Name: yaga & Trev

Week: 1

Personal Info:
We are a couple living in the city of Zurich [in Switzerland], in a 30sqm one room flat. Trev is a PHD student and yaga works as a teacher 3 days a week. we mostly take stuff from home to have as lunch at work.

Total items: ~25

Total weight:

Items: Recyclable
2 juice Pet bottles

PET bottles are the only plastic item that is officially collected for recycling in Switzerland.

Items: Nonrecyclable
3 Milkbottles
2 bags from pasta and such
1 container for olives
1 envelope with plastic pouch glued on
1 broken USB cable
wrappings from tofu, fabric color and choccolate
bits and pieces like bottletops, winecorks, plastic-covered paper from the back of stickers.
plastic parcel filling

What items can I replace with plastic free or less plastic alternatives?
We’re looking into buying milk from a farm where they fill up the bottles that you bring –> glass

We are trying to find an alternative to drinking orange juice in the morning, since that’s our main reason for the PET.

We will start buying pasta and rice in paper bags or at a place where you can bring your own containers to fill (not easy in Switzerland, since buying in bulk isn’t really known here)

Next time we need a new motherboard we’ll pick it up from the store instead of having it sent. ;o)

We will reuse the olive containers from the supermarket (it’s fill your own).

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic free alternative doesn’t exist?
We might give a non-PET-life a go.

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
IT stuff.

What lifestyle change(s) might be necessary to reduce my plastic consumption?
We will have to be a bit more inventive and flexible with buying food. It is convenient to buy everything you need at the supermarket across the street, but it is definitely worth taking the detour to the organic store or other specialists.

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?
Trev is checking out the farm today and yaga will go and buy milk in a glass bottle at the organic store so we’ll have a container to reuse if it works out.

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?
Making little experiments like this one is a great way to help analize our consumption habits and braking them down to manageable and even enjoyable little projects. The fact that we work together is ever so precious. We can discuss, brainstorm, motivate each other and share the list of to-do’s. :o)