PENCINTA ALAM JUNE 2017
GREEN LIVING COLUMNTHE HIVE BULK FOODS SHOP VISIT AND OTHER ZERO-WASTE TIPS
By Wong Ee Lynn
(wongeelynn@yahoo.com / gl.mnselangor@yahoo.com)
Hidden away in a tidy and welcoming house
in Jalan Telawi 9, Bangsar, is The Hive Bulk Foods, a cooperative that works
with local organic farmers and the Orang Asli community. It offers organic
groceries, packaging-free grains, cereals and seeds in bulk (customers bring
their own jars and containers) and sustainable, low-waste products including
personal care products and household cleaning products.
Set up by zero-waste blogger and activist
Claire Sancelot, The Hive Bulk Foods carries items that are not easily
available in Malaysia such as shampoo bars (do away with the plastic pump
bottles and extra fuel miles needed to transport them!), compostable bamboo
toothbrushes (since conventional plastic toothbrushes are NOT recyclable and
should not be put into the recycling bins!), washable and reusable sanitary
pads, reusable stainless steel straws and travel-sized cutleries to replace
disposable utensils.
From the food section, customers are able
to purchase packaging-free spices, dehydrated fruits, nuts, cereal, granola,
rice, cacao nibs, coffee grounds, rolled oats, grains, herbal teas, Himalayan
salt, and many varieties of organic flour, among others.
Shops such as The Hive Bulk Foods offer
consumers more sustainable options to conventional groceries and goods. From a
social justice point of view, The Hive empowers local organic farmers and
producers, including the Orang Asli communities, and contributes to the local
economy while cutting down on the fuel miles of transporting organic products
from distant places.
Some of the products may appear
expensive. However, one must take into account the fact that conventional goods
and industries are often heavily subsidized and therefore cheaper, and
consumers do not have to bear the cradle-to-grave costs of producing, using and
disposing of conventional products such as plastic bags and disposable diapers.
If the public had to pay for the cost of
cleaning up waterways, reforesting degraded land, rehabilitating wildlife and
building and maintaining landfills, people would change their minds very
quickly about going for the more convenient but more damaging options! Also, in
the long run, reusable items such as tiffin carriers, handkerchiefs, cloth
kitchen towels, cloth diapers and reusable cloth sanitary pads will serve you
better than single-use products and save you money.
The Hive Bulk Foods’ official website is www.thehivebulkfoods.com and
their Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/thehivebulkfoods/.
The
shop is located at 16, Telawi 9, Bangsar and is
open from 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. from Mondays to Saturdays. They are closed on Sundays.
Here
are ways we can all make zero-waste adjustments to our lives whether or not we
live near a cool cooperative like The Hive Bulk Foods:
1. Determine
what it is that you are disposing the most of. Those items should be your
priority. Therefore, you should be more concerned over the plastic-and-foil
coffee pods and disposable diapers that you discard daily, than about
purchasing a bamboo bicycle, organic cotton bedsheets, or item of furniture
that is used for decades.
2. Replace
these items that you most frequently dispose of with the washable and reusable alternatives.
To make the habit of using washable and reusable items work for you, you may
find that you will need to purchase or make enough of the reusable item, and
keep enough of it in places where they are most needed. Therefore, keep plenty
of kitchen rags and towels in the kitchen, and have enough handkerchiefs, cloth
sanitary pads and cloth diapers to last you at least a week. These items do not
take up much space in the washing machine or washbasin and soon become just as
convenient as using disposables, once you get in the habit of using them daily.
Besides, tissue paper, wet wipes, paper towels, disposable diapers and
disposable sanitary pads all require a lot of water, resources and fuel to produce,
package and transport to you and deal with once they are disposed of. Having to
wash reusable items is therefore still less wasteful and damaging to the
environment than using disposable items.
3. Replace
3-in-1 beverage mixes (generally, coffee, tea and breakfast beverages) with
loose tea leaves, herbal tea mixes or coffee grounds, preferably organic and
fairtrade / UTZ-certified. Those plastic-and-foil sachets that beverage mixes
come in cannot be recycled and very soon adds up. Get in the habit of making
and mixing your own drinks instead of relying on the convenient but unhealthy,
wasteful and environmentally-damaging habit of buying pre-mixed drinks in
plastic sachets.
4. If
you are using contact lenses, consider switching to glasses or opting for
corrective eye surgery. Using contact lenses requires you to purchase lenses,
cleaning solutions and disinfectants that come in a lot of packaging.
5. If
there are no packaging-free shopping options where you live, buy items that you
use the most of in bulk and in the largest size packaging available. Opt for
packaging that is recyclable or reusable, for example, pet food in large lidded
pails that can be used for other purposes, or laundry detergent powder in large
buckets that can be refilled with loose soap powder in refill packs.
6. Bring
your reusable shopping bags, handkerchief, beverage bottle and food container
with you whenever you leave the house. Keep a few extras in your bag or car
just in case.
7. If
you are in the habit of using disposable wet wipes, consider making your own
reusable ones here: http://mnsgreenliving.blogspot.my/2015/06/greener-alternatives-to-wet-wipes.html
8. Opt
to dine in rather than take away your food to reduce packaging. When purchasing
drinks in paper or plastic cups, request for ‘no lid and no straw’ to cut down
on plastic waste.
9. Store
food in lidded jars and containers, rather than use clingfilm and kitchen foil.
Some websites recommend beeswax cloth reusable ‘clingwrap’ and cloth snack
bags. Do go with the option that is the most convenient and practical for you.
It would also make sense for you to use the containers and empty jars that you
already have, rather than buy something new.
10. In
the bathroom, use a face flannel rather than makeup remover wipes and cotton
balls, and exfoliate yourself with a pumice stone or salt or sugar scrub
instead of commercial cleansers containing microbeads.
