My zero waste grocery shopping challenge continues. And you know what, it is beginning to leak over into other parts of my life too. But for now, I’ll just do a grocery shopping update.
We’ve been doing really well. I love the shampoo bar I bought a month ago and my curly hair loves it too. It is not technically soap and it has so many moisturizing ingredients in it that I no longer need to buy conditioner. Inexpensive, long lasting, completely natural, comes wrapped in paper—it’s an all around win.
Waldo and Dickens are just fine with the Okocat pine pellet litter. It seems to last longer than the clay litter we’ve always bought too. So another big win.
The latest obstacle will take some work to figure out. Lip balm. I need to get some soon and I spent a lot of time at the co-op on my last visit looking at my options. Everything comes in plastic tubes. There were two that did not, they were in little aluminum tins, but they both had beeswax in them. Since I am vegan, beeswax made them a no go.
So I am wondering if just plain cocoa butter (food grade) would liquify in my pocket or would it just get a little mushy? I am okay with mushy. The melt factor is why lip balms all have wax in them. The one I currently use that I will need to give up on has candelilla wax which comes from a plant. I checked online and can buy candelilla wax if I need to. But I am going to first try melting some cocoa butter with a little coconut oil and see if maybe I can get away without using any wax at all. I will let you know.
Our other conundrum is happening with pasta. We love buckwheat noodles and they are all in plastic packaging. We are going to venture over to a nearby Asian market in the next week or two to see if they might have some non-plastic encased options. If they do not, we will need to decide whether we give up on buckwheat noodles or learn to make our own. We can buy elbow noodles and spiral noodles in bulk without packaging. And we can buy spaghetti, lasagna and brown rice noodles in a box so we just have to go in search of buckwheat noodles. Of all the silly things.
We have changed our kitchen trash bags to compostable plastic. The bags come in a box.
James and I are fans of sriracha sauce and while our co-op carries a couple different brands, they are all in plastic. Granted, all of the plastic bottles are recyclable, but as this zero waste thing has progressed, I would like to avoid as much plastic as possible even if I can recycle it. So we are considering trying some hot sauce in glass from the salsa aisle, or give making our own a try. We have not yet decided.
Something else we are mulling over: ketchup. All the ketchup comes in plastic and we are considering whether it would be more economical and earth friendly to make our own. We would have to buy the tomatoes and sauce in cans this time of year so I am not certain how it might all balance out. Must think about that some more.
Looking ahead to a time when the snow has melted and the world is growing again, we decided to join a CSA. Sin Fronteras is a little different than the usual CSAs around here. The produce has a Latin flare. We will be getting jalapeno, poblano, and other peppers, cilantro and some other herbs and spices I have never heard of in addition to the standard CSA staples. They also have add ons that include 40 pounds of tomatoes for canning, salsa ingredients, pinto beans, black beans, and traditionally made corn tortillas. We opted for the black and pinto beans and the tortillas.
While the produce will not start until June, the tortilla delivery already has. These are the best tortillas I have had since leaving California more than 20 years ago. They are wrapped in paper and when James picks them up Saturday mornings they were still warm. We get a dozen every week and they do both yellow and blue corn.
I recently found out some exciting news. A new shop called Tare Market is opening a few blocks away from me in April. Tare Market is a zero waste store. Not only will the store be selling zero waste products, but they also strive for zero waste business practices. I will be biking over to check them out when they open.
And, according to Smithsonian Magazine zero waste grocery stores are becoming a trend. They even suggest that conventional retailers will soon be picking up on this trend and offering zero waste aisles. Of course an entire zero waste store is ideal, but an aisle is a foothold that will bring more awareness. After all, I remember when organic was a tiny aisle at conventional grocery stores and now I can go to the the small store a couple blocks from my house and find organic integrated into the regular food selections.
Zero waste is popping up all over the place!
Really great thing to aim for.. will have to try to follow your example
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Thanks butimbeautiful! It’s presenting some interesting challenges that’s for sure.
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Congratulations on your success so far. You seem to have made a lot of progress. The tortillas that you describe sound very good. I have not had good ones in a while.
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Thanks Brian Joseph! The tortillas are amazing. They are traditionally made. The corn has been nixtamalized and my csa farmer makes the tortillas by hand. They are amazing.
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I keep thinking about your first post on this. Keep them coming because it helps us all.
Did I tell you that a year or so ago we started buying bamboo toilet paper that comes wrapped in paper and you can buy by the carton. It’s not the cheapest but it’s not overly expensive either, and it’s does a decent job. The company is delicately called Who gives a crap!
I have recently bought a pack of sustainable biodegradable bamboo handled toothbrushes – they come in recycled cardboard too, but the bristles aren’t fully/easily biodegradable https://www.floraandfauna.com.au/the-environmental-toothbrush-bamboo-toothbrush-medium-bristle/
So we are trying to do our little bit but don’t spend inordinate time on the issue so hearing about your research and experiences helps us slowly improve our behaviour.
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You did not tell me about your bamboo toilet paper. I looked at buying from Who gives a crap but there are so many rolls in a case and I have no place to keep them all. Since I can buy Bim Bam Boo where I shop, I decided to get that even though I love the Who gives a crap name so much!
I know bamboo toothbrushes exist but have not seen any here so I am excited that you have some. What do you think of them? I believe the zero waste store that is opening in April will be selling them.
I am glad you find my posts helpful!
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Thanks Stefanie. Yes they do come in a huge box which we currently store in the laundry under our recycling tub. The brand name is great isn’t it.
The toothbrushes are good though it’s early days yet.
Anyhow, keep the posts coming!
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Hi Stefanie! Your dedication to the Zero Waste lifestyle and commitment to helping others reduce their impact is incredible. Wanted to say thank you for supporting Bim Bam Boo. As a locally-based toilet paper company, we are honored to have your loyalty…and appreciate the shoutout. Let the good times unroll!
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Hi Zoe! Thank you! And thank you for your great product. I love that I can reduce my waste and support a local company at the same time 🙂
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I really admire you.
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Gosh wonderer, thanks 🙂
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I love your updates. I am not trying as hard as I should, but the one thing I got for lip balm is karité butter in a tiny tin. It’s not a brand so I guess you wouldn’t get it in the US, and sending it overseas in plastic bubble wrap somehow defeats the purpose. But I guess you should inquire about karité options where you live.
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smithereens, thanks! I am glad you like the updates! Yes, we have karité butter here but we call it shea butter. It comes in big tubs to use and a body mosturizer. I haven’t seen it in small tins. Does yours have just the butter and no wax or other additives? I might have to consider getting a big tub and put some in a small tin in my bag.
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I’m trying to avoid buying plastic wrapped stuff when possible. I really must see if I can get a shampoo bar as it sounds great and would mean two fewer plastic bottles although they are supposedly recyclable.
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That’s fantastic that you are trying to avoid plastic wrapped stuff! It can be really challenging. Good luck finding shampoo bars! I really like them. And it lasts a long time.
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There are vegan options for lip balm in tiny tins: don’t give up!
https://seawitchbotanicals.com/products/lipcare-vegan-lip-balm
But, yes, you can also make your own. (Those tiny tins are very useful too: more so than other containers that I intend to reuse but often cannot find a good use for.) Have you discovered the books for DIY “beauty products”? Many and varied.
The buckwheat noodles you like, the Soba brand? If so, they can be purchased in a small box in bulk, maybe 10 pounds (I can’t recall exactly), so that you only have the outer cardboard box and a big soft plastic wrap around the noodles for waste, rather than individual packaging (no more packaging than you’re using when buying the noodles you’re already buying in bulk, except that you would eat the whole box). Bonus: case purchasing is often a smaller quantity than you think, and is always more economical. And you eventually eat your way through it all and need more.
Ketchup is super easy to make and you will enjoy it even more! Only thing we found is that even the healthy store-bought one we were buying had a lot more sweetener in it than we thought (fruit juice based, but still) so we have to sweeten it more than we thought to “match” that. Good thing is that, if you’re making it yourself, you can do this on a meal-by-meal basis if you make it unsweetened to start. And, of course, you can control your sweetener.
I’ve been told that making hot sauce is so easy that nobody should be buying it *laughs*, but I’ve never tried it myself and we purchase from a family who reuses their glass packaging, so I haven’t really been motivated to take it further. If you try it, I’d love to hear about it.
It’s great you’re posting about this. When I was going through this, it felt like such a lonely process. Because shopping in North America is all about disposibility.
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Buried, oh I love the name of that company! Maybe the zero waste store will have them or something similar. I will just have to make do until April when they open.
I have not discovered the DIY books. I have been using Google. Do you have a title you could recommend?
Yes, we like soba but we also like udon as well. We are not picky. I am glad to hear they can be purchased in a big box. Now I just have to find a place that sells them. Really have to get over to the nearby Asian market. I bet they will have them.
That’s good to hear about the ketchup. Do you use canned tomatoes to make yours?
I will let you know what happens if we make our own hot sauce. We have not made the attempt yet.
Thanks for all the tips! You are right about shopping in North America, but it seems there is a small up swell of people who are interested in cutting waste. I’m hoping it keeps growing!
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It is an awesome name, I agree!
One book that I have found rather useful is Undiet, although only one chapter is about this specifically. Here’s her site, and it looks like many of the recipes are there too:
https://www.meghantelpner.com/blog/20-best-natural-beauty-care-recipes/
But I was amazed how many books are available at the library now. It’s definitely worth a browse. Many of the recipes seem similar but sometimes just one in a particular book catches my eye.
You don’t have to find a store that sells that brand to order by the case if that idea appeals to you. You only need to learn which distributors supply that brand and, then, ask the store to order for you the next time they place an order with that distributor. They may require payment in advance if you aren’t a regular customer, but unless the store is very tiny (storage, cash-flow issues), they will be pleased to have the no-nonsense sale.
We do use canned or jarred tomatoes (usually Eden, No Salt) because it’s a limited growing season here and we have very little storage.
There is a zero-waste store that has opened here recently too, but I’m very picky, not only concerned about the landfill but also workers’ rights and ingredient quality and animal byproducts and all that kind of thing, and often an item which is easy to distribute in bulk doesn’t suit me on one of those other fronts.
There does seem to be a gradual awareness of different priorities though. Nobody looks at me funny when I take in a container for my baked goods anymore.
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Thanks for all the tips! We made our own ketchup yesterday and it was fantastic! So no more plastic ketchup containers. That feels pretty good. I’m glad to know you are going about your daily life working to reduce waste as well. The more of use the better!
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Yay: that’s awesome! And convenient that you also LOVE the taste! We just learned that one of the local farmers we purchase from in-season, who has very few veggies this time of year (potatoes, carrots, onions) has 5lb bags of frozen tomatoes for sale, so we’re making our own tomato sauce now too (also more economical and it makes me wonder how many other veggies we might be able to buy that way now that we know some farmers do this). But we have a VERY tiny freezer, so this will take planning!
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Yes, it has turned out to be so easy. And James who thinks ketchup is the fifth food group likes it too and has actually started using less since he has to make it. Instead he/we are experimenting with more spices and flavorings so it’s been a win. 🙂 Fantastic you have that farmer as a resource and are now making your own tomato sauce! You can always can your sauce so you can store it on a shelf instead of in the freezer. That will let you make bigger batches too. Canning is super easy especially in large batches. Which reminds me, I need to get a new rubber ring for our pressure cooker so we are ready to can this summer 🙂
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Zero waste store! What a concept! I am hoping for something like that here. We have a good co-op but it doesn’t carry everything, so we are doing the best we can. Still have a long way to go! I am definitely aware of all the plastic in and on… everything!
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Seems like your area would be a great place for a zero waste store. I hope one comes your way soon.
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