for the latter.

If making your own lunch sounds like a bit of a faff, you've got a point. Mr Flicking the Vs has access to a microwave at work, so he takes in leftovers from last night's dinner to heat up. I don't have a microwave at work, so I batch cook one week's lunches in one go. I make a massive lot of rice with green lentils. Then I roast a load of veggies with chick peas or beans, and slather on a dressing. It's not going to win any awards, but it's cheap, it's filling, and it's as zero waste as I can make it.

And I don't care how desperately, painfully uncool this confession makes me, but... I also have a Thermos flask. Yep, due to this fine little piece of industrial design (and teaching aid for physics professors), I can have a cup of my favourite tea wherever I am. Not only does it cost me around no pence, it means I can have a tea without having to get a paper cup with a plastic lid that'll end up in landfill. If I'm lucky, I've brought some cake with me too. Lunch doesn't get any better than that.

2. Ditch the plastic toothbrush
I've started buying toothbrushes with wood or bamboo handles. Granted, the bristles are still not recyclable, but it's a step in the right direction. (I've yet to find the perfect brand though -- one I bought came with a plastic wrap around the toothbrush, which didn't strike me as very zero waste). Also, Zero Waste Club, which sells wood handled toothbrushes, will plant trees when you buy stuff from them, which sounds like a good deal all round.

3. Make my own bread
Me and Mr Flicking the Vs are no gluten-dodgers. We like our bread. Wholemeal, white, rolls, bagels and buns - we love them all. Only, I don't like the plastic wrap that bread comes in, so I've learnt (and taught confirmed kitchen fearer Mr FtVs!) how to make bread. Because we're both busy and lazy, we have to make the least effort bread we can, so it's soda bread (which doesn't need to rise) and Doris Grant (which doesn't need a knead) loaves all round.

My next plan is to start making double batches and chucking a few in the freezer, so on those days when baking bread is just too much effort, I can just pull out a loaf and defrost it.

4. Find a better way of washing up
Those plastic scrubby things though. Those. I've had enough of them. I'd been looking for alternatives for a while, and stumbled across a couple of options: one is typically a cloth-based product wrapped around some sort of sponge, the other is made of coconut fibres and has a more scrubby texture. I've bought a load of the latter type, and they're pretty decent. They come with a minimal cardboard sleeve and can be composted when you're done with them.

5. Toiletries with reusable or recyclable packaging - or none at all
My first victory on the zero waste front was finding a place near me that sells Faith in Nature soaps without packaging, which is great (I use soap rather than shower gel, not only for the plastic thing, but also because it's cheap. And I really like cheap).

I've also switched to a refillable anti-perspirant instead of traditional deoderant, and I've managed to turn used coffee grounds into a body scrub for about 1 minute's work.

And, while it's not zero waste proper, the likes of Lush and Bloomtown do vegan toiletries where you can return the packaging for recycling. (If anyone's got any ideas of zero waste make-up, send them this way.)

6. Be prepared - for cake
When I'm going into school or work, I normally keep my stuff in a small rucksack. In said rucksack, there's always an empty tub and a fork. That way, if I happen to pass a cafe that sells vegan cake, I can get them to put it into my tub to takeaway, rather than theirs. And with the fork, I can eat the cake whenever I've got a minute to sit down.

I've also always got a reusable bag on hand. I was given one of those ones that fold down into a pouch about the size of your palm, so I can stick in my bag and forget about it, but it's always on hand if I need it. Single use plastic carrier bags begone!

7. Get a veg box
The zero wasteness of signing up to a veg box scheme will depend on which one you go for, but most involve getting a load of veggies in a cardboard box. The veggies are often sold without packaging, or in paper bags, and usually the veg box companies will take back the cardboard box to reuse it next week. The one I use isn't entirely packaging free, but it's a big reduction on the same stuff from the local supermarket -- and they also sell porridge oats in paper bags, which is I've never seen anywhere else. Handy, given the amount of porridge I eat. Don't get me started on flapjacks though. Those are a crime against oats.

8. Join a library
When I was a kid, going to the library was a weekly treat. You could go and pick up four books and take them home for free. How amazing is that? When I moved to a new neighbourhood a few years ago, I was delighted to find there was a library within walking distance. It's community-run, and I'm very pleased to be able to go and use it. Turns out borrowing books for nowt is just as amazing when you're a grown-up as when you're a kid.

9. Go vegan
Obviously. It's a better use of resources, of energy, of land, of antibiotics, kinder to the environment, to threatened species, and so on and so on.

What I still need to do:

1. Buy in bulk
There are two bulk-buy shops that I know of in London - one in Haggerston (currently shut), and one in Clapham Junction - and sadly neither's near me. But I'm going to try and make an effort to get down to one of them and stock up on things like rice, nuts, grains, and spices in bulk.

2. Get a Mooncup
I have no excuse for not having done this already, apart from a lack of knowledge about the whole using-a-Mooncup business. If anyone's got any useful information or recommendations, send them this way.

3. Speak up
How much packaging comes on most things isn't really down to the shoppers themselves, it's mostly down to the people that make and sell the products. If we write to them, phone them, email them and let them know how we feel, then they'll know there's demand for zero waste products out there, and hopefully respond. With that in mind, how's about signing this petition: petition: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/s/plastic-free-supermarkets

4. Find zero waste chocolate
I'm not shy about eating chocolate, but however hard I look, I really struggle to find a chocolate supplier that doesn't wrap their products in at least one layer of plastic. Again, if you guys know of chocolate that's sold in recyclable packaging and is on the Food Empowerment Project's list (thanks to JoJo of Vegan In Brighton for introducing me to that), then I'd love to hear about it.

5. Get comfortable with a growler
Yeah, I know. Growler meant something different when I was a kid too. Nowadays, I understand it to mean a refillable booze container, and a couple of beer shops near me sell them.  You buy a large glass bottle or jug, fill it up with beer or wine, and when you've emptied it, bring it back and get a refill. Zero waste booze is my kind of booze. I'm going to find out whether those shops near me sell vegan beer refills, and if they do, I'm going to be the proud owner of a shiny new growler. No laughing at the back.