In 2018 my husband and I have come to the decision to very consciously reduce our use of plastics, especially every day disposable ones. We watch a lot of natural history documentaries and one dominant theme arising over the past few years has been the damage plastics are doing. From a whale with its stomach full of plastic bags (source) to an albatross with bottle caps and a cigarette lighter inside her (source), plastic is doing damage. And then there's those plankton which are eating plastic too (source). These are the bottom of the food chain, so plastic works it way up, potentially to the fish we eat.
So, it's time my household did our bit.
Our Current Use
I'm already very aware of plastic use. We homestead, so food from the garden (eggs, veggies, poultry meat) come without all that horrible packaging. I always buy loose vegetables if I can. If we buy ready meals, I use the plastic tubs in the garden. BUT there is way more I could be, and should be, doing.
2018 Plan
I think it's unrealistic to attempt to eradicate plastic from my life. So I'm going to start gently and hope the new lifestyle will snowball. So I'm already researching areas where I can get rid of plastic.
- Veggies
- Continue growing a lot more food. Harvesting produce and turning into meals ahead of schedule for freezing; it's those ready meal desires that cause problems here. Having something you can quickly defrost could be a game changer.
- Continue growing a lot more food. Harvesting produce and turning into meals ahead of schedule for freezing; it's those ready meal desires that cause problems here. Having something you can quickly defrost could be a game changer.
- Bread/Cake
- Make a conscious effort to home bake more often; once a week perhaps. This will eradicate bread packaging....that cardboard under tea cakes, for example, is covered in a film of plastic.
- Milk
- I don't yet have space for a goat or cow. Instead I'm desperately searching for someone local I might be able to get milk from. If not, convert from hard plastic milk cartons to cartons or reusable milk bags. These do still contain plastic, but less of it.
- I don't yet have space for a goat or cow. Instead I'm desperately searching for someone local I might be able to get milk from. If not, convert from hard plastic milk cartons to cartons or reusable milk bags. These do still contain plastic, but less of it.
- Tea
- I LOVE tea and can't do without it. But that foil wrapping around the groups of tea bags? Actually plastic. So, it's loose leaf and finding a chic new teapot!
- I LOVE tea and can't do without it. But that foil wrapping around the groups of tea bags? Actually plastic. So, it's loose leaf and finding a chic new teapot!
- Teeth
- Buying bamboo toothbrushes and a charcoal based toothpaste that is teeth whitening, flouride free and comes in a metal tin.
- Buying bamboo toothbrushes and a charcoal based toothpaste that is teeth whitening, flouride free and comes in a metal tin.
- Hygiene
- Swapping shampoos and shower gels for organic castile soap that can be bought in bulk and decanted into glass dispensers. Using handmade soaps which don't normally come wrapped in shiny plastic covered paper.
- Swapping shampoos and shower gels for organic castile soap that can be bought in bulk and decanted into glass dispensers. Using handmade soaps which don't normally come wrapped in shiny plastic covered paper.
- Wrapping Paper
- Wrapping paper is FULL of plastic. Shiny = plastic. Glitter = plastic. Embossed shapes and patterns = plastic! So, I'm going to move to brown parcel paper and, possibly, I'll wrap gifts in homemade knitted products like scarves.
That's as far as I've got so far. There's still some regular disposables I need to work out - moist cat food (my kitty can't eat biscuits), toilet paper which comes in plastic wrapping, washing up/laundry products - trying soap nuts and washing bars, for example.
So that's a few of my ideas for Project Plastic. Any tips or ideas?
Thanks for reading,
Geoff
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