A Brilliant Way To Save Waste And Feed People

Expect nothing.

Live frugally on surprise.

– Alice Walker

(thanks to www.quotes-inspirational.com)

This great app joins people wanting food with people with food to spare.

Foodprint is a brilliant new waste-saving app just launched in NZ. 

According to founder Michal Garvey New Zealand cafés, restaurants and supermarkets throw out 47,678 tonnes of food annually and the app provides a practical, easy-to-use solution. 

The app redirects food in your area that would otherwise be wasted and offers it at a reduced price. 

Eco-diary: my year of buying second-hand

One month on, I’m amazed at how much stuff I seem to accumulate. Of course it’s  (mostly) recycled and I’m saving a shed-load of money, but the consumer in me is still alive and well and living in Brighton.

Are all plants second-hand?

I popped down to the local Hanover seed swap to see what I could get for the garden. I’ve been planting along a perimeter fence since we moved here four years ago and there are always a few gaps to fill. Sometimes because a plant’s died, which is understandable since the soil is about 2” deep in some parts. 

The kind man at the garden centre advised alpine plants and they’re pretty good at clinging to whatever miserable quantities of soil they can find. They may be little but I have big hopes for them. 

Cost: £1 and £1.50, total £2.50

Cost new: £7.00

Saving: £5.50

Total saved since April: £274.73

A popular story from my Facebook page this week:

Here’s a great use for any spare shipping containers you might have:

Is there such a thing as a plant that isn’t second-hand?  Nature is all around us, and it is constantly recycling one material into another. The new Circular Economy aims to do the same. 

Compost update

I’m starting to see green shoots! Maybe that’s the wrong analogy, but yesterday I dug around with my garden fork and it was looking quite earthy underneath. 

I’ve added a layer of paper shreds from my shredder, which is great because I never know what to do with these. I don’t want them flying around my garbage bin and I don’t like putting them in plastic bags. So I’ve been putting them in compostable bags, but the bags are way too big.

And I’ve found a supply of fresh grass from another part of the garden. When I pull that up it’s win-win – the other garden looks better and my compost heap gets healthier. 

I am amazed how much vegetation we collect on a weekly basis. It is so natural and fulfilling to return these to the Earth.

That’s it for now – I’m off to grab a fork and turn what will hopefully one day become my first batch of genuine Brighton, home-grown compost.