1% Better SOLID Staff - Kim
Finance manager Kim has been on a mission to reduce waste across all aspects of her, and her family’s, lives. Her children certainly weren’t sure about the changes to begin with but now even the youngest members of the family are on board. We think Kim is an exemplary example of how we can all do more. She has done extensive research into eco-products on the market to discover what works best for her, allowing the rest of us the opportunity to try her most loved items without too many trials and tribulations.
Kim does admit that the area that she lives in has allowed for so many changes. With access to some fantastic facilities, she has been able to give up things that others won’t be able to manage so easily. However, our 1% Better Every Day Mission makes us think ‘how can I be better today that I was yesterday?’ If you can implement just one or two of the steps that Kim has managed, then you are certainly heading in the right direction.
One of Kim’s biggest changes has been to give up the family’s second car. Living in the rural area that we do, this is no easy feat. The big family car was sold and the family maintain and run a smaller vehicle to help with every day life. Kim has, however, signed up to pay a monthly subscription with a local community car club – Hooky Car Club – which has a fleet of electric and hybrid cars that can be hired whenever Kim’s family need an additional or bigger car.
Like Iryna, Kim shops in ‘Nothing but Footprints’ in Banbury. Featured in our case study on Iryna, the store stocks an extensive range of loose items that you can use to refill your own jars and cannisters. The range includes dried food goods, cleaning products, shampoos and conditioners and herbs and spices, amongst a lot of other things! For the items not sold, such as meat or deli items, Kim takes her own Tupperware to the supermarket so to not acquire excess packaging.
This ethos of reducing packaging continues with personal care goods too, although the research here has been trickier! Kim’s children couldn’t stand the toothpaste tablets that were trailed, fortunately Co-op have begun stocking toothpaste in recyclable metal tubes that have been adopted as a middle ground. Other items are sourced from a range of locations– Lush’s range of shampoo and conditioner bars are fantastic, Kim purchases her make up from All Earth Material Cosmetics and makes her own room sprays, candles body lotions and scrubs using recipes from One Essential Community. Of course, there have definitely been some moments that no one would want to relive – trying out handmade deodorants in sustainable packaging with low air miles made for some smelly days until they found the right product for them!
Kim is lucky to have a local scheme in her village that provides dedicated recycling points to recycle items not collected roadside, such as chocolate and sweet wrappers, blister packs and bread wraps. She does recommend ‘Recycle Now’ for information on where to recycle more unusual items and has discovered the company Wyatt and Jack who recycle paddling pools and other plastics. All of Kim’s endeavours means she has got her household waste down to just half a bin bag a week, that’s very impressive for a family of four.
Going forward Kim’s next steps include reusing as much as she can. She has plans to repurpose things at home once they have served their purpose and upcycle things from her family farm that are now unused and unloved. Kim remains realistic about this goal, recognising that upcycling is a lot more time consuming than her past endeavours. We look forward to hearing how she gets on!