alifelessplasticblog-blog

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So far so good

I've been living without plastic for nearly a week now and it has been ok. I have really enjoyed it. Saturday was a challenge as I woke to discover Thames Water had cut my water off while they mended a burst water main cue frantic dash trying to find water in glass bottles but found the last two in the back of Sainsburys. Hurrah. I loved doing my shopping locally on Saturday and was really pleased that although I spent more at farmers market and butchers market, I spent substantially less at Sainsburys and think I was within my usual food budget. (One of the things I'm interested in is whether I spend more or less overall during this challenge.) The farmers market was super fun this week as I had good chat with the people from Wild Co who sell the most amazing salad leaves and was recognised at the cheese stall as the "girl giving up plastic". However my trip II to Whole Foods has changed that slightly. I found a range of goodies in Whole Foods in High Street Ken - paper-wrapped chocolate, museli, coffee, almond butter, bulk goods that you can dispense in paper bags (nuts, mango, seaweed crackers) to help with snacks at work. While there are some things that are brilliant in Whole Foods - it is also a place full of plastic and it really hit me on Saturday. Also I found lots of packaging that I couldn't work out if it was paper or plastic - like the Clearspring ranges. I'm assuming it is all plastic but at some point will check. Having come down with a horribly sore throat I also found some throat sweets in glass jar there (we just do not speak of the price). Since Saturday I have been sick so drinking honey and lemon and padding about at home so it hasn't been hard to remain plastic free. I need to find a better way to keep bread fresh though. My hot cross buns from the farmers market went super dry. I have been surprised by all the lovely messages I have been getting about the challenge from friends and family at home and abroad. It is very cheering indeed. Going into the second week and still feeling positive about the challenge.

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I am not the first one to go plastic free. Since this undertaking is so grand (and seemingly bonkers) and requires good timing to justify it, other people also made it their New Year Resolution, and, shame on me, stuck to it. An Aussie family survived a whole year with an absolute minimum of...

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Day 3. Lush coming to the rescue Friday at work. So far so good. Sticky moment in a meeting when colleague turned up with croissant for me in cellophane packaging but managed to swerve that curveball. Phew. Was touched that colleague brought in foil-wrapped chocolate for me today as a treat! Late-night trip to Wholefoods to check out yoghurt/dried goods section and nipped into Lush to get some toiletries. My trip to Wholefoods was ok - they sell a lot of stuff in plastic but am hoping a visit to the bigger branch tomorrow will be more fruitful. In contrast, the staff in Lush were super-friendly and helpful. They seemed completely unfazed by the plastic challenge and said they had other people in who were doing the same challenge which is fun. I got lovely smelling shampoo, conditioner bars, moisturizer and tooth-tabs. All of this in the nick of time because I had to wash my hair & just used the last of my green people toothpaste in a metal tube.

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Plastic-free lunch in the sun. Pasty from @greensmithsfood #plasticchallenge #plasticfree #pasty #delicious #handmade #vegetarian

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And we are off. First day of the plastic challenge - can I live without single use plastic? Day 1: Today has been ok although I think it is going to be hard. Did well with food today - breakfast was toast at home of bread from the market & brought lunch (salad) from home, Twinings ginger teabags don't have plastic wrappers, clipper coffee from a glass jar. Brought milk from home in a plastic tub. Was starving this morning after an offsite meeting ran on and my lunch was in the office. I can snack on fruit out so definitely need to work on having some snacks on me. My keep cup has saved me today I have used it for a coffee this morning and hot chocolate in afternoon to give me a sugar/chocolate hit. Both times I've needed to encourage people to use my cup rather than use a plastic cup first! Lent (and a smile!) helps to convince them. More about the Plastic Challenge here: http://plasticbeaches.blogspot.co.uk/

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Plastic, plastic everywhere

The challenge on the face of it sounds quite simple. Attempt to use no single-use plastic during Lent. “Single-use” includes plastic shopping bags, plastic cups, straws, coffee cup lids, plastic packaging, basically anything that’s intended only to be used once and then sent to landfill. Simple sounding, hard to do. I have spent years worrying about my environmental footprint but the plastic it creeps up on you. It is everywhere. Recently I had been getting uneasy about amount of plastic in my daily life. The coffee you buy on the way to the meeting, the cellophane wrapper on bunch of flowers, the plastic bag you use because you have forgotten to bring one of the many tote bags you own. And then in January Emily talked to us at Borough Belles WI about her plastic challenge last year and I started thinking about what life would be like without plastic. I found it surprisingly challenging. Giving up single-use plastic for Lent is a way of getting me think about all the single-use plastic I consume everyday without thinking about it. Packaging that I use for 5 minutes but lasts forever. Plastic is particularly damaging in our seas - up to a million marine animals a year are killed by plastic rubbish. This isn't about telling anyone else what to do. This is an experiment for me to encourage me to change my habits and put into practice all the advice I have read over the years about eco-living. I am not interested in feeling deprived, I'm much more interested in approaching this in a joyful and liberated fashion. I think cutting out plastic will mean that I will have to cook more from scratch, make things and be inventive. Cutting out plastic will mean no quick fixes and I want to rise to the challenge. For me, Lent is about trying to find alternative solutions. So I am not using single-use plastic for Lent to help me think about plastic in a different and more mindful way. My rules: FOOD: To not buy any food wrapped in plastic packaging in any way - I can buy fresh, tinned and food in paper bags/greaseproof paper. TOILETRIES & CLEANING PRODUCTS: Putting away toiletries that are currently in plastic and not buying any new during Lent to force me to find plastic-free alternatives. No make up. Yep, even for sanitary products (wish me luck). HOME: No new bin liners for rubbish or recycling. No cling-film, bubble-wrap, jiffy bags. OUT AND ABOUT: I will not use shopping bags, coffee cups, straws or anything else made from plastic. EXCEPTIONS: Contact lenses and solution - I need to be able to see and sterile solution to clean my lenses. If I get ill and need medicine that is plastic-wrapped like antibiotics, I'm not an idiot I will use it. RECORD: I will keep record of my progress and share things I find useful. HONESTY: I will be honest. If I crack and buy or use something plastic I will tell you. Hand on heart. Have I left anything out? More about Emily's Plastic Challenge here: http://plasticbeaches.blogspot.co.uk/