Downsize-me

Plasticly challenged

Here's an update on how my zero-plastic challenge is going. I'll admit - it's hard, and expensive! So…. for one thing I make my own hummus. It isn't a five minute job, but Gareth can demolish a pot of it in five minutes whereas the plastic-potted shop-bought variety seems to last a week. I take it as a compliment, I suppose, that he likes my hummus 😜, but the time given to preparation and clearing up is inversely related to the time taken to eat it. Ho, hum; soldier on.

My first shopping trip involved foraging in Swansea market. It is reputedly the biggest and best in Wales. It's a vibrant, busy indoor market with a really good variety of shops and stands. I looked around for food stands that didn't have food wrapped in plastic. Bakeries are using paper bags, though some of their goods are pre-wrapped in cellophane or plastic. Cheeses and butter all seem to be wrapped in plastic film, and at the fishmongers, while fish is first wrapped in greaseproof paper, it is then handed over in plastic bags. At the greengrocers, though, I could buy my fruit and veg loose. I explained that I was on a challenge not to buy plastic and the stall holder was very interested and helpful. She even removed the cavalo nero from its plastic bag and put it into my shopping bag loose with the rest of my purchases. Admittedly there was still a plastic bag involved, but at least she was trying! Raspberries came in a cardboard punnet, so I bought some of those (Gareth inevitably pointed out later that there may well be some air miles linked to those raspberries!)

Dragging my booty behind me in my new shopping trolley, (I had previously found an albeit plastic wheeled purple one in Lidl that I think is probably really intended as a travel bag rather than a shopping trolley, and it didn't behave very well as it meandered behind me through the shopping precinct), I next hit Tesco. I bought tins and paper packets and managed to tick off a few more of the essentials on my shopping list. Cumin, however, as were all of the store-cupboard herbs, wasn't available other than in a plastic pot or a jar with a plastic lid. Feeling that I had so far met the challenge but really needing that cumin I next headed for Exotica. Now before you run away with any thoughts about what sort of store that might be, it's a small supermarket specialising in ‘multi-ethnic’ produce. It's a wondrous experience browsing the shelves and trying to imagine what some of the foods are. And yes, they had lots of cumin and big bags of herbs and spices …… all plastic bagged. But, I needed that cumin and I caved in. My punishment for failing so soon was for the starter motor on my car to give up the ghost when I stalled, in the rainiest rain, outside a local school, on a road crossing as kids were coming out and being picked up by cars and buses. No one was sympathetic. I was tooted at, sworn at and gesticulated at until eventually someone kindly pushed my car to one side and I could call the breakdown people. Ignominiously I was later loaded up (the car, that is) onto a low loader and delivered to the now familiar lay-by opposite Owen and Jess’s.

One great success that I can report is the discovery (via Owen and Jess) of a supplier of glass-bottled milk! Now that really is terrific! For years I retained my milkman in order to support his local business and avoid supermarket plastic bottled milk, and was dismayed when he started delivering milk in plastic. He was apparently unable to get glass-  bottled milk anymore. But now we are again getting our milk in returnable bottles. Result!

We have also found (Owen and Jess are on the ball with this one, too) a local farm shop that is becoming increasingly popular and is developing its business to include a butchery and specialising in local produce. They sell wax-wrapped cheeses, bottled milk and fruit juice and along with the fruit, veg and other stuff they have some lovely home baked goods on offer. Unfortunately there is a lot of plastic wrapping but when we talked to the lady running the shop about the plastics thing, she was very interested and may now be persuaded to look for alternatives.

I am much encouraged by the interest and support I am finding from the retailers I talk to about my challenge. They do tend to be the independent retailers though. Holland and Barrett, you’d think, should be helping to lead the way in plastic avoidance and recycling. Maybe their Ethics is somewhere in the South of England (ref earlier blog). Shopping at H and B for cod liver oil capsules (ok, that's an avoidance challenge for another time - give me a chance!) I couldn't buy them other than in a plastic pot. I will have to find a re-use opportunity for yet another plastic item. However, they do sell nuts and dried fruit loose, in a pick and mix arrangement where you scoop into a paper bag. I enthusiastically filled my bag, eschewing our favourite plastic bagged nuts at Lidl and nearly fainted when the price was evident to me. Gareth had something to say about that, as you can imagine.

Meat. Now therein lies a dilemma. We don't eat a lot of meat. We don't eat beef or pork at all, but chicken and poultry is a bit of a staple for us and we do occasionally eat lamb (venison very occasionally). Buy meat from a butcher and it can be expensive. Also you have to take their word for where it comes from. Buy it from a supermarket, though, and you can to some extent check its provenance. It’s cheaper but……. it comes in a plastic tray. Apparently, plastic that holds its shape can be recycled; but is it actually being recycled? China used to take it from us, I understand, but now they don't and we don't seem to be much geared up in this country to recycle it ourselves. I have re-used these trays (well…..I re-used one of them anyway) by cutting off one end and upholstering it to make it into a little dolls’ house sofa. The dolls’ house is a project-in-waiting and YES, I did thoroughly disinfect the plastic tray first, I promise! Maybe there’s a little cottage industry in that. I could make mini sofas for dolls houses and sell them on Etsy! Hmmmmm. I have also, on and off, been turning the plastic bags we do have into plarn. If you haven't heard of plarn it’s a yarn you make from strips of plastic bags and you can weave it, crochet with it and make all sorts of things…… like plastic shopping bags! I'm thinking of giving everyone a plarned shopping bag for Christmas 😆

Gareth’s sticking point in this shopping challenge is his cottage cheese. There’s no way that I can get it other than in a plastic pot, with a foil AND plastic lid, so I've had to give in on that one. Wine, thank goodness, can be bought with screw tops but some wines are plastic corked and you don't know that until you take the foil off. Fortunately I haven't yet had to restock on cosmetics and toiletries. I think that's going to be the biggest challenge of all. I've got my work cut out to meet this challenge, but if, bit by bit, the message is strengthened that we need to reduce, re-use and recycle, I can feel I've done my bit. Now, I need to convince myself (and Gareth) that this is economically sustainable.