Zero waste on the go – Guest blog from #WasteNothing Challenge

In April this year, Bristol Waste Company launched the Bristol #WasteNothing Challenge.

Fifty households, of all shapes and sizes, from across Bristol have signed up to try and reduce their waste and recycling down to zero over the course of a year. Through their activities we have been finding out all sorts of interesting ways to avoid creating waste.

Having a few lightweight bits of kit in your bag ready for whenever you leave the house could make a huge difference to the amount of rubbish you create when you’re on-the-go. Here are some of our top tips for reducing waste away from home.

Be Tupp-aware

Are you going somewhere there might be food? Having a clean container, like an old ice cream tub, with you means that you can swoop in and save any tasty leftovers to eat later. Some shops and take-aways will also let you use your own containers.

The last straw

Having a reusable straw in your bag means you can whip it out when ordering a drink to make sure they know you don’t want a plastic straw ending up in your glass.

Refill, not landfill

Taking a refillable water bottle with you will save you from buying drinks in single-use packaging. Loads of places will let you refill your bottle for free, and you can download an app that shows you where here.

Pack your bag

Take a backpack, take a reusable shopping bag and produce bags or simply re-use existing ones.

Be a snack detective

If you are buying food and drinks on the go, try to either buy things without any packaging or check out what packaging it comes in to see if it can be recycled. Or alternatively, plan ahead.

Comments from Mya-Rose Craig AKA Birdgirl

At our camps, we try to ensure that we have virtually nothing to throw away. Atendees bring drinks bottles, all our plates and cups are reuseable and we have no straws or baby wipes.

Ensuring that the children and volunteers who attend our camps learn about nature conservation and environmental issues through our discussions.

Discussing how our camp being vegetarian benefits the planet, why litter is bad for the environment and wildlife and why we are aiming to make our camps zero waste. Often when they arrive, they think nothing of chucking litter on the floor which we have to discuss with them. Having recycling boxes close by help.