In Store

Tuesday 9 April 2019

Plastic Free Challenge Day 35

Plastic Free Challenge Day 35

Since I last wrote it seems that the momentum is increasing for the fight against plastic and after losing my way a bit halfway through I am feeling motivated and inspired again to make those more difficult and expensive changes. 
In our house the cupboards are bare as I have been buying a lot less in the supermarket especially snacky items - not sure the other household members are too happy with me, but then again there has been a lot of home baked bread, cookies and cakes so it's not all bad. 

There has been a lot of hype about fruit and veg sold in plastic bags which has been easy to avoid on this challenge but what about more one off random items like frozen vegetables or bird seed for the garden? You really have to stop yourself in the shop before you buy but in these cases you tend to need it there and then. So maybe its a case of making a mental note to yourself - Do I really need this? Is there an alternative? Or how can I avoid this in the future and sourcing an alternative before you buy again.

I had been holding off on buying breakfast cereal other than porridge oats until I sourced it elsewhere without the plastic inserts. At the weekend I ordered a large delivery from www.plasticfreepantry.co.uk including muesli but also dried cranberries, walnuts and chocolate chips for future baking projects. I have also included a natural scrubbing brush to do away with the synthetic washing up sponges. Oh and a batch of toilet rolls that aren't wrapped in plastic which are a bit more expensive than the supermarket but has to be done really to a) send a message and b) to do the right thing (anyway with my next project below we won't be using so much now).
Today I found a small single sheet from which to make a bundle of handkerchiefs to reduce the need for tissues in our house. Pleased with how they turned out but would love to be able to embroider some initials on them for fun...



Did anyone see Sir David Attenborough's speech for the premier of his new TV program "Our Planet"? Definitely worth watching - the man is going to leave such a strong legacy when he moves on to new adventures. I sat down with my daughter to watch the first episode in the series. It was both epic, inspiring, funny and sad and I hope it will inspire many to take action whether it be reducing plastic, your carbon footprint, avoiding the use of palm oil, adopting snow leopards or polar bears, boycotting certain manufacturers or writing to your local MP.

Hurrah for Tesco for trialling plastic free fruit and veg in...wait for it...two stores! It made headline news in my Facebook feed from multiple sources but in the fine print it was only for 2 stores which seems a but pathetic considering they have nearly 4000. And why is it just a trial? (Sorry rant over)

On a final note - I have not emptied our (small) kitchen bin since my last entry which feels like a small accomplishment.

The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it - SIr David Attenborough