At the start of July, I set out to reduce my single-use plastic use as part of the Plastic Free July challenge. Each day I noted down my small wins – the times when I was able to choose a plastic-avoiding alternative – as well as the little fails (whether accidental or by choice due to lack of options).
Here are a few of my lessons learned…
You probably use more plastic than you think.
I don’t drink tea or coffee and only buy drinks (like juices or smoothies) very occasionally, so I thought I was doing pretty well in terms of cup and straw waste – using maybe one or two per month. Well, after keeping track, I realised I probably generate more waste than I thought! Throughout the month, while actively trying to avoid plastic, I still tallied five straws and two plastic cups. Straws came with things like dine-in juices and smoothies at brunch and even a free glass of tap water at a bar. These could so easily be avoided: I just need to form the habit of saying “No straw” when I order. As for cups, I’m on the lookout for a good-sized reusable cup with a lid and straw that I can take out on the weekends when I might want a takeaway juice or smoothie… I’ve seen people with them but am not having much luck finding one in shops or online!
When eating out, I made an extra effort to dine in or choose plastic-free items to take away. Unfortunately I was surprised by plastic a couple of times, like little sauce containers – in one case, at a dine-in place that could have used tiny bowls instead, and in another case, at a food truck I’ve often bought lunch from that used to just drizzle sauce over the dish but seems to have recently switched to putting it on plastic on the side.
On the plus side, plastic really seems to have taken a place in public consciousness over the last year, and I’ve seen more and more businesses removing straws and cutting out plastic bags. As more customers make a point of letting businesses know we don’t want plastic, we can start to reverse the trash trend.
You can find almost anything without plastic if you look hard enough (or go far enough)!
Several products proved simply impossible to get at mainstream supermarkets without plastic. Throughout the month I sussed out places where I can get several basics like loose nuts and snacks, herbs and spinach, and bread. I’m also now on the hunt for some harder-to-find(-without-plastic) items such as loose cherry tomatoes and berries, but the Perth Zero Waste and Plastic Free Living group on Facebook is proving to be a wealth of knowledge on options for obscure things like those! And I’ve yet to try bringing my own containers for meats and cheeses, but I hear it’s widely accepted at independent butchers and delis so that is on my list of next steps.
Ultimately, I’d like one area that I can hit up on a weekend morning to get all my necessities, even if it involves a few separate locations (e.g. a market, a bulk store, a bakery and a grocery store). I haven’t found one place (or even one suburb) in Perth that has it all just yet, but Subiaco and Victoria Park seem promising, so I’ll keep exploring and work out a routine that allows me to get everything I need.
Some simple switches can make a big difference.
I used cling-wrap twice this month, and honestly, both times were probably out of laziness (I could have found and used sealed containers for the food instead). But I continued using my trusty old sandwich wrap and various containers to take food to work each day, which would have otherwise used up several metres of cling wrap.
I switched to bar soap (packaged in cardboard – next step, buy larger unpackaged blocks) instead of shower gel and have picked up solid shampoo and conditioner bars to use once my current bottles run out.
I even took the drastic step of changing toilet paper brands – shocking, I know. Look, there are some products where you stick to what you know, and toilet paper was one of them for me: I always bought the same brand my Mum did. But I found Safe brand packaged in paper at an IGA, gave it a try, and surprise surprise, it didn’t kill me – and it’s one less big plastic package to throw out each month.
Changes like these (and other things like buying peanut butter in a glass jar, which can later be reused to buy bulk foods, or picking up bread from a bakery in a paper or reusable bag) require minimal effort – it’s a simple matter of picking up a slightly different product that does the same job. And though one piece of plastic may not seem to make a huge difference, over the course of a year, consistently choosing alternatives will mean a whole lot less plastic thrown in my bin.
Focusing on one thing at a time makes it easier to change your habits.
There are so many factors at play when it comes to shopping. As well as the packaging, there are questions like is the product sustainable? How far has it travelled and what is the impact of that? Whose pockets are we lining by buying it, and how do they treat their workers, animals, the environment?
And then we have to consider our personal health needs, budget and time constraints. Can we justify paying more for the version that’s organic/high in something/low in something else/plastic free/more ethical? How does the pre-packaged meal stack up in terms of health, price, environmental impact compared to the home-cooked meal we simply don’t have time to make?
Trying to plan a week’s worth of meals that’s healthy, has minimal packaging, uses ethically sourced and local ingredients, and doesn’t cost a fortune or require hours in the kitchen has sent me into a meltdown before (seriously – ask my partner).
Prioritising plastic-free products for the month made decisions simple. I’m in a comfortable enough position to ignore the cost factor, so simply chose the plastic-free option wherever it was available. I know there’s a lot of scope to reduce other packaging (like cardboard, tins and glass), but I let myself off the hook on those for this month while solidifying my plastic-free habit. Moving forward, I’ll no doubt reduce other waste one step at a time, and look at other factors like how far my food has travelled before ending up on my plate.
And simply choosing plastic-free did have the bonus side-effect of addressing the health aspect. My trolley was full of vegies and fruits each week, with few snacks and processed foods. Win-win.
I’ve taken the pressure off myself to be perfect and instead will focus on making small changes, one at a time, to move from good to better and eventually find the best options available.
It’s all about the ripple effect.
Plastic Free July has snowballed from a challenge in one workplace back in 2011 to a worldwide community of millions this year. And it’s easy to see how that happened.
Each time I mentioned I was doing it I got curious questions about how I could avoid certain things or find certain products without plastic. I certainly didn’t have all the answers, but it was great to see people interested and open to the possibility of eliminating single-use plastic!
By prompting these conversations, the challenge is truly spreading awareness of the issue of plastic pollution.
Plastic is so prevalent these days that it’s hard to imagine life without it – just look at the reaction of some West Australians to the recent plastic bag bans! Yet many of the plastic items that fill our shops and homes today were non-existent when my grandparents and even my parents were growing up.
Plastic took over the earth (and our households) in just a few decades: but with initiatives like Plastic Free July educating and empowering individuals to make conscious choices and reduce their waste, I’m hopeful we’ll see the tide turn in the decades to come.
What simple switches have you made to reduce waste? And how do you think we can move towards a less plastic-dependent society?