Waste Free Tips – Waste Free Edmonton

August 28, 2023August 28, 2023

SIX Ways to Make Back-to-School Less Wasteful

Have you started your back-to-school planning and shopping yet? It can be difficult to get ready for school while honoring your values around waste reduction or climate justice, but it’s not impossible! In fact, it might even save you some time and money. We put together six ways to make back-to-school less wasteful for families, educators, and students. Leave a comment with your favourite tip!

EVERYDAY ACTIONS

The “everyday stuff” is what we have most control over as families, educators, students, and broader community members. This includes what we buy, where we shop, and even how we get to school! Some of us have a greater ability – and more responsibility – to address our individual actions and behaviours.

1. REDUCE & REUSE (clothing, supplies)

The first years of school have a few things in common: nervous butterflies on the first day, learning a new teacher’s name, and crayons on the school supply list. You can save yourself the headache of back-to-school shopping, and some money, by keeping all of your supplies from the previous year in a safe space you will easily remember to check in August. Start your back-to-school shopping there, and reuse the items that are in good condition. This also helps once you have the supply list from the teacher or school. If you keep an inventory of your items, you won’t purchase duplicates. Finally, make use of places in your community where you can access used supplies, such as thrift stores, Edmonton’s Reuse Centre and Strathcona County’s Hodge Podge Lodge. They have a lot of options, which includes pens and pencils, as well as clothing and backpacks.

2. SHARE THE WEALTH

Sometimes we have to buy the new backpack or pencil crayons because last year’s is falling apart or never made it home! If you can afford to, consider buying extra supplies and donating them to your child’s school or classroom. A great way to ensure your gift won’t go to waste is by chatting with educators in your community school to see which supplies are in greatest demand in their classroom. Teachers often purchase extra supplies with their own money to ensure that their students are on equitable footing. All it takes is a quick email or phone call to help them out, and they already do so much for our kids and communities.

3. ELIMINATE PLASTIC BAGS (or other single-use items)

The volunteers within Waste Free Edmonton have hosted many litter cleanups in their lives, and one of the most common items we find in school yards are little plastic bags. Consider ways you can eliminate the use of these bags when packing snacks, sandwiches, muffins, and more, by replacing them with reusable alternatives. For example, a quick search through the blue bag turns up plenty of containers that can easily be repurposed. Remind your kids to bring those home in their lunch bag, and you have reusable containers for every season.

SYSTEMIC ACTIONS

The biggest impact we can make is by addressing the underlying system of how our society operates. This is the hard part! Individuals can often feel hopeless or confused when they take waste free actions within a system that has not changed. Thankfully, when individuals come together and form a community, we can change the system for the better and increase the impact of our narrow choices.

CONSIDER ACTIVE TRANSPORT

Take a moment to think about where you live in relation to your child’s school. Do you drive them back and forth? Do they take the school bus or public transit or carpool with a friend? Can they walk or ride their bike? Consider how you can improve access to school within your means. Some families may choose to move closer to their children’s school. Many families don’t have that option, but can look out for school bus service or public transit to minimize their impact. Community solutions can involve carpool – or bike pool – groups, for families who live in and travel to the same neighbourhoods.

With the expansion of our cities into more suburbs, and the fact that new school construction will probably never keep pace, active transportation might be difficult to achieve depending on where you live and where your children attend school. Addressing this system involves advocacy for more public transportation options, bike lanes, and increased density. Options to address this include writing to your city councilor or county representative, outlining your requests for bus rapid transit and bike lanes. If you organize your neighbours and other families in your community, this can have an even larger impact.

JOIN YOUR SCHOOL COUNCIL

School councils are mandated by the Alberta Government, so if there is a public school in your community, there is a school council that could use your help. There are a lot of everyday tasks required of a school council, but the major responsibility they have is fundraising for school amenities that are not otherwise covered in the provincial budget. Parents, educators, and community members are welcome members, and serve an important role to advocate for shared values within the school. This includes making suggestions about how the limited budget is spent, school lunch programs, and limiting waste in other areas of the school. An exciting example of a small group within a school advocating for change comes from an Edmonton highschool. Recently, the students of J Percy Page in Mill Woods advocated with their school and cafeteria to offer halal options as there is a large Muslim population who attends. They were successful, and the changes have been well received.

You can also use this role as a larger community to further advocate for increased budgets to our public school system so there is less burden on educators and families to equip the schools with much needed supplies.

HAVE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS

One of the most important tools we have as families and community members is sharing our stories. Chatting with our neighbours, other families in the pick up line, educators and school volunteers about our values and why we have chosen to reduce our personal waste or take climate action can have a huge impact. We might not agree on 100% of our ideas, but we can at least start with the knowledge that we all care about our kids and want them to live fulfilling and safe lives.

And remember that our kids are watching us. The more we model climate-respectful behaviours, and talk about why these are in line with our values, the more equipped they will be to have these hard conversations with friends and educators as they move through their school life.

We hope you have a wonderful school year!
Your Partners in Waste Reduction,
Waste Free Edmonton

How to Travel with a Waste Free Focus

Our values don’t go on vacation when we do. And while it can be difficult to stay true to all of our waste free values when we leave home, travelling is a huge privilege and therefore an amazing opportunity to act upon those values. We can and should explore from a place of respect. How can we take our values on vacation and make a positive impact in a system where the cheap, easy, and wasteful is very accessible? Let’s explore a few ways we can travel with a waste free focus, and some of the consequences for not doing so.

TRAVEL TO EXPERIENCE A DIFFERENT CULTURE – WITH DIFFERENT WASTE PRACTICES

While people travel for many reasons, one of the top is to experience a city or culture unique to our own. What many travellers might not consider is that these differences include their waste practices and policies as well. Two easy examples for travellers from Edmonton are the bottle deposit system and residential organic waste collection that are not present or look a lot different in other areas of the world – and even within our own country. You might also find a difference in acceptance of reusables at local businesses or local cuisine with less vegan or vegetarian options. It’s important to be respectful of these local ways, and remain as flexible as possible. If it’s more important to you to adhere to your customs that cannot be accommodated in certain locations, then perhaps choosing a different location is appropriate.

Travelling to a location where the waste practices are different from your own is still rewarding and fun! All it takes is a bit of patience and preparation. Planning ahead, knowing the local customs and policies will allow you to be ready for whatever differences you encounter. “Plan ahead and prepare” is also the first tip in the very popular Leave No Trace Principles for waste free travelling.

LEAVE NO TRACE PRINCIPLES FOR WASTE FREE TRAVEL

The seven Leave No Trace Principles offer guidance when enjoying the outdoors, or camping specifically. But this framework can easily be expanded to include other types of travel and recreation.

1. Plan ahead and prepare
2. Travel and camp on durable surfaces
3. Dispose of waste properly
4. Leave what you find
5. Minimise campfire impacts
6. Respect wildlife
7. Be considerate of others

Add these seven principles to your notes app, or take a quick screenshot and save it in your travel folder. The next time you make plans to travel, or need a quick refresher in the airport, you can pull out the list and ensure your trip aligns with this framework.

BLACKOUT TRAVEL ZONES

There are of course consequences for not following these principles while travelling. In fact, there are some popular holiday destinations across the world that are asking tourists to stay away, or are downright banning them because of the negative impact of waste and disrespectful travel caused by tourism and tourists. Many of these locations were forced to experience a visitor-free year during the covid lockdowns and recognised that the benefit to their natural environment outweighed the lost income. Or are working on fine-tuning that balance. Two of the most publicised locations to have grappled with this are Hawaii and Thailand. In Hawaii, the Indigenous islanders have asked tourists to stay away due to water scarcity and rising costs of living for locals. (source) The Thailand government has mandated the closures of some very popular beaches during specific months of the year to allow the natural environment time to recover. (source) They have also implemented strategies to reduce the volume of visitors while still sustaining the tourist industry in these locations.

There was a lot of research and observations completed during the covid lockdowns where all tourist locations – big or small – were suddenly devoid of people for months at a time. Environmental degradation was obvious, extensive, and reversible. Local governments and residents obviously have the final say in what they do with that incredible knowledge, but travellers play an important role. We can each prepare accordingly for visiting locations where waste is a problem, and use the Leave No Trace principles as a framework for how we interact with a destination and its residents. Consider if your priority is to visit that beach, or ensure the flourishing of an ecosystem. Many folks will choose the latter. As for those locations across the globe that now “depend on tourism” it is important that we consider why and how that happened. Often the answer involves colonialism, economic racism, and corruption. These systems still have people at the heart, and while it might seem inconsequential, our travel decisions can have a lasting impact.

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND TRAVEL

Considering the bigger picture can seem daunting when all we want is a relaxing time away from our day-to-day life. But thankfully our waste free habits and choices connect to a bigger web of actions and people working toward justice in and for their own communities. It’s exciting to think that making a choice to benefit our family and honour our values can have a positive effect on someone you haven’t even met!

This article offers a few ideas to consider for travelling with respect for the environment and for people at your destination. As well as applying your waste free values to the amazing opportunity to travel and experience cultures and locations different from our own. Travel continues to be a privilege, one that is impacted by economic and racial justice alongside environmental justice.

TAKE ACTION

No matter where you are in your waste free journey, applying your values to travel can become overwhelming. There are many levels of impact to consider, and with everything happening in our world, the impact of a stress relieving holiday has become even more relevant. But now that we know better, we can make better choices while still enjoying the basic need that travel fulfils: getting out of our regular routine and exploring new sites. Here is a short list of actions you can take while planning your next vacation, ranked from low to high effort. What would you add to our list? Leave it in the comments!

Low effort:

Pack a reusable water bottle
If you need to buy supplies before you leave, choose second hand instead of buying new. Thrift stores and Buy Nothing groups are a great choice, as is borrowing from friends and family.

Mid effort:

Pack a reusable plate, bowl, and cutlery to avoid takeout containers or other unwanted single use items.
Don’t bring single use items with you, and remove any packaging from items in your suitcase to prevent putting strain on the waste system of your hosts.

High effort:

Use and buy local services at your destination, including transportation, restaurants, tour companies, etc.

Five Tips to Make Your Holiday Dinner Waste Free

‘Tis the season to make merry with friends and family. And food is such an important part of many holidays this time of year. Perhaps your holiday plans include hosting or co-hosting a festive meal at your home. It can be difficult to have a perfect waste-free event, but we can try with these five tips to make your holiday dinner waste free.

Say NO to plastic cutlery and disposable plates and YES to a “Party Pack”. What is a ”Party Pack” you ask? It’s a separate set of proper dishes – including cutlery, cups, and fabric napkins – you can use when you’re serving more than the usual number of folks. This avoids the need to use disposable tableware, and it looks better as well!
Don’t be afraid to send leftovers home with your guests! Ask them to bring reusable food containers to the party, or dig through your recyclables bin and reuse those peanut butter jars you’ve been saving for collection day.
If your guests insist on bringing a “host gift”, ask for an ingredient in the evening’s meal. Dessert or buns is always an easy one. But if the guest is a whiz in the kitchen, you could also ask them to arrive early and help you with the cooking or setting the table. Spending a little extra time together is a bonus, and it’s always appreciated to get extra help in the kitchen.
When grocery shopping for ingredients, try to minimize single use plastics and food waste. If you make a plan – including choosing recipes – and write a list before you head out shopping, there is a smaller chance that you will waste ingredients either because you purchased too much or you purchased something you don’t need. This also gives you a chance to choose ingredients with less packaging, like fresh produce or refillable items.
Serve a vegetarian or vegan meal. Eating less meat is one of the top ways a change in your diet can help combat the climate crisis (source). There are a lot of really popular and delicious – and easy – vegan recipes online these days that will please all of your guests.

A birthday party kit including plates, utensils, and napkins – all waste free!

If holiday values for you means gathering with friends and family, you can impart some of your climate and waste free values to them at the same time. With a little creativity and time you can ensure the meal is low waste, or waste free. It’s the time spent together that is the most important part anyway.

November 26, 2022November 25, 2022

Five Waste Free Holiday Gift Ideas

The holiday season is almost upon us! Black Friday has recently been extended over the entire weekend, with some companies hosting sales throughout the month of November. To help you combat the temptations to your willpower, here are Five Waste Free Gift Ideas for the holidays.

Experience Gifts. These are becoming extremely popular these days, especially for kids who seem to already “have it all”. The sky’s the limit with an experience gift, and there are a lot of opportunities to get creative and meaningful. Think tickets to a show, passes to a seasonal festival, or gift cards to a museum or gallery.
Make something useful or consumable. If you know the person fairly well, food is a great idea! Some fun options include: your favourite spice mix, cookies or squares to have on hand for holiday parties, or freezer meals for the busy parent. And if food is too complicated, try sewing a reusable bag or set of napkins, crafting a candle out of a reused container, or building something in your workshop.
If you’re not handy enough to accomplish the above, consider making your purchases from local shops and vendors who use less packaging or more environmentally friendly packaging. Check out our list of waste free or sustainably-minded businesses and organizations in the Edmonton area!
Buy something second-hand or thrifted. Perhaps you know that your friend has had their eye on a pressure cooker, and you see one at the local thrift store for a steal of a deal. Or your Mom’s collection of ugly Christmas sweaters can grow by one more thanks to a stop at a local consignment store. For this one, it’s definitely the thought that counts most.
Donate to a charity that aligns with your friend’s values. Or better yet, make an experience gift out of it and volunteer your time with your friend at a local charity or non-profit. The charity might even have a promotional image you can email to share the gift.

The best rule of thumb when making your shopping list is to check it twice, and don’t buy things for people that they don’t want (or need). It can be easy to fall into the trap of consumerism this time of year, buying things because it’s what everyone else is doing. But most people would agree that they would rather have the gift of your presence and attention, over another shiny bauble.

February 22, 2022February 22, 2022

How To Extend The Life Of Your Clothes

“The most sustainable garment is the one already in your wardrobe.” – Orsola de Castro, Fashion Revolution Cofounder

So, how can we make sure our garments last as long as possible? We’ve gathered some tips on garment care from Good On You and The Green Edition that will help extend their useful life:

Wash your clothes less, at a lower temperature, and air or line dry when possible. Not only does this reduce energy and water consumption, but it is easier on your clothes as well. The heat and agitation of laundering can cause fibre loss, colour loss, and stretching. American Cleaning Institute recommends garments worn close to the body (socks, underwear) be washed after each use, but items such as jeans, pajamas, and outer garments (e.g., dress shirts and pants) be washed after 3 or 4 wears.

Do laundry when you have a full load but be careful not to overload your washer as this can prevent a thorough cleaning and causes excessive rubbing.
Wash garments according to their care label instructions and follow the directions of your laundry detergent. Different fibres have different requirements for washing, drying, and stain treatments. What might work for one fibre may just damage another (e.g., bleach is OK for white cottons but damaging to wool and other protein fibres).
Separate clothes based on colours or use cold water to prevent colour loss and dyes from running.
Reduce the amount of detergent you use as it can build up on your clothes over time. This goes for fabric softeners as well which can change the absorbency or moisture properties of the fabric. Reusable wool dryer balls are a great replacement for softeners and can reduce drying time too!
Treat stains immediately so that they don’t set. Blot the stain with cold water, rather than rubbing it.
Store your clothes properly. Fold heavy knits rather than hanging them as they can stretch out and store clothes in a cool, dry environment, away from direct sunlight.

Mend clothing when damaged and alter clothes as needed. Stay tuned for future posts on basic mending techniques and what to look for in a quality garment!

January 26, 2022January 25, 2022

Food Waste: What, Why, and How to Stop It

What is food waste?

Put simply, food waste is any part of food that is not eaten. Food waste occurs throughout our food system, all the way from production, to transportation, to retail, and through to individual consumer’s fridges and pantries. As consumers we would recognize it most as food we throw away after we purchase it. Common food waste in the home includes:

Food that spoils before we eat it
Food scraps that we cannot use or choose not to use
Overportioned cooked food (aka “leftovers”) that isn’t eaten

As food waste happens at every stage of our food system, it should be addressed from a systemic lens, especially due to the problems it causes in relation to the climate crisis.

Why is food waste a problem?

When we consider the climate crisis, food waste is a substantial barrier to our goals to reduce our global carbon footprint. According to Project Drawdown, “one third of the food raised or prepared does not make it from farm or factory to fork” (Project Drawdown). Canada also bears responsibility for our current food waste problem – food waste costs the Canadian economy up to $100 billion dollars annually (NZWC) and the average Edmontonian’s garbage contains 22-26% food waste as of 2016 (City of Edmonton) (this stat is pre-wastecart system).

Let’s examine five problems associated with food waste:

Greenhouse Gases

Organic matter that ends up in a landfill produces methane gas. This is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, but is 21 to 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide (Change for Climate).

Monetary Cost

Consider food waste as throwing away money, and costs the average family of four approximately $1,760 annually (Change for Climate). All of the food waste that ends up in a municipality’s waste stream requires resources in staffing, facilities, transportation, etc. to dispose or divert it. This cost is passed on to utilities and then down to the citizens via taxes.

Land space

Growing food takes up a lot of land space, livestock even more so than plant-based food – up to eight times more! Landfills and other waste diversion facilities also occupy a lot of land, and are often located in marginalized or racialized communities.

Earth’s General Store (photo: MacKenzie Photography)

Waste of resources

It’s in the name! Food waste is ultimately a waste of resources. Many of those resources are scarce already, or could be used in a more positive and effective way. This includes water for irrigation (New Food Magazine), and fossil fuels for production and distribution. As we transition away from fossil fuels and work to conserve our water, we need think hard about using our resources more efficiently.

Hunger and food insecurity

4.4 million people in Canada are food insecure (Zero Food Waste). There is no logical reason for anyone to go hungry while so much food waste exists. Many food banks or mutual aid groups already exist to divert that food which would otherwise be wasted. Setting these up on a larger scale could make a huge difference to our carbon footprint, and more importantly, to people’s lives.

Food waste is a problem because the monetary cost, carbon cost, and human cost of those resources is so high. Eliminating food waste throughout the food system is a large undertaking and will take concerted efforts by all levels of government, businesses, and community groups. But the positives would be well worth the effort. Thankfully, Edmonton and many of the surrounding municipalities have already taken a big step toward diverting food waste by introducing a cart-based waste collection system.

Even more relevant to you, reader, is that food waste can easily be prevented by individuals and households by taking a few simple steps.

Grow your own food! (photo: MacKenzie Photography)

How can I prevent food waste in my home and community?

In high income countries, the majority of food waste happens at the retail and household level (Drawdown). Therefore, eliminating or slowing food waste in our homes is one of the easiest actions we can take to reduce our individual emissions and act against climate change. They may seem small, but small actions add up to big changes!

Here are EIGHT ways you can take to tackle food waste in your home and community:

Low effort:

Learn how to store your food properly to keep it fresh longer (Love Food Hate Waste)

Use the Flashfood app to help prevent food waste in your local grocery store
Donate to local food banks or organizations working toward food security (ex: Leftovers Foundation)

Mid effort:

Meal plan and make grocery lists to ensure you only buy what you know you will eat
Move towards a more plant-based diet
Save your food scraps and make DIY veggie broth

Most effort:

Set up a Little Free Pantry in your yard or community space
Volunteer at your local food bank or shelter; they divert a lot of food from grocery stores and retail stores and instead use it to help our city’s vulnerable folks (note: many food bank and community organizations have paused their volunteer opportunities due to covid-19 restrictions)
Build a backyard composter (note, composting should be used as a last resort. We know wasted food happens, and this is the next best thing to using your food.)

How To Reduce Holiday Waste With Fabric

As we head into the holidays we wanted to touch on a few ways you can reduce your textile waste this year.

According to a survey conducted by McKinsey & Company, about 20% of all annual apparel purchases are returned with one out of four apparel items returned when bought from e-commerce channels. They also report that an estimated 10% of returns end up in landfill! So, when buying for others consider purchasing secondhand or vintage garments as gifts rather than new, or support local designers or brands.

Another major source of waste during the holidays is gift wrap. Tape, plastic additives, and foil wrapping make gift wrap difficult or impossible to recycle. Zero Waste Canada estimates that Canadians throw out 540,000 tonnes of wrapping paper and gift bags each year! To cut down on this waste, Greenpeace Canada suggests using upcycled materials such as old maps, magazines, or newspapers to wrap gifts or make bows, using string instead of tape, or trying out Furoshiki wrapping, a Japanese method of wrapping items using a square piece of fabric.

Furoshiki wrapping is versatile as you can wrap a variety of different shapes that are usually difficult to do with paper gift wrap. You can purchase Furoshiki wrapping cloths or make your own out of unwearable textiles. Just keep in mind that knit fabrics such as t-shirts will have a little bit of stretch and you may need to double up the fabric for heavier items. There are plenty of online resources for how to make your own gift wrap from upcycled textiles and the various ways you can wrap using Furoshiki techniques.

Here are Mary’s Christmas gifts from a couple of years ago, all wrapped with fabric! She used a mixture of scarves, bandanas, and cloth wraps from Lush.

Fabric is just as colourful and festive as single-use wrapping paper.

November 2, 2021November 17, 2021

Which Countries Are Best To Source Your Fashion From?

It’s a bit of a misconception that any one country is “better” to manufacture in than another. Taking a stance against a country’s treatment of their population and/or their foreign policy is one way to decide where you (don’t) want to spend your money, but for most countries the answer isn’t a clear yes or no. One might assume that a product made in North America is inherently better quality or more ethically produced than a product made in Eastern Europe or Asia, but that isn’t always the case. It can be hard for North American companies to find skilled workers locally, and there are still some who pay by the number of pieces produced (aka piecework) rather than an hourly wage. Some countries with high volumes of textile production have excellent environmental standards, while some do not; there’s also the question of whether those standards are being enforced. For these reasons, it’s not as easy as simply not buying garments made in country X, and/or only buying items made in country Y.

Regardless of where they are located, however, there are many manufacturers who are choosing to adhere to more rigorous social and environmental standards. While it takes some effort, researching where products are made and pushing for supply chain transparency is one way to make more educated decisions. We’re in the early, messy stages of it all, but numerous brands have begun responding to consumer requests for this transparency by sharing who their manufacturing partners are. That information is more easily accessible from some brands than others, but a quick search enabled us to find at least some information from companies like Patagonia, Gap, REI, Arcteryx, H&M, Nike, and others. We’re not officially endorsing these companies for the record, just encouraging you to take a look for yourself.

When it comes to ethical manufacturing, it can be a bit hard to find the information you need to make an informed choice. However, browsing the websites of some third party organizations can help you identify brands taking steps towards environmental and social responsibility. For example, the Fairtrade Foundation has a section of their website on brands who use Fairtrade, and you can take a look at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s website to see who their members are. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition has created numerous resources for their members to use, including Higg Facility Tools for both environment and social/labour. Many brands have indicated their desire to use these tools, but unfortunately it can be difficult to tell where they are in the process unless they’re sharing that information themselves.

For smaller brands who don’t have the resources to join these larger initiatives, take a look at their websites to see what their policies are on environmental and social responsibility. Do they state clearly what their values are, what their targets are, and how they’re making those goals happen? Same goes for the larger companies too!

August 1, 2021August 2, 2021

15 Ways to Repurpose Your Old Garbage Bin

The move from plastic or metal garbage bins to automated cart collection can be a jarring one. We’re used to filling our garbage bin on a weekly basis with bagged garbage and familiar with the volume and capacity of our bins. When carts were rolled out and garbage bins became obsolete, many wondered what to do with them — we’ve come up with a list of ideas, with contributions from members of the Waste Free Edmonton community.

Here are 15 things you can do with your old garbage bins.

Turn it into a Composter

Upcycle your old bin into a backyard composter. Check out this tutorial for more information on how!

Already have a composter? Use it to make leaf mould!

Store Leaves for Your Compost

A garbage bin is a perfect place to store excess leaves for your compost, keeping them dry and on your property to easily supplement your compost year-round. Make a composter out of one bin and use the other bins to store leaves and other organic waste!

Store Your Empties

Garbage bins are perfect for storing empty beverage containers for recycling. If you use them for your bottles, you can eliminate the need for plastic bags when bringing them into the depot! Just bring the entire bin with you and empty it there. Bring the empty bin home, give it a rinse, and you’re ready for the next bottle run!

Collect Rain

Check out this simple DIY for transforming your old bin into a rain barrel! A clever way to keep your bin from going to waste AND cut down on your water bill. Keep it out of direct sunlight to discourage any leaching from the garbage bin!

Grow Your Own Produce

Use your bin to grow your own produce! Members of our facebook group have grown potatoes and corn in theirs. Do check if the type of plastic is food safe first, and don’t forget to drill drainage holes in the bottom. You can even cut your bin in half and make two mini raised garden beds!

Keep Firewood Dry & Accessible

Use your bin to keep your firewood dry. Perhaps you already have a dedicated space for firewood that’s a bit inconvenient to get to, but you could use your bin closer to where you will use it and refill as necessary!

Additional Storage in the Garage / Garden Shed

Garbage bins are great for storing any tall, awkward items. Perfect for holding shovels, rakes, and poles! And not just garden tools — sports equipment (skis, hockey sticks) works great too.

Transform it into a DIY Cat Shelter

Edmonton winters get really cold, and the strays will be thanking you big time for this one. Insulate your bin and use it as a cat shelter; you can find lots of DIY tutorials like this one online.

Recycling Container

Just because your bin was intended for garbage, doesn’t mean that’s all it can hold! Why not use it to store your recycling that you put out for pick up? Remember to put it in a blue bag!

Transport Loose Items

Your old bin could save you tons of trouble next time you head to the Eco Station to pick up free mulch! Load it up in the garbage bin to keep it contained.

Blend Your Soil

If every spring you find yourself mixing fifty tiny batches of soil blends because you just don’t have a big enough container… this one’s for you! Use your old bin to mix your soil in the spring, or even to store your soil all year long.

Flip it Upside Down!

If you are out working in the yard or garden and find you are in need of some counter space or a raised, flat surface, you might find that your bin is actually quite handy! Flip it upside down and use the bottom of it for some extra working space.

Mouse-proof Bird Seed Container

If mice have a way of finding your bird seed or grass seed over the winter, your old garbage bin might be just what you need to keep them out! Store any such items with the lid sealed to keep critters at bay.

Give Bins to Someone New

Remember, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure! If you still have no use (or perhaps, no space!) for your old garbage bin, try to rehome it. If none of your friends or family members are interested, post it in your local Buy Nothing group, list it on Marketplace, Kijiji, or donate it to a second hand shop. Someone else is just waiting to get their hands on it! As always, when passing an item on to a new person, it is important to clean or mend it beforehand.

Bring it to the Eco Station

As a last resort, make sure your bins are taken care of properly. Dispose of your old garbage bins at the Eco Station or wherever facilities exist. Learn more here.

Many of these ideas were pulled from members of the Waste Free Edmonton Group on facebook and from comments on our “Wheel Conversations” post about garbage bins. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed and shared their ideas!

May 13, 2021May 13, 2021

Waste Free Hair Care and “No Poo”

Trying to find the right hair care routine is a journey, especially when incorporating plastic-free personal hygiene and/or a low-waste lifestyle. I don’t have a very high-maintenance routine, but even I have had trouble finding something that connects with my values, doesn’t break the bank, and actually works.

As I mentioned, my hair care routine is pretty basic: I don’t blow dry it, style it, use products, or dye it. Heck, I don’t even go to the hairdresser! All I do is tip my hair over my head and cut a few inches off about once every year when I start to sit on it, or it gets caught in my seatbelt. So I get that my routine isn’t for everyone and that everyone will have different needs.

I currently use bar shampoo and conditioner from Edmonton’s very own Jack 59, the Citrus Shine duo. I find that my thick hair has a beautiful curl when it air dries after shampooing and conditioning with these bars. I used to wash my hair with shampoo and conditioner every day, but I heard that this is unnecessary and even bad for your hair. So I have become more and more curious about the No Poo method. I have only just become brave enough to space out my washings to twice a week, as my hair has always become greasy pretty quickly after washing (like even the following day right before my next shower!) Now that I have been spacing out my shampooing for almost a year now, I find it takes a couple of days before noticing any grease, and it doesn’t get as bad.

“No Poo”; seems to come in many forms. Technically speaking, this means not using “shampoo,” which is a specific type of cleanser designed for hair. Claimed by the No Poo’rs to strip the natural protective oils from your hair, shampoo supposedly leaves your hair needing more shampoo and more conditioner as your scalp produces oils to replace the ones you removed. No shampoo doesn’t mean you don’t clean your hair at all, though. Some people strictly use conditioner. Some people still cleanse their hair with vinegar or baking soda. (But hopefully not at the same time! Picture an elementary school science class volcano on your head.) Some people even treat their hair with things like flour, eggs, and porridge. Personally, I like to keep my breakfast in the kitchen, not the shower.

Vinegar, (most commonly apple cider vinegar) and baking soda are some of the most popular shampoo alternatives used by people to cleanse their hair. The problem with these particular products is that they are quite acidic and basic respectively and can easily cause your hair to become brittle, or leave you with some wicked dandruff and an itchy scalp. The advantages with these products, and probably why they are so widely trialed by those on a low waste hair care quest, is that they are cheap and easy to come by.

During my No Poo research, I came across the Scritch and Preen approach. In this method, you massage your scalp for five minutes or so (scritching). Then, using your fingers or a boar bristle brush, disperse the oils from the scalp all the way down the hair, section by section (preening). And otherwise, “wash”; it with water in the shower. This method intrigues me, and I think I will give it an honest go. My bar shampoo still comes with paper wrapping, and I sometimes get it shipped to me if I don’t end up crossing town to get it from one of the local vendors. So it still has some waste, if very little. And every little bit helps!

If you are interested in trying the No Poo method, don’t forget to tag @becomingless and @wastefreeyeg in your journey. If you aren’t ready for that but maybe want to give bar shampoo and conditioner a go, you can find Jack 59 and other brands right here in Edmonton at Earth’s General Store, Re:Plenish, Carbon Environmental Boutique, Blush Lane, and visit our Resources page for other plastic-free, low waste, or zero waste personal care options.