Going Plastic-Free: Have You Got the Bottle?

We at No More Taboo have been thinking about the impact plastic has on the environment. After Cat’s stellar effort last month, I decided to try and see how much single-use plastic I could cut out of my life without changing the way I shopped. How easy is it for the average Joe (or lazy Susan) to go to a mainstream supermarket and reduce their plastic consumption?

After the wonderful plastic attack protest in our very own Keynsham, I wanted to see how mainstream shops can improve their plastic footprint. Here are some highlights from my two-week stint.

Day 2 The scene: my local supermarket. I dream of curry, so first, I must find some rice. Easy enough, I thought. I spend 10 minutes searching and my best option is ‘Thai sticky rice’ in a cardboard box, albeit still with a plastic window so you can see the rice inside (apparently because people either don't know what rice looks like, or don’t trust supermarkets to package things right). Tins are my new best friend. Bananas, sweet potatoes and onions are mercifully plastic-free. I make a sweet potato and coconut curry with my spoils.

Day 3 I need some breakfasts for the week. A nervous sweep of the cereal aisle reveals a wall of plastic-bagged goods. I’m on the point of giving up and saying ‘Cheerio’ to these, but at the last moment, Weetabix is my saviour: however, the inner papery wrapping announces itself to be ‘mixed materials’. I, too, feel mixed, but decide to take the plunge. Next, drinks. All the soft drinks are plastic, even the cans, which feels unnecessary. I go for a fancy glass bottle of ‘Squished’ that tastes, as my sister tactfully put it, ‘very…natural’. Where squash is 70p, ‘Squished’ is £2.70. It’s obviously worth paying a bit more for something natural and plastic free, but it’s hard to imagine making it a regular purchase. At the checkout, I forget to bring a reusable bag. I grab the one on my bike saddle and cross my fingers the weather holds.

Day 5 At home, I’ve run out of milk. The only non-plastic milk is the longlife stuff in cartons. That evening at the shops, I look for snacks to take into work. Having stared wistfully at the poppy seed and  Gruyère twists encased in filmy plastic, I opt for some plain breadsticks because the package seems innocuous. Then I get it home, and shock – I open it to find plastic wrap inside. Sometimes the shops are pretty good at putting on the outside what their packaging is made of, and sometimes I fall foul of the dreaded ‘mixed materials’.

Day 6 It’s my treat lunch day at work! I head to Aah-Toots  in St Nicks Market. My sausage roll and cake come in a paper bag and a cardboard box respectively. Even the fork is wooden, which earns them points, even if it is a little desiccating to eat with.

Day 7 Dinner: my flatmate makes a fondue. I am aware of the secondary plastic (2 or 3 packs' worth of Emmental), but then melt into a cheesy coma. I’ve been thinking about secondary plastic a lot: although I haven’t been buying any, I’m still eating food that had been wrapped in plastic and cooked by my boyfriend, and I’m still using household products bought by my housemates. It's hard to get around this without throwing off the shackles of society, becoming a farmer and thus, totally self-sufficient.

Day 8 I bake a banana bread for the week. Baking is wonderful because everything comes in little paper bags. Flour and sugar are wrapped up, eggs come in cartons, butter is encased in foily paper. I skip merrily through the shops. Perhaps in this plastic-free utopia, we could live on cake alone.

Day 11 Dinner at a friend's: they cook a vegan feast. Plastic might have been involved, but I feel any points there have been offset by the plant-based deliciousness. I bring a bottle of wine with a metal screwtop: I’ve upgraded from selecting wine on the artistic merit of its label to the material it comes in.

Day 14 It’s Sunday morning. I feel like rewarding myself for the week, so I run to Bakesmiths for breakfast. A sourdough baguette and two sticky buns set me back a wincing £7.10, but it all comes in a paper bag! I finish my week sticking not only to my guns but to the buns.

What did I learn?

Although I did my best, I did slip up once or twice. Going plastic free is definitely possible, but to really commit, you'd have to change your lifestyle - shops are just too reliant on plastic. It’s within the power of mainstream supermarkets to package their products more ecologically and encourage wide-scale change. As individuals, we can drive this change. Even if you don’t think you can make your life completely plastic free, small things will make all the difference. For instance, since the introduction of the 5p bag charge, there are signs that ocean pollution has reduced by 30%!

No More Taboo aims to cut down plastic waste by promoting reusable, plastic-free menstrual products, which you can get here.