Want to know how to get me spurting flames at a dinner party? Tell me that the small things we as everyday people do can’t make a difference to the planet. Oh, where do I start? I know: food wastage. It’s the biggest environmental concern today (and a bigger polluter than cars or industry) and the biggest contributors to food wastage are consumers. Us. Not “the government” or “someone else”. Us. Everyday people.
I could go on. But I won’t get myself started. Instead I’m going to hand over the floor to my friends and family who I’ve co-opted to share their funny little ways of doing stuff that saves resources in one way or another and that add up. I’ve kicked things off with a few of my own…
I fix a broken fly with a key ring. I thread a ring from a keyring through the zip tab and then hook it over the button to keep it from falling down. I then button up as normal.
I use half the amount of laundry liquid manufacturers say you should. CSIRO did a study that found using 50 per cent of a scoop is just as effective as using a full one.
I do the same with dishwashing liquid. I use my blender for this. After making a smoothie I place a tiny drop of dish liquid in the carrier with hot water and blitz for a second or two. It produces a turbo foam that I then use to wash a load of dirty dishes.
I dry my ziplock bags on my kitchen window. I get about a dozen wears out of a ziplock bag by washing them and reusing. They’re a bugger to dry, however. But I have a trick: I smack them onto a window. They stick 
and dry, then drop off when ready to reuse.
I have competitions with myself about how far I can stretch a meat dish. You can check out my post yesterday on this. Sustainable Table‘s co-founder, Cassie Duncan, does the same: “I’ll cook a lamb shoulder, eat it, then make souvlakis with