I feel as though this next post should be about my attitudes towards healthy living and sport, logically that flows nicely from the previous however, what has taken up more of my attention recently is plastic.
Going plastic free is now as fashionable as smashed avocado for just as, if not more, legitimate a reason. While eco-friendly products are now big business, it appears as though the wider public attitude towards single-use plastics is now universally negative and intolerant (thank you David Attenborough and China[1]). Plastic litter is a devastating problem and anyone who cares about their own health, living environment or wildlife should do what they can to reduce, reuse, recycle (in that order). I will not go into the details here, there are abundant sources describing the effects of plastic waste, my favourite of which is Blue Planet II. Watch it if you haven’t already, and then watch the rest of the David Attenborough “Planet” series.
Once you start seeing single-use plastics, you see them everywhere, and in places and by brands I would have thought might think about this from a marketing point of view. For example: Red Seal[2](“specialising in natural products”) wraps its teas in cellophane; every single jar of honey in the supermarket was plastic, even Manuka honey; a jar of coconut oil was wrapped in cellophane (just, why?); bar soap - wrapped in plastic; our new vacuum cleaner - in a box packed with cardboard (adequate?) with each attachment in its own plastic bag. I once had the choice of buying one loose avocado for $5 NZD (~£2.50) or three for $6 in a polystyrene tray wrapped in plastic. I went without avocados. For me, this unnecessary plastic is what makes me so determined to reduce my use. Plastic is extremely useful for many things, and shouldn’t be unconditionally demonised. However, plastic should be viewed as a detrimental luxury and only used as a last resort. Oh, and straws. Damnit I am perfectly capable of drinking from a glass, even one with ice in!
Quite often, one must pay more for the privilege of buying a product plastic free. Credit largely to my Mum, I have been waste conscious since childhood, before it was cool, and definitely for environmental reasons but, what I also learned was how to do it in a way that actually saves you money. So here are my almost middle class tips. There are many more that involve buying reusable items such as coffee cups but that’s not the point of these ideas as that doesn’t save money overall (unless you make your coffee at home). These are kitchen/food heavy as I’ve noticed that this is where the bulk of our plastic accumulates from.
- When faced with situations like the avocado and honey examples, if there is no plastic free option, can you go without? Boycotting packaged food will also result in healthier eating.
- When you do have to buy plastic (for example the $3 yoghurt because the one in a glass jar is $12), wash and keep as food storage containers. No more cling film.
- In NZ you can get zip-lock bags free when you buy bulk items. I wash these and reuse them as sandwich bags etc. until they fall apart. You can do the same with veg bags. Never buy freezer bags again!
- Similarly, I have never bought bin bags, just use the ones from the supermarket (when you forget your reusable ones)
- There is really no need to drink bottled water. Be organised and take a bottle with you everywhere. Either wash one that has had something else in it, or buy one. It doesn’t have to be fancy.
- Bamboo toothbrushes are about the same price as plastic ones.
- Bar soap is much cheaper and lasts longer than the runny stuff in pump bottles. The chemical properties of soap make it naturally antibacterial, there is no need for added antibacterial agents[3].
- Ladies, get a moon cup[4]. This is an initial investment, but after that you never have to buy another sanitary product again. I could (and probably will) write a whole blog post on getting used to a moon cup, but, especially for those who use the green/orange tampons, once you’ve mastered it, it’s revolutionary!
- Buy timeless pieces of clothing. The environmental impact of clothing is very high as more and more people buy synthetic (essentially plastic) items they only wear for one season (or even once when it comes to dresses for fancy events). I've had some of my clothes for years, many are hand-me-downs - yes, even at 29 - and I once even wore the same dress to two weddings in one summer.
None of these ideas are particularly sexy. A rinsed out squash bottle doesn’t look as cool as a wood grain stainless steel flask, crumpled zip lock bags aren’t as attractive as organic cotton eco bags[5]and natural beeswax wrap definitely looks better than old yoghurt pots. Earthy colours, brown paper packaging and mason jars all look beautiful and are biodegradable or safe, but, your choices should not be made based on image, they should be made based on impact. Therefore if, inevitably, you have found yourself with numerous plastic items lying around, I figure that you may as well use them rather than throwing them straight in the recycling and buying an eco-friendly alternative.
Dr Jelley
[5]There is heated deabate about the environmental impact of both organic and non-organic cotton: https://qz.com/990178/your-organic-cotton-t-shirt-might-be-worse-for-the-environment-than-regular-cotton/
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