A simple swap for Zero Waste eating out

Today’s tip is a quick and easy Zero Waste swap for anyone on a journey to use less plastic or create less waste in order to benefit the planet.

 Once you do it for a week, it will become your new normal and you’ll feel great about the positive change you have made!

Today’s Simple Zero Waste tip is to carry your own cutlery roll with you instead of using plastic forks, knives and spoons when you eat out.

Did you know in a lot of areas, plastic cutlery cannot be recycled? In my local area we have a yellow recycling bin at home, and I didn’t realise until last year that plastic utensils are not accepted as part of this recycling program. And when I’m eating out - I never see a recycling option for plastic forks, knives or spoons.

 So instead of using plastic utensils, I just use my regular silverware from home. If I’m at home, it means a little extra washing up after parties, but it’s no more than a couple of minutes of additional work. When I’m out and about, I just take a knife, fork and spoon with me - straight out of my kitchen drawer, and I roll it up in a cloth napkin before putting it in my bag. Easy.

Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you!

x Marissa

The simple swap that will save you money and reduce plastic waste

Today’s tip is an easy way to reduce plastic pollution in the world and feel really good about the positive impact you are having on our environment. Specifically, we’re talking about no longer buying water in single use plastic bottles.

It’s a very small change, it will save you money - and if everyone did this from tomorrow, it would make a huge difference to our planet.

"Although plastic bottles are technically recyclable, many end up in landfill and can take up to 1000 years to break down. When littered they often end up in the sea where they break up in small pieces, killing marine life that mistake them for food."

*Source: http://www.cleanup.org.au/au/Whatelsewesupport/avoid-bottled-water.html

Today’s simple tip is to switch to a reusable water bottle.

Avoid buying bottled water and simply drink tap water instead, filling your own bottle before you leave the house and washing it out at the end of the day, ready to use again tomorrow.

If you’re worried about the taste or quality of your tap water, install a tap filter or use a filter jug at home and refill your reusable bottle from there. You can buy a reusable bottle from most local grocery or homeware shops for just a few dollars.

The hardest part is remembering to take it with you, so keep it in an assigned place in your home that’s easy to see or set a reminder on your phone to take it with you each morning.

Give it a try and let me know how it works out for you - and if you have any other ideas on how to make bringing your own water simple and easy, leave a comment below or on our Facebook Page.

Join the Simple Zero Waste community and chat daily with other people making small changes that will lead to big improvements to our environment!

* This post is not sponsored and contains no affiliate links.

Welcome to Simple Zero Waste

Welcome!

I'm Marissa Roberts and I'm the founder of Simple Zero Waste in Australia.

You can find us online at Medium, on Facebook, and we have a little community of like minded people that is growing each week, so you can share and swap ideas and inspiration there.

I like to keep things simple, so you will most like see weekly videos or blog posts appear here on the blog. 

We are also featured every Friday on The Daily Simple podcast.

Here are a couple of welcome videos so you can get to know me and my family a little better and start to discover why we are so interested in Simple Zero Waste: