40 Day Plastic-Free Challenge: Day 12

40 Day Plastic-Free Challenge: Day 12

A few days break from blogging for a couple of reasons; it might start getting a bit tedious reporting every day (for you I mean not me), there's not a lot to report each day and I have relations staying so today's blog entry will be a summary of the past few days ...but it does not mean that, although I have been out of site, the thought of cutting out plastic has been out of my mind - far from it. 

Stir fry was on the menu for Saturday night so I needed to make a trip to Morrisons. Instead of buying bagged stir fry mixed vegetables and another bag of beansprouts I bought a few loose veg in paper bags and tinned bean sprouts instead. I also stopped at the deli counter with my container and asked for a few pieces of chicken breast. So far so good! Knowing that I could recycle crisp packets and Pringle cans I bought these as snacks for my family to to eat whilst watching the big rugby games. I had a very patient Mum and Daughter with me who waited whilst I checked various packaging and tried to find alternatives in the shop... on a Saturday lunchtime... so thank you...

I would maybe have prepared some homemade snacks for the ruby game but I had a big celebration cake to decorate before the end of the day. 

Fortunately the packaging for most items I need for baking can be recycled e.g. egg cartons, paper flour bags and some butter wrappers (which I need to look into further because on the Morrisons label it states that it is foil but in Sainsbury's it is mixed packaging and therefore cannot be recycled). But the fondant icing is a different matter - all these are wrapped in plastic and I believe that when they are opened any left overs are best rewrapped in plastic to maintain the softness until next time. I might have to find a recipe to make my own fondant icing especially if I want to be baking more cakes!

One other thing I wanted to top up on was porridge but in the supermarket many of these are in plastic bags or with inserts. However a bag of Morning flake porridge looked like it was a paper bag. 

But when opened it it was lined with plastic so I have emailed them as it was not clear after reading through all the small print on the back. I did not know what the Mobius Loop symbol meant - do you? So here is a link to an explanation of all the different symbols you may find - now I just have to memorise them for my next shopping trip......

Today we had a trip to the softplay and I had the forethought to take a water bottle for my daughter and a reusable coffee cup for me. At the cafe they were serving tea and coffee in disposable cups. They did not bat an eyelid when I asked if I could have it in my reusable cup even through it was twice the size of their disposable ones - so double points there.  My idea of a family cinema voucher for my nieces and nephews went down well as it made a nice change to more toys and more boxes and packaging strewn everywhere. I think we may start saving up theatre vouchers to create some special days out especially as the family orientated West End shows are probably the most expensive.

I tied in the trip to the softplay with another trip to Lush - this time for a moisturising bar and a shower gel bar,  It does seem pricey compared to the £2 bottles from the supermarket but at least you also know that you are using 100% ingredients too and there is no palm oil used. I'm touching on another environmental issue there which I may tackle after this challenge.

“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean in a drop.” ― Rumi

40 Day Plastic-Free Challenge Day 9

40 Day Plastic-Free Challenge Day 9

If you read my article the other day you might remember I had ordered some paper sandwich bags with a request to send them with no plastic packaging following my husband's online order for trainers. So they arrived in the post in a box and I thought cool that can be recycled but I opened the box only to see a grey plastic mailing bag inside! I was mildly annoyed to say the least. But onwards we march even though it has been a frustrating day. 

I went to Sainsbury's to check out the deli counter and the lady was not too confident about putting stuff in my own containers despite my email from their social media team last night, She even proceeded to insert a layer of plastic between each slice of ham after I told her what I was doing - just goes to show that many of us are on auto-pilot when it comes to relying on plastic. I was not impressed either when shopping their for fruit and veg as they still use plastic bags for their loose produce and I was determined not to purchase them there. Instead I made a slight detour on the way home to get the few things I needed at a local greengrocers. I talked to him about what I was doing and we had a good natter and a moan and we were joined by another customer too. Felt quite good really - not sure I would get that with the supermarket cashier or self service tills!

So I have a dilemma, when it comes to gift giving - why should my attitude change towards plastic and waste when it comes to giving gifts? I have 3 lovely nieces and nephews to buy for this week and I know their place is full of stuff already so have opted to buy them a family voucher for the cinema so they can enjoy an afternoon out on me. We did something along these lines for our daughter last Christmas and made up a voucher book which she could cash in over the year - picnics, ice cream trips, baking days etc etc which would encourage us all to spend quality time together.  

Hand made cards without the cellophane would also help cut down on waste too - I have a stash of those I have received over the years with a plan to recycle them at some point. I just need to clear our room of requirement to take back my crafting space and get crafting again.

Since starting this challenge my daughter has really got involved and is quick to point out what plastic we are using and how bad it can be which makes me think it would be easier to encourage a sense of stewardship towards our planet in the next generation especially as we seem to be slow on the uptake so there is hope for us yet.

40 day plastic-free challenge: Day 8

40 day plastic-free challenge: Day 8

Does anyone use any of the Terracycle drop off locations? 

These look like a great idea and you can recycle lots of different items but through different drop off locations. I would probably need a small bin or bag for life to store these in and then drop them off every month or so. I will make a list and pin it on the message board so everyone in the household remembers and see how full it gets by then end of this challenge. Products include toothpaste tubes, pet care, crisp packets and more.

If you are in a a position to, you can even set up your own drop off point and earn money for your chosen charity or school. As I'm part of the school PA I think I'm going to see if we can invest in one...imagine all the crisp packets and biscuit wrappers we could collect.

Baking bread every other night is not really turning out to be very feasible and one of the items I can recycle using Terracycle are bread wrappers. If I'm not in the evening before or go to bed early then it won't get done, which we learned last night, so had the remainders of the loaf today but it was touch and go really and it may not be cost effective at this rate. So maybe going back to fresh bread for the weekends would be better unless we can cut it a lot more thinly to make it go further.

I received messages back from Sainsbury's and Morrison's regarding their Deli counters. Sainsbury's confirmed I could take my containers to my local superstore but Morrisons said that they are still looking into these options but could not divulge any further information at this stage. Fortunately Sainsbury's is on my way home from work so not out the way. Just a bit of planning and my Nectar card at the ready and we will be good to go.

Another message I got last night was from Greenpeace after I cheekily put a link to my blog on a post they made about plastic - someone out there is listening and reading this after all.😃

Back to tonight, we grabbed some cheeky fish and chips on the way home from a school meeting and discovered too late that they had put the chips in a polystyrene box. We thought we were being good when we took in our own bag and declined their plastic bag - only to realise the error too late. But the next time we go we will make the request for the food to be wrapped only in paper when we plaice 😂 our order.

Thanks for reading and happy recycling!

40 Day Plastic Free Challenge: Day Seven

40 Day Plastic Free Challenge: Day Seven

Storm Gerald has arrived here with strong winds and torrential rain and after the mini heat wave we had a few weeks ago it really does suggest that the weather is becoming very unsettled. Remember the long summers of our childhood, April showers and snowy winters? They seemed to be definite seasons back then didn't they? Now it's August wash outs and May heat waves.

Some days are bound to be quieter than others on this 40 day challenge but I am still sticking to my new routine of home made bread, bottled milk, loose fruit & veg and a ban on clingfilm.

I did need to buy a pack of cheese this evening as they would not serve it in my container and I have been looking online for recommendations which included shopping at Farmer's markets, local deli's or even making it yourself! I think this might be my first obstacle as the above options do not sit well with a busy life in a suburban town but it will test how serious I am about banning single use plastic from my life. Apparently cheese freezes well so a trip to a market to stock up might serve me for a couple of weeks until the deli counters in the supermarkets are a bit more open to change. Have emailed Sainsbury's and Morrisons to see what plans they have in the pipeline so will definitely feature that on here.

My facebook newsfeed is now filling up with news from different charities and action groups relating to the environment and there's positive stuff there too showing new inventions that clean the ocean, volunteers cleaning beaches, youngsters taking a stand against the government and petitions galore so I think the PEOPLE have spoken which is more than can be said for my contacts on Facebook (anyone out there?) but then again my posts might be lost amidst the endless prankster videos or 5 minute craft ideas that go round and round on social media.

Apologies for the reflective post tonight but I am wondering what the next steps are after I have made all the changes I personally can - I might end up marching through London perhaps or lying across the road outside parliament like this gentleman aged 82.  Time to move on from being a couch activist.

40 Day Plastic-Free challenge: Day 6

40 Day Plastic-Free challenge: Day 6

A big thank you to my readers who are keeping up with my 40 day challenge. Do let me know if you have decided to replace anything plastic in your house with a more eco-friendly alternative. 

Tonight I cleared out the freezer and did one of those dinners using up odds and ends, You know the ones I mean. So we all had something different with oven chips and frozen veg - two things which come in large plastic bags! So, I can either give up the frozen chips, stick to home-made potato wedges or buy a deep fat fryer. What would you do? I'm thinking the home-made wedges but my fussy 8 year old may not agree!

As for the bags of frozen veg, which we use a lot of, I might have to do lots of bulk prepping and improve my kitchen knife skills which are, to be honest, non existent. But then again if we are eating healthier meals as a result then we may not need to freeze the vegetables as we would be getting through them a lot quicker. Therefore problem solved!

One item I really want to cut down on is the individually wrapped cereal /snack bar so I have made a round of cookies and flapjacks using what I had in the pantry..well cupboard. The peanut butter cookie recipe is from Hummingbird Bakery and are SO moreish. It is easy to freeze the cookie dough in balls and then bake as and when you need them..ahem no comment there.

As for the flapjacks I have yet to find the perfect recipe for eating on the go as they tend to be a bit too gooey. Today I used this one with cherries, chocolate chips and almonds from Globescoffers.com. Nice flavour combination I thought but it is a bit sticky. These can then be wrapped in beeswax wraps or paper instead of cling film or foil and popped in your lunch box for a healthy snack. (Later on I am going to have a go at making my own beeswax wraps as they are quite expensive to buy. I have the beeswax pellets ready so watch this space although it could be one of those hilarious Pinterest Vs Reality moments).

I will need to stock up on sunflower and pumpkin seeds etc for a nut-free alternative so need to find a refillable station. Apparently there is one at Stanhill Farm and are also available at some farmer's markets. Do you know of anywhere in North West Kent?

If you haven't seen it already doing the rounds on social media then be sure to give this petition from Fairies Against Plastic (love the name!) your support to bring forward the date of banning single use plastics from 2025 to 2020. 

Thanks for reading.