Not if you empty it every couple of days 
That made me laugh! 
I use lush, the plain red one. It’s a massive pain in the butt to use but comes in a plastic free solid form.
I put a bit of cream around my ears and neck if I remember to, but I don’t find that it really stains my skin. If I don’t wear gloves my hands will be a bit orange for a few days but not too bad, it does permanently colour my nails though so I always wear gloves these days. Maybe because the lush stuff is full of cocoa butter it stains skin less.
It covers my greys really well. They end up a brighter red/ginger than the rest, but I kind of think that makes the colour look more interesting. It does fade from the grey a bit faster than my darker hair too.
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THANK YOU
Mine is the lush one too… And it covers my greys really well. I have about 3-4 inches of growth right now, and the greys are still bright in the dyed part. My hair is dark dark brown with red undertones, and I feel like it shows best on the greys
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I am so far behind
Day 23
Used/purchased
-
olive oil (existing) - for cooking vegetables
-
maple syrup (existing) - on pancakes
-
ancho chili powder jar (existing) - wanted to use ancho chili powder for cooking, I already had the jar but it was unopened! The safety seal on the lid is plastic. I used it.
-
plastic poop bag (existing) - Doggo poop patrol
Nothing new purchased.
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Day 24
Used/purchased
-
tofu container (existing) - finished up the tofu I opened last week, was in a plastic tub
-
maple syrup (existing) - on pancakes
-
mayonaise (existing) - made white sauce for tacos
-
lime juice (existing) - for white sauce
-
old bay (existing) - for white sauce
-
ancho chili powder (existing) - for white sauce
-
masa harina (NEW) - bought a few days ago for the purpose of tortilla making. The bag might be plastic coated paper?
-
olive oil (existing) - for cooking vegetables
1 Like
Day 25
Used/purchased
-
maple syrup (existing) - on pancakes
-
coconut oil (existing) - to make pancakes
-
plastic poop bag (existing) - Doggo poop patrol
Nothing new purchased.
1 Like
Ours smells like damp rainforest floor and we keep it in a big bin so you can only smell it when the lid is off.
I wouldn’t describe it as gross but someone has to be willing to turn it and ours has turned more or less into a black soldier fly maggot vermicompost. It’s great for the compost and they are harmless flies, but they definitely creep some people out.
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Day 26
Used/purchased
-
plastic poop bag (existing) - Doggo poop patrol
-
olive oil (existing) - to saute vegetables
-
Saran wrap (existing) - to wrap up mini chocolate zucchini cakes for the freezer (hm, I think this was a different day but nonetheless); I actually used up the roll and now am completely out. I think I need to buy more since there are a few things that don’t really work without it. (I don’t use very much of it.)
-
ibuprofin (existing) - HEADACHE
-
pickle pipes (NEW) - bought pickle pipes for easier fermenting. They are silicone but are packaged in a plastic sleeve.
-
fermentation weights (NEW) - bought fermentation weights for easier fermenting. They are glass in a cardboard box but the packaging is some kind of foam (it could be corn-based, IDK).
-
Tiesta Tea package (existing) - decided to use the last little bit of Blueberry Wild Child tea (realized I had enough) for another fermented soda. The tea is loose leaf and comes in plastic pouches. This was the last little bit.
-
cat treat package (existing) - finally used up the last of the cat treats my aunt sent me like a year ago! Packaged in a plastic pouch. Now I only have one (big) pouch of dog treats (already opened) left. Clearing the clutter without waste.
-
Interceptor Plus pouch (existing) - my dog takes Interceptor Plus for heartworm+ control and it comes individually wrapped in foil+plastic bubbles, non-negotiable. (Actually late, I should have given on the 18th.
)
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I’ve been overextended both time wise and emotionally this month but I think I’m doing okay at the challenge!
I bought more plastic packaged items today than I have the rest of the month - I didn’t have it in me to bike to the co-op so went to my neighborhood store. Milk and hummus went into my cart. I passed on feta and yogurt and bread.
Last week I didn’t get around to making my lunches but had hard boiled eggs and bananas for breakfast. The work cafeteria uses compostable containers or a reusable container and I have my own cutlery (from my kitchen) so I managed to get through the week without buying plastic for meals.
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It’s my mum’s birthday soon. She appreciates gifts but as far as I know doesn’t need anything.
Does anyone have good ideas for plastic free consumable (e.g. food, bath products, etc) gifts?
I have forgotten to record a bunch of things. Argh.
HOWEVER, a thing I have noticed: I’ve been focusing on a much wider range of fruits at the grocery store this month, because I haven’t been defaulting to berries. Guess what? It’s been delicious. I ate sooo much cantaloupe yesterday, nomnomnom.
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Yes! Berries make it very easy for me to eat a lot of fruit. I love the flavor of stone fruits but laziness has won out in the past - this past week is finding nectarines show up in markets and they are yummy.
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Things went way off the rails due to Very Bad Week, but I’m getting back on track for the final days of July. Since I’m continuing past this month anyway, my next challenge will be avoiding plastic during a week-long trip out of town. I’m packing dried fruit, nuts, and protein powder. Thankfully I’m staying with an eco-conscious gardener/biker, so I’ll have plants to graze on, and maybe an extra bike to borrow!
5 Likes
Day 27 - 31 (oops)
Used/purchased
-
plastic poop bag (existing) - Doggo poop patrol - a bunch of times
-
olive oil (existing) - for sauteing vegetables - a bunch of times
-
maple syrup (existing) - for pancakes - several times
-
prescription bottle (existing) - finished one bottle of Doggo’s pills
-
new prescription order filled (new) - ordered refills of both Doggo’s prescriptions
-
vitamin bottle (existing) - finished iron pills, bottle is glass with a plastic top
-
vitamin bottle (new) - replaced iron pills; included safety seal on the top and plastic safety wrap
-
saran wrap (existing) - retiring some sad, old, used saran wrap that had been used on my Artisan Bread in 5 refrigerator container (not currently making that dough)
-
plastic lid to disposable mini bread pan (existing) - used the last disposable pan (with plastic lid) when I made mini chocolate zucchini cakes; then ate all of the first cake (in the disposable pan)
-
pine litter (existing) - opened a new bag (but that I already had) of pine litter when doing the monthly complete cleanout of the litter boxes. All the old litter was put in an old litter bag to go out with the trash.
-
fertilizer (existing) - fertilized this week, comes in plastic
Plastic waste to throw out during week 4+:
I’ll do a final roundup tomorrow before tossing everything into the recycling bin (that can be recycled) or trash.
2 Likes
Plastic free July was not plastic free for us in the end but we did make some great sustainable changes:
- no more shampoo, conditioner or body wash in plastic bottles
- no more plastic wrap when I dye my hair
- no more disposable pads or tampons
- we haven’t used a disposable nappy for two weeks!
The grocery shop is an ongoing struggle. I am not happy with what we are consuming but the alternatives are vastly less convenient. It’s a struggle with time and energy and enthusiasm as well as costs. At this point I think we will tackle one item at a time and aim to make the best choice that we can when convenience dictates that some plastic will be purchased.
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I’ve mostly managed to find bulk options for all my regular purchases.
I think I’m going back to buying big packs of toilet paper until my housemate moves out, though. Then I’ll go to the single rolls at my zero waste store. We’ve been working through a pack of recycled paper that is not pleasant on my mid-40s bum, heh.
It’s become second nature to bring extra containers - that alone is a win in my book.
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We have kept up the cloth nappies which is a huge win.
Plastic wrapped fruit and vegetables have made a come back. Particularly as we’ve had people staying with us. My in-laws gave us a heap of home grown vegetables which is awesome but they put them in disposable plastic bags? They are doing really kind things for us by bringing us homegrown produce and shopping for us, so I just feel ungrateful saying something.
I have started putting our reusable produce bags in the grocery bags so if someone is over and ducks to the shops with our bags, they have produce bags with them. Then it’s their choice to use them or not.
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