Jul 21, 2018
Reduce Re-use Recycle
Has anyone else on here gotten concerned about the amount of garbage that we put out on a daily basis?
I fo recall a few posts earlier in the month that were centered around garbage but I can’t help but make this post.
Even though we have all ( nationally and individually) become more aware about environmental issues I believe we have digressed from the basic tenets we ALL learnt from childhood... the three R’s.
Japan has been doing a great job at making refills for most household and beauty products and I do appreciate it because the refills are not only cheaper but it’s less bulk to carry home as well as to dispose of. However I do wish the same was available for the S&B smart spices.
I use the nutmeg, cinnamon and turmeric almost everyday but I find each time they are finished I have to get a new bottle. I ended up with almost 3 dozen of the little bottles in no time and as cute as they are there’s absolutely nothing I could find to do with them. Mind you, I do recycle especially glass containers but I just wished I could get refills or perhaps larger containers of those locally.
My recycled containers- I use for soups, water, baby food or store leftovers
Do you recycle used containers? How do you use them?
Hi! I’m an educator/stay-at-home mom with an educator husband, a teenage daughter and six months old son. I loooove to cook, gets excited about curries and have a serious weakness for pastry especially cakes! Enjoy being outdoors, reading and sewing.
7 Comments
helloalissa
on Jul 21
I've found refills for a lot of the spices, but it's only the most popular ones. Sometimes it's cheaper to buy a new bottle than a refill. Maybe we have to get to a Costco or Tomiz (baking supply shop) for larger sizes of spices? My friend gave us some when he moved but I'm not sure where they're from. I haven't noticed them in normal supermarkets. I'd like to find a co-op market that sells by weight so you can refill your own containers. We reuse bigger glass jars instead of using plastic containers. (Storing tea, nuts, snacks etc.) But the spice jars are tiny. I've been meaning to make mini terrariums or use them as little flower vases.
edthethe
on Jul 21
I do miss bulk stores. When I explain about buying things from a bin or dispenser it blows my Japanese friend's minds until I compare it with coffee or tea.
Candiajia1
on Jul 21
@helloalissa thanks much. Somehow I haven't gotten around to making that Costco visit just yet.....and I don't actually know anyone with memnership.....so I'm gonna have to get one of those. Great going on the reuse bits!:)
Candiajia1
on Jul 21
@edthethe I know what you mean. Japanese people give me a strange look when I'm grocery shopping. They probably wonder why I purchase large packets or so many or what I'm gonna do with it! But on the other hand, they just seem to go shopping every day.....I do it as infrequently as I can.
ReishiiTravels
on Jul 21
I wish they had refills for them too. The bottles are so small too!
Candiajia1
on Jul 21
@ReishiiTravels I know right! Because my family eats plant based and eats in all the time- which means I make everything from scratch I go through those tiny bottles so quickly. Lucky if they last longer than a week. Only bonus is that I get them in the ¥100 yen Lawson shop for ¥108 each... but still would be great if we had refills for all and or larger bottles.
helloalissa
on Jul 22
I won't even try Costco, but some people can deal with the crowds. Try out Tomiz - here's the link to their spices page and you can use the built in Google translator. They sell 100 grams of turmeric! https://tomiz.com/category/68 I'm sure you can use that Amazon.co.jp credit for bigger sizes of spices too!