Luck with Liquids

Compared to the likes of beans and rice, liquids pose a bit of a challenge when it comes to bulk-purchasing. There are just not as many of them to be found, at least that I've come across so far. This makes sense to a certain degree, considering they require a more elaborate dispensing system and sturdier packaging than dry goods.

There are a few hidden gems out there though, and sometimes you don't even notice them the first time you see them. You will find some bulk liquids in places like the very back of Bulk Barn, referenced on price tags at Sunnyside Market, or at the end of aisles at Community Natural Foods.

ZWH App, and some things to come

I wanted to let you know about a new app that was recently released by a blog you may be familiar with, Zero Waste Home. (Thanks to Lori for letting me know about it!) The folks at ZWH have been extremely successful at eliminating waste from their lives through a lot of hard work and LOTS of discipline. Now they have released an iPod/Android app to help connect people with bulk options in their area.

The Zero Waste Home Bulk Shopping Locator is the sort of app that will be most successful if lots of us use it. At this time, there are no locations posted for Calgary, though I did notice that Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto have already generated some data. The more of us that start using it, the better it will be. I just downloaded the app yesterday on to my iPod Touch and will start entering some locations soon. If you are also an iPod/iPhone/Android user, and know of some great locations to buy bulk, I hope you will download it and start contributing to the community as well!

Life without Garbage Bags

I stopped using plastic garbage bags a few years ago. Let me tell you what I have against plastic garbage bags: they are literally waste for the sake of waste. They use virgin (or SOMETIMES recycled) resources to produce something that will be thrown straight in the garbage. They provide us no purpose between the store and garbage bin except to keep our garbage cans clean, and yet we're expected to routinely spend our money on them from now until the end our lives. We might as well just throw our money directly in the trash.

I want to make the point that they also don't decompose, but of course, we all know that pretty much nothing in landfills gets to naturally decompose. It still irks me, however, to see plastic garbage bags filled with leaves and grass clippings that would decompose on their own if not entombed in a plastic bag. And don't even get me started on people who bag their dog's feces in plastic.

End rant.

DIY Ingredients - Baking Soda (a partial fail)

I've made the point a couple of times (with bulk purchases of rice and castile soap), that packaging still exists behind the scenes even if you buy something from a bulk bin into a reusable bag. Therefore, when I buy a bulk purchase as I did with the two items above, I feel the packaging waste is NO WORSE than if I had purchased a smaller amount in my own container. For the purpose of my project here, I consider that to be "waste free".

I don't have a problem with this reasoning when it comes to a plastic jug or a craft-paper bag. Similarly, I wouldn't mind if the product was packaged in a metal can. What I can't accept as a solution is a product packaged in a plastic bag, plastic wrap, or mixed-material packaging (plastic lined paper bags, cardboard tube with metal ends, etc). From my understanding and experience, these items pose far more problems to the recycling process, and I seek to avoid them.

DIY Ingredients - Castile Soap

I have a lot of different posts planned for different cleaning supplies and things that I make at home. First, I think it is more important to post on the source of ingredients for those homemade items, rather than the items themselves. When it comes to making certain cleaning supplies, as you saw with the homemade laundry detergent, it is usually just a matter of mixing a few things together in a bucket and saying "Done!". It is more difficult to find where to buy the ingredients and even harder to find them without packaging.