Plastic cutlery, plastic bottles, single-use coffee cups and napkins… I’m sure many of us ar well aware of the amounts of unnecessary waste and trash we’re all creating, if not every day then at least every week. With the zero-waste movement this is something that has become well known to most of us, and it seems as though we need to take a few steps back to previous generations to get some inspiration. Back when they didn’t have the same level of convenience we have today. I’m very much stuck in these convenience-driven ways myself – I mean I’m aware and I do my best to say no thanks to plastic bags when I do my grocery shopping for example. But when I’m on the go or travelling, there’s definitely room for improvement. And it doesn’t have to be so hard; I bet you already own most of the items in the less-waste survival kit I’m about to share with you. A kit I’d recommend you store in a little reusable bag in your hallway, so you can easily bring it with you in your bag before leaving your home. Just in case.
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Plastik bestik, plastik flasker, engangskaffekopper og engangsservietter… jeg er sikker på mange af os efterhånden er blevet klar over hvor unødvendigt meget emballage vi smider ud, hvis ikke om dagen så måske ugentligt. Med zero-waste bevægelsen er det allerede noget der er stor fokus på, og der er meget der tyder på vi alle bør træde et par generationer tilbage og lade os inspirere af vores bedste- eller oldeforældre. Dengang havde man ikke den samme mængde ”convenience”, som vi nyder godt af (på både godt og ondt) i dag. Jeg er på mange måder selv den her type forbruger, der sidder godt og grundigt fast i dét vi nu ved, er dårlige vaner – selvom jeg tænker rigtig meget over, at sige nej tak til fx plastikposer der hvor jeg kan. Men når det gælder rejser eller dét at være på farten generelt, så er der stor plads til forbedring, i hvert fald for mig personligt. Og det behøver faktisk slet ikke være så svært eller bøvlet som vi gør det til; faktisk tør jeg vædde med, at du allerede er i besiddelse af langt de fleste elementer af dette lille overlevelseskit, som jeg vil dele med dig i dag. Et lille kit som jeg vil anbefale dig altid at have liggende i en stofpose i entreen, så du nemt kan smide det i din taske når du skal ud af døren. Just in case.
*Advertisement/gifted items: water bottle from Vestiaire Collective, striped linen bag from White dreams
It’s not just about the plastic straw….
There’s no doubt that it makes sense to start somewhere simple. For a long time there’s been a lot of focus on reusable water bottles, ditching the plastic straw and bringing your own reusable shopping bag when you’re doing your weekly grocery shopping. But the truth is there are many traps in terms of waste. Many other ways in which we could (and probably should) work a little bit harder on lowering our impact. And again I’m pretty sure that if you just take a few moments to gather up this following little kit, you’ve already made it a lot more convenient for yourself to lower your waste even further. This way it doesn’t have to be the burden many of us might make it up to be, to cut down on our waste while being on-the-go.
Better yet; you don’t even have to spend a lot of money on putting together the “right” zero-waste kit. I had all of these items in my household already and I haven’t spend a dime on mine! Maybe you only have some of these things, which is a pretty good start. Then you can slowly add the rest as you go along. My kit contains:
- Reusable coffee cup
- Reusable water bottle (preferably a transparent one for smoothies etc)
- Reusable napkin
- A little lightweight cup (e.g. for scoops of ice cream)
- Teaspoon + fork (maybe invest in a spork if you think you’ll miss a sort of knife)
- Reusable straw
- A little reusable bag (for bread, croissants etc.)
- Maybe a little container for salads
- A reusable shopping net
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Der er ingen tvivl om, at det giver mening at starte i det små. Der har længe været fokus på genanvendelige drikkedunke, at undgå plastiksugerør og at medbringe sit eget stofnet når man er ude og handle ind. Men sandheden er, at der findes mange fælder. Mange andre steder man også kan (og bør) forsøge at undgå unødigt spild. Og igen er jeg ret overbevist om, at hvis du blot bruger lidt tid på at samle dette lille kit sammen, så har du allerede gjort det meget mere convenient for dig selv, at nedbringe dit forbrug af unødig emballage yderligere. Så behøver det faktisk slet ikke være den byrde, som mange af os måske gør det til, at skære ned på unødigt engangsemballage når vi er på farten
Og endnu bedre; du behøver slet ikke gå ud og bruge en hel masse penge på det rigtige ”zero-waste kit”. Jeg havde selv alle disse ting allerede og har derfor ikke brugt en krone på mit kit! Måske har du kun nogle af dem og det er jo en ganske fin start; så kan du investere i lige netop de ting du ikke kan undvære løbende. Mit kit indeholder:
- Kaffekop
- Vandflaske (gerne en gennemsigtig til smoothies mv)
- Genanvendelig serviet
- Lille bæger eller kop (fx. til is)
- Ske+gaffel (investér evt i en spork hvis du kommer til at mangle en form for kniv)
- Genanvendeligt sugerør
- Lille stofpose (fx til bagværk og til beskidt bestik)
- Evt en lille beholder til blandede salater mv.
- Stofpose til madvarer (og til at opbevare dit kit i)
Find my tin cup from Organic Basics HERE – and a reusable canvas bag HERE (adlinks)
It might sound like a lot of things, but if you make sure to pack them smart they wont take up that much space in your bag (I probably wont be able to fit it all in that Chanel bag though lol! I’d go for my shopper bag or put it in a canvas bag on the side). As mentioned earlier I’d also recommend you to store this kit in your hallway, or somewhere you remember to bring them with you when you’re on-the-go. Once you’re done using these make sure to wash them straight away and put them back into the bag. In that way you keep an element of that convenience we all value so much today, in our busy day-to-day lives. This is such a great way to enjoy takeaway, a good cup of coffee, a croissant or other goodies when you’re out and about with a clean conscience – all while cutting down on unnecessary waste and lowering your environmental impact.
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Det lyder måske af mange ting, men pakker du dem rigtigt fylder de altså ikke meget i tasken (ville dog nok ikke kunne få det i min vintage Chanel, lol! Ville gå efter min Adax shopper eller ganske enkelt tage et canvas net med ved siden af til at have det i). Som nævnt tidligere vil jeg anbefale dig, at opbevare dit kit et sted hvor du nemt kan tage det med dig, når du skal ud af døren. Når du har brugt det, så sørg for at vaske tingene af og læg dem tilbage i stofposen med det samme. Så er der samling på det, og du beholder igen dét der element af convenience vi alle vægter så højt i en travl hverdag. På den her måde kan du nyde god takeaway, en kop kaffe, en croissant eller andre lækre sager med god samvittighed – og samtidig skære ned på brugen af unødig emballage.
Great suggestions! I’d also like to add that it might be a good idea to have two of these kits if you work outside the home–one for the office and one for on the go. That way you don’t have to worry about remembering to take it with you to and from work.
Great idea! Having multiples would make a lot of sense, especially if you live with a partner as well so you have a kit for both of you – or if you have kids. You could build it to suit your life really! Thanks again love. Signe x
I enjoyed reading this, it was insightful and such a grand idea! I don’t know why I haven’t thought of a less-waste kit before! I do bring my netted shopper bag with me when I am out and either my mason jar or water container but the rest definitely needs to be added! Thanks Signe!
No problem love! I’m glad it was helpful 🙂 Signe x