Village Raw - ISSUE 3

SUSTAINABLE VILLAGE
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LIVING LOW WASTE
Words by Emma Ross. Photo by Yasmin Anne Photography.
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I’m so excited to be Village Raw’s sustainability columnist.
I’m a mother of two leading a (practically) plastic-free
life in Muswell Hill, on a mission to make low-waste living
easy and accessible for every single person. I want
to dispel the myth that reusable items are the domain of
eco-warriors and tree-hugging hippies, or that green living
requires expensive gadgets and hours of extra time. I
want to be just one of the many parents who brings their
child to nursery in cloth nappies; I want to show the financial
savings to be made; the effect that being a more
conscious consumer can have on our mental health; and
I want there to be a whole queue of people lining up with
their containers at the Sainsbury’s deli counter.
For me, my journey (and it really is a journey) started
when I was pregnant with my first child and I received
an email probably longer than any other email I’ve ever
received listing the “newborn essentials”. I was incredulous
that something as small as a baby could require
simply so much stuff – and at what cost, exactly? Then I
attended NCT classes, as some of you reading this might
have done or be doing, and the section on cloth nappies,
quietly shoehorned in at the end, really piqued my curiosity.
Could there be a less wasteful, more resourceful
way of doing this parenting malarkey? One that didn’t involve
specific plastic bath kneeling pads or throwaway
plastic baby bottles?
Flashforward nearly four years and, no, I don’t have
a miniscule “trash jar” of all the rubbish our family creates
in one year; I’m not vegan; and I’m certainly not a
scientist or an environmentalist (these are all wonderful
things, by the way). What I am, though, is very passionate
about leaving this world in a good shape for my children
and carving out a type of parenting that doesn’t
necessarily involve plastic tat (which sticks around forever
on this planet, even if your kid might use it fleetingly).
We produce and use 20 times more plastic today
than we did 50 years ago – how much longer can this go
on? I believe that now is the time for individuals to take
responsibility and to buy in – mentally and physically –
to living a less wasteful lifestyle.
In this column, I’ll be sharing tips and tricks on
leading a sustainable life: from where to find the best
package-free coffee (W Martyn) to shouting about our
wonderful Haringey’s reusable nappy incentive scheme
(they give parents money to spend on nappies!). I’ll be
covering food and drink, grooming, parenting, cleaning
products, travel, entertainment amongst other things,
so join me here, in every issue, to for tips on leading a
more sustainable lifestyle, one compost pile at a time.•
To follow Emma’s blog visit: www.mamalina.co
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