I am totally humbled to post here, and hope some of my ramblings on eco-tips for Gaborone might be useful.
1. Recycling
The buzz is moving toward zero waste, but I get asked most about are recycling eco-tips for Gaborone.
Recycle-it Botswana in Broadhurst Industrial (Tel 3910185). Call for updated info. Green Loop apparently take glass and are looking to expand. Call 72 457 747
2. Organic Waste
Put it in the garden drum. Genius!
Debbie, at Garden Drum Collection (Cell: 71795311) says not meat. Vegetable peelings, fruit left overs, tea leaves (removed from their bags) and coffee grounds. Especially add egg-shells containing calcium which is good for the earth. These all go to a farm with a compost heap for those of you who don’t have your own. Or sprinkle ground egg-shells on your plants.
3. Shopping Bags
This is an obvious one – but not always easy.
We nip to the shops without planning to. Bad bags are like bad shoes. They sit in the cupboard until you finally get rid of them! A bad bag takes forever to fold back into its packet, slides off your shoulder, and is generally annoying. Give them away, and replaced with good ones! I have 3 fold-aways in my handbag, and a lot of baskets from Botswana Craft, they are fab!
Once you’ve done a food shop with a giant basket, and a good cool-bag, you will soon remember to pack them. It is so much easier and quicker to load up at the till; and a sinch to un-load at home. (Think 2 large easy to carry bags instead of 10 plastics!)
4. Jars and Bowls
My Granny used to keep jars, and I tried it. But no matter how carefully I stowed them, there never seemed to be a lid to match the jar. I finally got the perfect system, which might work for you.
I went to Trans Africa cash and carry on Old Lobatse Road, and got a whole load of glass jars of various sizes with interchangeable lids. These have served me well for more than 5 years now!
It is easier to pop a few left-over olives in a little jar, than putting clingfilm over the bowl (My previous go-to.) They are also useful for all sorts of other things such as soup, stew, vinaigrettes and fruit.
I LOVE my assortment of oven-proof glass bowls with lids (also from Trans, though I know stocks are always changing.) They are stackable – so long gone are the precarious cling-film clad towers that toppling out on unsuspecting fridge openers!
They can go in the oven, too. So you can marinate something in the fridge and transfer straight to the oven. I’m all for things that make life easier.
5. House-hold Products
Bonnie Bio (Tel: Michelle Erasmus 72482930) do a 100% biodegradable cling-wrap. It is more expensive at about P69 for 30 meters, but works for all my cling-film-related needs, joy!
Guildo at Vodaclean (Tel: 390 4955) Supplies biodegradable washing powder (containing no fillers) and fabric softener, which is gorgeous! They are situated opposite Super Spar, in Acacia Mall.
Guido says he is open to the idea of people bringing their own containers to fill, too. So give him a call if that sounds interesting.
6. Water Filter
Game-changer. (Willy 71303 892) The water tastes delicious and has a little tap which gets fitted into your regular sink. So you can use it to rinse fruit and veg.
We don’t buy water whilst out and about, now, as we always fill our steel water bottles, that keep cool for up to 24 hours. (Helen Xavier 71414860 stocks these. They are quite easy to find these days, and are a good investment, if they don’t get lost too often!)
Note: For those of you that love sparkling water, I have two friends who have bought soda-streams from Game City. So that they can carbonate their own water, using their own tap – winning eco-tips for Gaborone!
How Will These Eco-tips Make a Difference for Gaborone?
*Anything in black bin-bags goes to landfill, which means it is buried in the ground, and never rots, thereby damaging the quality of our earth.
*Compost heaps off-set carbon admissions, which reduces global-warming, and keeps more stuff out of landfill.
*Even ‘green’ plastic bags sometimes degrade into micro-plastics, which damage soil and water systems. So it is still worth having your own.
*Re-thinking our habits in the kitchen can cut out a lot of need for clingfilm, and single-use plastic, dramatically decreasing our carbon footprint.
*Household products often contain unnecessary fillers, such as ground-up quartz or microbeads to make you use more and buy more. Which can trash your washing machine and damage our water systems.
*Plastic water bottles are a major contributor to global plastic waste problem. And research shows that the plastic can change the properties of the water, especially when left in a car, making it unsafe to drink. Having a water filter at home, and using safe water-bottles, is well-worth thinking about; and will pay off financially in about 6 months to a year, if you are buying bottles.
Remember to enjoy these eco-tips for Gaborone, and whatever changes you make. And keep telling me all about them! Because that’s how I know all this.
Fiona x
- 6 Eco-Tips for Gaborone - 08/06/2020
- Lifestyle Swap: From Using Plastic To An Eco-Friendly Life - 05/06/2020
3 Comments
Hi Noëlla 👋
I use it and really love it, also the softener, which smells wonderfully fresh, but I have never tried it on a baby, as my daughter is now 10.
Fiona
Hi Fiona and Noella
May I suggest a very local brand, Mrs Martin’s Microbes and More? We also have a laundry soap which includes a softener It is biologically active which means it contains Southern African microbes to do most of the cleaning. Order online and get delivery via Pargo in selected places in Botswana.
Hello Fiona,
Thank you for all those tips.
Did you know somebody who already tried the washing powder and softener? I Want to have some opinion and see if it’s great for babies skins. Thank you