When I go out the door there are a number of things I keep in my bag, standard. You might recognize this. When you try to live a zero waste lifestyle the items you keep in your bag are essential, you need them in tricky, potentially wasteful situations. Since a while I’ve added a new item to this list of things I keep in my bag: reusable cutlery. It’s the thing you need when you want to avoid disposable cutlery.
My Cotton Bag
I have one standard cotton bag I always take with me, it’s my favorite bag. Besides the zero waste items that I listed in the ‘What’s in my bag?’-post I also carry my phone, ear plugs, wallet and in winter a lip balm. Ah, and not to forget, my personal alarm for when I need to go out alone. It’s insane that that’s necessary but violence against woman is normal in our society and so I need it. My dad once bought it for me and I kept it ever since.
Summer
In summer the list gets more extensive. I keep sunscreen and sunglasses. I am trying to train my eyes to become more used to sun, but some days I get a headache from the sun and so sunglasses are essential. The sunscreen is as well, because studies show that if you protect yourself you avoid cancer and your skin stays healthy for a lot longer. But then! In summer there is also another item I now add: reusable cutlery! Summer is the festival, beach, terrace and food truck season and so I need them too. Food!
Reusable Cutlery
By always having a set of reusable cutlery by hand I can easily refuse the disposables. Disposables are almost always served at festivals or food trucks and I hate that, it is used only once. Disposable cutlery is useless to me personally. If I am prepared, I don’t need them at all. In the beginning I bought a set of bamboo cutlery to carry with me at all times, but buying new isn’t the most sustainable option (I wish I knew then). If you use the things you already have you don’t need to buy anything new. That is the most sustainable option. You can also easily thrift cutlery, which I did for our apartment.
How do you avoid disposable cutlery?
Yours sincerely,
Romee
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Wat een goed plan, om altijd zo’n bestek mee te nemen!
Ja, ik ben er erg blij mee!
Ik heb ook altijd een setje eetstokjes bij 🙂 In Japan geven ze in heel veel restaurants wegwerp-eetstokjes erbij. Als je dan zelf een setje niet-wegwerpeetstokjes bij hebt, vinden ze dat overal echt heel goed! In Japan wordt er nog veel meer dan in Nederland gebruik gemaakt van plastic verpakkingsmateriaal en wegwerpspul.
Ik zit er inderdaad ook over na te denken om stokjes aan het setje toe te voegen! I love sushi 🍙!