Empty bins, full recyling - does anyone else have this problem??

Nick and I have been having this discussion lately at home. You see, we only throw out probably one small kitchen-bin full of rubbish once a week. However, we seem to end up with a huge cardboard-box full of recycling multiple times per fortnight.

I don’t know how any household could fill one of those things with rubbish per week!! We recycle all we can, compost our food scraps (and not a few teabags…) so as to do our bit for recycling and reducing landfill. Not to mention sweet, sweet compost!

Now, our normal wheelie bin is collected once a week, but our recycling bin is collected only once a fortnight. Does anyone else wish these two things were reversed?

Paper receipts - why?

I recounted my amusing shopping experience yesterday, but when I was up there another thought crossed my mind. Now, I know a lot of people keep their receipts to track their spending, and I tend to take mine when I do a big grocery shop - but when I buy something little, (such as yesterday, when I needed to buy a new collar for Gob and a little spray bottle for watering my mushrooms), I either tell the cashier that I don’t want the receipt, or end up throwing it away.

As I watched yet another piece of paper being thrown away by a cashier yesterday, it occurred to  me - why don’t we have a choice in whether we get a receipt printed or not? Honestly, most shops scan everything through a computer for their records, so shouldn’t I be able to say “no thanks, save the paper”?

I use an EFTPOS machine at work, but as I’m charging for a service, rather than a product, there is nothing to scan, and I write out a receipt by hand for our records, as well as printing the EFTPOS receipt. It prints automatically, and as far as I know there is nothing I can do to stop it. Perhaps someone could include this option in the next generation of EFTPOS machines?

Or maybe it’s already there and I don’t know about it. Either way, I think it’s a darned good idea.

New Challenge - no bags

So, I know many of you probably already do this religiously, but I’ve set myself a challenge - as of today - to not accept a bag from a store for a month.

Now, I’m usually pretty good about this - but I will forget my green bags sometimes and just sigh to myself. So, this challenge is aimed at keeping me honest, and building the habit of carrying my own bags with me.

Anyone who is in the same position as me and would like to join in - leave a comment below!

Wish me luck!