It's "Plastic Free July" again. It's 30 years since the term "compassion fatigue" was coined to define the burnout which affected caregivers, and their ability to nurture [and then the way that people 'switched off' whenever charity appeals were shown on TV] Is there an equivalent 'eco-fatigue'? Are we being so determined to bring home the message about saving the planet that we are just turning people off? What's the point of recycling my rubbish and using a water bottle/reusable coffee cup when the rest of the people in my office are using disposable cups and single use bottles? What difference does my action make?
How can young Mums use washable nappies when nurseries refuse to take children unless they are in disposables? And the NHS/GPs will no longer use glass and steel syringes needing to be sterilised, when they find single-use ones quicker, cheaper, and more hygienic.
And once travel bans are lifted, it seems that many people will be jetting off all over the place- one short hop flight to Europe in September will wipe out all the green activities they did from January to August. What's the point? Some scientists are saying we have already gone too far...
It is hard, and none of us is perfect in this regard. We all have inconsistencies. Everybody reading this is doing so on a device which has a lot of single use plastic in it! My daily medications from the pharmacy come in mixed material packaging - I commended the manager of the pharmacy for sourcing my Vitamin D capsules in a recyclable bottle - but the next time they came in a foil/plastic sheet inside a cardboard box again. Whilst I am annoyed that Sainsbury's teabags are now 'fairly traded' and no long 'fairtrade'., they have at last moved over to plant based compostable plastic in their tea bags. But other things on my weekly shopping list still have some sort of plastic wrapping.
Steph has been telling me about OPRL - the On-Pack Recycling Label scheme. This independent, pioneering, expert, ethical company works across industry in Britain to enable manufacturers of all goods [food, clothing, homewares etc] to have a consistent labelling system so people can quickly spot what may be recycled and what can't. This not-for-profit company is doing superb work making it easier for the consumer to see what their packaging is made from, and how best to dispose of it.You will have seen the OPRL symbols and not realised there was an award winning campaign behind it.
There are well over 600 companies now using the scheme - and more are joining each week. If I must buy something in a plastic container, it is helpful to know if and how I can recycle it.
This sort of thing is so informative. And now they are introducing a range of labels to show whether containers can be refilledYes, the ideal situation would be no plastic - but there are times when we can refuse packaging, and if that is not possible, we can re-use it- and hopefully recycle it. I love the fact that my veg now comes from a very thoughtful supplier
- the cucumbers are naked [and grown less than 5 miles from the outlet]
- serve yourself loose veg goes into paper bags - which I reuse and eventually recycle
- pre-weighed stuff [eg apples] does come in plastic bags, but they are generously sized and very loosely knotted at the top. It is easy to untie the knot and then I have an A4 sized bag which can be used for all sorts of things before it goes to landfill
- the soft fruits are in recyclable plastic trays, or compostable pressed paper.
Our village shop/Post Office sells loose fruit and veg too. I visited the new Refill Shop in Dereham recently, and felt the price mark up was a bit too much. I've not reverted to glass milk bottles either.
But I am doing a little, here and there - and I am sure that is the right way forward - for all of us. It's Wimbledon fortnight [well done AELTC for working hard to reduce plastic use, and having an environment day last week - do check out the details] so I will close with some favourite words from the late, great Arthur Ashe
You make a really good point that we have to start somewhere and do SOMETHING! Perfection IS impossible but doing small actions is the way to start. The Zerowaste Chef said, "It's more important to have 1000 doing zerowaste badly than 1 person doing it perfectly."
ReplyDeleteIt's being conscious of things you CAN do which is important.
Thank you Kezzie - and well done for the way you set a good example to the next generation
ReplyDeleteI try, but now find that the lateral flow tests are all in bits of plastic..
ReplyDeleteThe pandemic has certainly increased the world's use of single use plastics - so sad to see the divers retrieving blue masks from the seabed.
DeleteThe medication packs can now be sent to a terracyle company who then donate to Marie Curie I think it is.The most local one to me is in a Superdrug with a pharmacy.It's in a town around a forty mile round trip so we save them up and take them every four to six weeks when we visit the market nearby.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this information - there are more details here https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/medicine-packet-uk
DeleteOver here, even companies that encouraged you to bring reusable containers have stopped doing that due to concerns about the Covid virus. I try to recycle and reuse what I can although I doubt if I can go completely plastic free.
ReplyDeleteYou grow your own vegetables - way better than buying them in a plastic bag!
DeleteI agree it is better to do something rather than to give up. There was a time when we could shove plastic bags into one plastic bag and put them in our recycling box, but then they stopped accepting them. Now I line my kitchen bin under the sink with one of the rare grocery bags (I take my own bags to the stores). Then I put in another bag for a second use. Our favourite bread has big wide bags and I might put two of those in, or the bag the apples come in, or the bag that contains the milk pouches. The plastic grocery bag stays put as a back up in case anything leaks, and the others get put into the bin when they are full or have something that might get smelly quickly. I use a similar system in the laundry room and bathrooms, getting a second use out of bags. It isn't elegant but it is a small step towards saving the planet. All fruit and veggie waste gets composted. As for single use water bottles, it saddens me that people still buy them by the case load, even when they have good well water!
ReplyDeleteThose of us with good water on tap do not need to buy bottled. Better to send the money to Water Aid to give clean water to those who are without it
ReplyDeleteWe've gone almost plastic free in the bathroom. Kitchen is getting there, but with the whole family at home, the cost of using the local veg guy has become prohibitively costly. Once they are all back at uni we'll use him again. We get a milk delivery twice a week, which mostly satisfies our needs and have started using loose leaf tea. Getting there slowly
ReplyDeleteMilk delivery seems quite expensive here. I'm impressed with your success in the bathroom (what toothpaste do you use?)
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