Living waste free, could you do it? Newmummakim blogger is on the path to saying no to plastic all together. I checked in with her to get tips for a greener household. What motivated you? While the 'War on Waste' ABC show was an eye opener, I was aware of the plastic waste epidemic prior to the show. I started early last year when I took notice of the amount of rubbish I was passing when taking my dog for morning walks or runs. The local creek was chock full of plastic bags, lids, straws and coffee cups, it was really upsetting. I decided to start making better use of my walks by picking up the rubbish, to date I’ve collected over 50kgs of litter and hope to inspire others to do the same thing with #seeitpickitup. This year I’ve decided to do more and made it a goal to make our house zero waste by December. We’re halfway through the year now and doing really well with getting our weekly rubbish bin down to just 1 bag each week but we still have lots of improvements to make and look forward to reaching the goal. Where did you get the idea? It wasn’t just the rubbish I was picking up when walking the dog, it also stemmed from my #nospend2017 campaign when I realised I spent nearly $6,000 on fast fashion last year. Fast fashion has a major impact on landfill waste because not everything that gets donated to charity can be used - 30% goes to landfill and costs charities millions of dollars to dispose of our crap. I imposed a ban on myself to stop spending money on mindless non-necessities in 2017 and decided to extend that to saying no to plastic too. Your Top Tips? Set up the kitchen cupboard with a smaller landfill bin and larger recycling bin. It’s a great visual to help you and family members to reduce the amount of waste being thrown away and think more carefully about what can be reused or recycled. Recycling isn’t the best step in reducing waste. Its best to first refuse, reuse, repurpose and reduce before recycling (although recycling is far better than throwing things away) Set up a box in the kitchen or pantry for soft plastics to put in a Redcycle bin, things like chip packets, bread bags etc. (head here for what constitutes soft plastics and where your nearest drop-off point is)  or box them up and send to Terracycle who turn them into affordable green products) Keep a lidded container on the bench or in the fridge for organic food scraps and put them in the green waste bin if you have one, or start your own compost bin for the garden. Use organic food scraps to easily make your own vegetable stock. Shop at a local greengrocer with your own reusable bags. It supports small business, local farmers, and avoids the temptation to buy products wrapped in plastic when shopping at the major grocery stores. Take your own containers to put deli meats, cheese and usual meats into. Ask the store person to tare the container on their scales first and ask them not to use plastic. Take your own containers when getting take-away food. Use a keep cup for your daily coffee (Many cafes are now offering discounts to people bringing their own cups. Head here for cafes in your area and support those who are doing the right thing.) Join a local zero waste facebook group for more tips and help on reducing your impact. I’m in Zero Waste Adelaide Refuse to use plastic! When there's a party, gathering at the office etc take your own cutlery, plates and cups. Take your own bag. You’ll feel silly at first because people question what you’re doing but it's only because they’re not comfortable challenging the status quo. You’ll soon get used to saying no and who knows, maybe you’ll inspire others to say no to plastic too. How's it going? The thing I find the hardest is getting others on board. As in, when I’m shopping not having store people look at me as if I’m from another planet when I ask them not to use plastic for my products. Also the lack of bulk food stores in Adelaide can make it an expensive process when first starting out. Its been a long process finding the stores that stock what I need each week and happy to assist with my requests of no plastic. We’re well on our way to zero waste though and I’m confident we’ll reach our zero waste goal before the end of the year. For more from Newmummakim follow her on Facebook and Instagram Or read more about her charge for a greener household here.