It’s the final day of a fantastic week, of going completely zero waste, and what a journey it has been! I’ve learnt so much about the many uses for fruit and vegetable scraps, and have successfully kept every last bit of my food from going into the bin. A big thank you to everyone who got involved in Zero Waste Week this year, not only for keeping me motivated in continuing my own pledge, but also for the contribution you’ve made to tackling waste as a whole. Even the smallest attempt you make to cut waste is a success for us all 🙂

Yesterday I admitted that throughout the week, a few items had stumped me; including a vine tomato stalk, garlic and onion skins, and a knobbly courgette end. I received some fantastic comments on the post with great ideas, and on Twitter the fabulous Zero waste Chef suggested freezing scraps until there’s enough to make her Vegetable Broth recipe. But by far my favourite Twitter response, solely for its comedy value, was this idea for using the tomato vine stalk:

Considering I’m petrified of spiders, I’m sure I would end up scaring myself more; though it certainly made me giggle! But thanks to everyone for your suggestions, and for everyone who shared their blog posts and ideas using #zerowasteweek Twitter hashtag; I have enough inspiration to keep me going until next year!

I had thought that a great way to finish off the week would be to build my own mini compost bin; as a way to make use of whatever leftover scraps I hadn’t managed to nibble at during the week. But then I remembered; I’m the lazy green girl! And since this blog isn’t about transforming into a super green living hero overnight, but instead introducing those simple tricks which make green living seem effortless; I decided not to tax myself too much after a week of zero wasting!

So instead, I rode my bike down to the beach – on the beautiful Cornish coast – and relaxed in the sun as a reward for my efforts. looking out toward the stunning natural landscape, I hoped that in some way this weeks actions  might just have helped to conserve one of my favourite views in the world. And it’s this view that will keep me motivated over the next 12 month until next years Zero Waste Week! It’s not the end of my journey just yet….