Whilst setting up the van for the big lap I've tried to find alternatives to plastics and excessive storage purchases. For some reason, almost all the items are 'kitchen-based' but I suppose one needs to start somewhere. I also have a rule that almost every item
needs to have a dual or multi use (this is also due to weight limits for the caravan and vehicle).
Plastic alternatives
1. Beeswax Wraps (for covering leftovers, wrapping snacks/sandwiches and other food). Go to my blog 'Bees have a solution' for more about beeswax wraps.
2. Shampoo and conditioner bars (prevent the purchase of plastic bottles) or refill the bottles I have at local co-ops (most of which have shampoo and conditioner available in bulk).
3. Buy a bulk supply of toothpaste tablets and floss. The jars can be reused when I order the next lot of tablets/floss.
I use:
4. Sunscreen in a tin. We use Sunbutter. Its zinc-based so free of chemicals and is awesome. We have tried many zinc based sunscreens and this spreads on better than any other. Normally they are really thick and sticky. And you can recycle the tin!! You can recycle the tin. I often use mine to store my larger shampoo bars. You can also use the tins to put odds and ends in (e.g. buttons, kids craft bits’n’pieces, tea bags, sugar. Etc).
5. Silicon baking sheets (alternative to baking paper).
6. Silicon snack bags (for snacks on the road including chips, dried fruit, muffins etc).
7. I store my pantry items in paper bags inside a larger container. This will save space but also reduces the number of 'new' plastic storage containers I have to buy. I know they are convenient, and you can have all your pantry items stacked up to look so neat and tidy, but I can't bring myself to purchase another set of plastic storage boxes.
8. Keep Cups. Based on a $4 coffee each day for two people you would spend almost $3000 per year!! Yikes! We will be making our own brew most mornings but still have a keep cup each for those special treats. We also have a reusable milkshake cup for Mali. Now I know we all forget our cups from time to time. I try to think ahead and pop our clean cups in the car or my handbag. I also promised myself that if I forgot my cup I couldn't have a takeaway coffee. So we either sat in for a coffee or missed out. That was a good way to embed it into my memory.
9. Reusable shopping bags. I use the thick hessian ones, which last longer. Again, remember to always have them in your vehicle. I never forget mine anymore but it took years to get to that point. Habits take some time to become habits. The fact that supermarkets started charging people for plastic bags sure did change that though. It was incredible to see the number of people who stopped using the plastic ones. Money talks!!
10. Repurposed plastic and material boxes I already have for use in my house for storage in the van (i.e. Mali's toy box, condiments, recycle bins, shoe tub, linen, winter clothes, socks and undies etc).
10. Stainless steel pegs. OMG!! These are the best and they last forever! I have had mine for 5 years and none have rusted or broken. They also rarely flick off when a 50km gust threatens to blow my washing away. Search for these online - there are loads of suppliers and a huge variance in cost. They aren't as cheap as plastic pegs but way better. You will never look back!!
10. Have a jar to collect all of the tiny bits I never know what to do with - bottle tops, plastic ties, ribbon etc. and re-use for craft or figure out where to recycle.
Food and Pantry sources
1. Shop at local co-ops (where available) and use paper bags for pantry items instead of buying in packaging. The limitation is weight - I can't bulk up on everything as I normally would.
See website below for bulk-food directory map for Australia:
2. Shop at Farmers Markets - this reduces plastic packaging and food waste. I'll be using my reusable shopping bags, mesh produce bags and bread bag of course!
Food Waste
1. Use everything! I've put together a little recipe collection with a few options for using up leftover produce in the fridge. I might even come up with some new recipes on the way!
2. Thermomix - this is a real luxury. I purchase one a few years ago and it is great for cooking in bulk and freezing for use later. I'll be doing this when we are plugged into mains power and preparing meals for the road ahead (thanks to our sizeable fridge/freezer).
3. Compost food waste. I've purchased a Bokashi bin from Urban Composter so I am going to compost my food waste along the way! Craig has rigged up a mounting bracket at the rear of the caravan so I can keep the bin outside to save internal space. Stay posted as I'll report on how this goes.
The biggest challenge is going to be figuring out where to put my compost. The beauty of the Bokashi is that it breaks down much faster than standard compost due to the enzyme fermenting spray so I can fit more in the bucket! I'll need to be conscious of any local gardeners during our travels and ask if I can donate to their compost pile. Stay tuned for updates on this challenge.
So, there you are. These are some of my ideas for striving towards a less wasteful trip in the van. All these ideas will help but sticking to the plan is going to be there hardest bit - there are only so many food co-ops where we are travelling so packaged food items will be the hardest to avoid. As I said on our Conscious Waste page we are not aiming for 'zero waste' but if we can improve how we do things and educate on the way then I consider that a success! Oh, and if I can teach Mali the difference between the recycling bin, general waste and soft plastic then that's a big win.
Here's a quote I came across recently whilst I was thinking about what kind of measly impact I could have on the planet when there are over 7 billion of us.:
'I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples' Mother Teresa
How are you going to make ripples ?
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