living lightly in ireland

Six Weeks to Zero Waste – Covid 19 Version

Becoming a Zero Waster can seem like a daunting task but breaking it down into steps and tackling just a few a week can get you where you want to be relatively painlessly. Here is a short list of steps inspired by my own journey towards Zero Waste. I’ve tailored it to suit the strange times we’re in at the moment as some zero waste steps aren’t currently available.

Every Zero Waster’s list will be different so don’t take this as gospel; it’s just meant as a guide. If you really don’t want to do one of the steps that’s cool, everyone’s journey is different, don’t worry and carry on!

And of course by Zero Waste, we really mean low-waste. The only way to create zero waste is to eat, wear and use only locally grown, harvested compostable items made with solar or wind energy.

Zero / Low Waste Snacks

So I have the dinners and lunches down to as little waste as possible. Don’t mention breakfast, we’re still very high waste in that department and will probably remain so until a bulk-buy store opens up nearby or my kids eating habits change. So I’m skipping onto zero-waste snacks, which are particularly pertinent in households with kids returning to school. I appreciate that some suggestions here include nuts and so won’t be suitable for school, but they might suit for that hunger gap between home time and dinner.

Protected: My Experience of Eco Period Products

Sustainable Ethical Period Products 2026.

In light of a recent decision in Ireland to ban an advertisement for tampons that used the phrase ‘you gotta get ’em up there girls’, I thought it apt to do a article on sustainable ethic

Lift Sharing / Car Pooling Platforms
When you’re less concerned about driving somewhere than you are about getting there you might consider car pooling or lift sharing. Here are a few websites that facilitate this in Ireland, albeit on a limited basis if my research is accurate.

Getthere.ie, mentioned above, has a lift sharing option on it’s website

Carpool.com is a free and open platform where people seeking to share car journeys can connect. Those driving can upload their journey and those seeks to travel can upload a request. The platform charges for each post, unless it’s for a once-off event. Those sharing a journey can make their own arrangements on how to split travel expenses. I spotted two journeys in Ireland, proof of some forward-thinking citizens in this country!

Liftshare is 20 year-old ride sharing platform based in Norwich in the UK and showing lifts in Ireland. Joining the platform is a free and when you’re listing a journey it gives you a suggested contribution per passenger, which you can adjust.

al menstrual products. Afterall the best reaction to censorship is to keep talking about the issue! Please share this article if you agree.

When it comes to sustainable ethical period products we’re talking reusable menstrual cups, reusable cloth sanitary pads (csps), reusable period pants and plastic-free (often organic) tampons and pads.

Sustainable Business; Makers 2026

This is the last in my series on Sustainable Business. Of course if I find more info for other sectors I’ll draft a new one, but for now I’m done with this segment. To date I’ve written on

Please share these articles with businesses that you think might be receptive to making more sustainable changes. It’s only by supporting businesses that share our values and nudging others that we’ll create the world we want. (Of course political pressure matters too but that’s a different article)