As anyone who’s been, well, ANYWHERE except under a rock for the last couple of decades knows, plastic pollution is a massive problem worldwide. We literally have islands of harmful materials piling up that are going to outlast humans for hundreds of generations to come and quite possibly make several other species extinct in the meantime.
With the eighth Plastic-Free July starting (and a plastic bag ban coming in to force here in Western Australia) today, it’s a perfect time for all of us to become more conscious of our plastic waste.
Now, I’ve made a few changes over the past few years to reduce my plastic use, and I thought of myself as doing pretty well on the whole sustainability thing.
- I use these brilliant Onya produce bags and choose fresh fruit and veg without plastic packaging as much as possible
- I always bring my reusable grocery bags and the aforementioned produce bags to the shops (though I’ll occasionally find myself using a plastic bag when grabbing a few items I hadn’t planned to)
- I’ve reduced my use of cling wrap with a 4MyEarth sandwich wrap and snack pocket for work lunches, and 4MyEarth reusable bowl covers (or a plate balanced on top of the bowl) and beeswax wraps for storing leftovers in the fridge
- I keep cutlery at my desk so I don’t need to pick up more plastic when buying lunch at work
- I favour products that use non-plastic packaging, like peanut butter in glass jars
But I knew I could do more, so I signed up on the Plastic-Free July website to commit to the challenge.
Today, to kick things off, I listed all the consumable items with plastic packaging currently in my house, and the numbers surprised me.
- 25 items in the fridge
- 15 items in the freezer
- 79 items in the pantry
- 61 bathroom, laundry and cleaning items
So this plastic-free July I’m challenging myself to look for alternatives as I replace items I run out of, and to find simple switches that I can stick to, well, forever!
I’m going to try…
- Continuing to shop at farmers’ markets or local fruit and veg stores where I can find almost everything unwrapped
- Buying herbs from places where they’re available loose (and trying to grow my own)
- Buying bread from local bakers in paper or a reusable bag (and maybe trying to make my own bread)
- Gathering glass jars I can use for storage and buying pantry staples from bulk food stores
- Making my own pasta to dry or freeze (and hopefully finding somewhere it’s available loose, because realistically, I’m never going to make my own pasta all the time)
- Finding milk and yogurt available in glass
- Avoiding snacks packaged in plastic and making my own biscuits, chips, dips and so own
- Finding places I can buy meat in my own containers
- Finding plastic-free alternatives for cleaning and skincare products (perhaps making homemade versions in empty bottles)
I’ll also be aiming to avoid absolutely all plastic when eating out.
I’ll be keeping notes on my little wins and fails each day, and spending time exploring various shops and markets around Perth where I might be able to find the products I need plastic-free, so check back at the end of the month for a wrap-up!
Are you going to #choosetorefuse this month? What’s your best plastic-avoiding tip?