In Store

Sunday 24 March 2019

40 Day Plastic-Free Challenge: Day 19

40 Day Plastic-Free Challenge: Day 19

How's everyone's week been? It's been seven days since my last confession blog. I'm happy to say that changes I made at the beginning of this challenge are still going strong and they are simple changes that everyone can make with a bit of forethought:

  • Saying no to plastic bags - which means always having your own bag for life or one of those "fold away to virtually nothing so can fit in your pocket" bags with you. You know the ones I mean?
  • Saying no to disposable tea/coffee cups and bottled water - again it means taking one with you. Soon it will become the norm - just another thing to pack.
  • Saying no to fruit and veg in plastic bags - whether this means changing where you shop or taking your own paper produce bags.
  • Making your own lunch box snacks and biscuits - fortunately I'm a keen baker but cookies and flapjacks are probably some of the simplest things you can make so go for it!
  • Doing away with clingfilm and using paper sandwich bags instead - bulk buy from Ebay.
  • Buying waste free toiletries - this will be a slow process as you finish what you have already before gradually buying packaging free alternatives.
  • Making home baked bread - I'm still doing this despite my earlier reservations. Today I made white baps for a BBQ pulled pork and home-made apple sauce filling. Before anyone criticises my choice of filling, we probably eat meat 2-3 times a week and make an effort to eat vegetarian meals regularly.
This weekend we went to a local farm shop at Stanhill Farm (coupled with an afternoon at the neighbouring park) as I had heard that they offered a packaging free service on dried goods. So off I trotted with my bag for life stuffed with containers of all shapes and sizes.


I had a list of what we needed so I wouldn't go crazy. At present it is still a very small concession within the farm shop but hopefully they will add to it as demand grows. We bought sultanas, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and couscous but they also had pasta, rice, pinto beans and lentils. We also bought rolled oats and bread flour in paper bags. The other cereals were a bit pricey so we passed on that but bought some veg we needed instead. Might have to rethink our breakfast menu as most cereals come with plastic inserts and many are very sugary anyway. Avocado on toast perhaps?


Who remembers Ready steady cook? The photo above reminds me of what they used to pour out of 
their bags for the chef to create something magical with. Aubergine and rhubarb flapjack anyone? 

I took out my general rubbish bag this morning - 2 weeks of rubbish in the picture below consisting of film lids, freezer bags and wrappers. There's probably a lot of kitchen towel in there too which is another change I want to make as using washable cloths and hankies will cut down on the waste levels in general and save money. Let's see if I can make it to 3 weeks before I have to empty my kitchen bin again.


I had to laugh when I saw this post on Morrison's facebook page promoting their wonky veg selection. 



Who at their head office thought that this was good PR? All the feedback in the comments criticised them for all the plastic packaging. Let's hope they listened and went back to the drawing board. Imagine how much extra attention and popularity they could get if they did it without the packaging. If you want to find out more about what they have and plan to do then check out their page here .When I searched for an image of wonky veg I came across some articles about veg box schemes that Morrisons offered - but I have not seen this in store, on their Facebook page nor on the page about their UK Plastic PACT - you'd think that they would push this wouldn't you. 
Morrisons is a 2 min walk from me so I do not tend to shop as Asda's, Tesco's or Sainsbury's but if you have seen something worth mentioning then do comment below.

A couple of vegetables we love and can't get packaging-free are lettuces and baby spinach so I will be looking at the cut and come again varieties that I can grow on the patio. We have just brought some strawberry plants today to fill an upcycled wheelbarrow that we have. 

Head up everyone- Spring is coming!!

Have a great week and thanks for reading.

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