HOW TO REDUCE YOUR FOOTPRINT AT HOME

In the middle of 2018 the awareness of global warming took a new corner with Greta Thunberg. Her speeches made me very emotional and I needed to do something. To start in my own home and look at what we as a family could change was the obvious starting point. The beauty is, we can all do this with minimal effort and a huge outcome-

How did I reduce my rubbish from a 120 litre bin to 1 Litre?

worm farming
composting
recycling absolutely everything
training family members
being more aware when shopping (buy non packaged food or bring your own containers)
buy only what you need

BEFORE

AFTER

watch the worms in action in the video below.

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Equipment you will Need for Worm Farming

a "worm cafe" or worm farm
mine came with a coir brick, which is needed as bedding
a worm blanket or 2 layers of cut to size hessian fabric
once you found the right spot, away from direct sun, assemble the unit. I put a shelf in my shed for more height
find a suitable container to catch the worm tea: I leave my tap open to drain the tea continuously
start collecting food scraps and buy your worms (I bought 4000 online, 1000 per family member is recommended)
I process my scraps in a food processor so that they can eat faster
Sydney is often too hot and the food rots before it is eaten
I freeze leftovers in 500 gram lots, so that nothing ever goes to waste

Equipment you will Need for Composting

a compost bin suitable for your garden or balcony
I bought a tumbler and it works well
I also bought 2 large composting bags for the side of the house. I transfer the compost into the bags once the compost bin is full. We are mostly 3 people in our household and filled the compost bin quite quickly, and it had not decomposed fully yet.
the bags are long and skinny and fit into any small space
depending on your weather conditions, I started using my first compost in Sydney after 4 months

I have had such fun establishing our new routines regarding waste reduction in our home and I am proud of my kids to have taken it on board and that they are sharing the issues with their friends.

Every tiny step counts!

Tips for Training your Household Members

put a BIG note next to the tiny compostable bag
every time your house hold members open the bin, usually to dump everything into it without thinking, they will be reminded of the new rule
if you have bins nearby that are also clearly labelled for paper, soft and hard plastics, bottles, worm farming and composting they will make an effort to seperate their garbage
to my mind if the system is clear and easy and within reach they will all get it quickly and keep recycling!
don't expect them to bring every plastic bottle to a bin in your garden shed or garage, they won't do it-
one family member will have to do the job of transferring everything from small collection bins under the kitchen sink to the appropriate council bins etc
in Sydney, soft plastics can be taken to Woolworths and Coles who collect them for a company called redcycle.net.au
next time you shop for anything plastic, look for the label "made from 100% recycled materials"

Small Seperating Boxes Under the Sink

work on a system first before you tell your household about it
it is best to instruct them once and they can get used to it without changing locations-
it all depends on your spaces: there a brilliant systems on the market where you open a door and 3 bins slide out-
my space is very limited, so I started with small card board boxes under the sink
the notes are stuck on top, for clear visibility
once the boxes are full, I collect soft plastics in a large bag in the shed to go to Woolworths once a week, and the paper goes into the paper council bin

Larger Box for Bigger Items

since bottles and hard plastics are bigger I use a big box under the sink for those
again, I put the sticker in a visible spot
in Sydney council does not pick up soft plastics, therefore the separation of soft and hard plastic is needed

Worm and Compost Buckets

worms don't like citrus, garlic and onion and should only be fed plant-based food leftovers and a little bit of used coffee grounds, it helps their digestion
compost gets the citrus, onion and garlic leftovers and paper towels, tea bags, most of the coffee grounds etc
as this is quite a specific difference for each bucket, they need to be labelled too
if you leave only one bucket on the bench you will have to hand pick the items for the worms, which is a little annoying
due to a lot of fruit flies in Sydney I made up some hessian lids for the buckets, however there are lots of lidded bins on the market
in the hot summer months I keep the worm food scraps in the fridge
and as I mentioned before, I process the worm food in a food processor, which means the worms can eat it more quickly and the food is less likely to rot

Worm and Compost Buckets

worms don't like citrus, garlic and onion and should only be fed plant-based food leftovers and a little bit of used coffee grounds, it helps their digestion
compost gets the citrus, onion and garlic leftovers and paper towels, tea bags, most of the coffee grounds etc
as this is quite a specific difference for each bucket, they need to be labelled too
if you leave only one bucket on the bench you will have to hand pick the items for the worms, which is a little annoying
due to a lot of fruit flies in Sydney I made up some hessian lids for the buckets, however there are lots of lidded bins on the market
in the hot summer months I keep the worm food scraps in the fridge
and as I mentioned before, I process the worm food in a food processor, which means the worms can eat it more quickly and the food is less likely to rot

The Reward

the biggest reward of worm farming and composting is the reduction of waste
the second biggest is the incredible fertiliser
I am finally able to grow my own herbs at home, due to the worm tea they grow incredibly well
I fertilise every plant in my garden with diluted worm tea, ratio 1:10, 1 part worm tea to 10 parts water and all of them explode with happiness!
I fertilise my plants once a week
the compost I use as soil when I am growing new herbs

stralsund

HOW AN AQUARIUM IN GERMANY RAISES AWARENESS

In July 2019 I was sailing with my parents to Stralsund, a town at the baltic coast in North Germany. Due to strong winds we had to postpone our departure to the next port and entertain ourselves in the town rather than at sea. Close to the marina is the OZEANEUM, an amazing aquarium, showcasing mainly sea creatures from the North Sea and The Baltic Sea, and we decided to visit the "Ocean Zoo". Apart from admiring the pretty animals and stunning architecture of the Zoo, one exhibit took my breath away. Scroll down to see the unexpected exhibit-

The Pretty Ones

The Big Pool

The Unexpected One

this exibit sits in the same row at the end of a hall, as if it belonged there, which was the upsetting realisation: it does belong there. It is part of our oceans!
young children were looking and saying to their parents : "but they are bottles not animals, they are not swimming in the ocean" which triggered a conversation with the children to explain how these aliens got into the ocean
I had to control my emotions and was glad it was dark in there
I am very impressed that an aquarium says it like it is, and exibits the reality. I am sure the shock wave it causes for everyone who looks at it will have an impact