Tag Archives: Plastic Free July

Almost July

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In another 9 days it will be July.  Six months of 2016 will be gone – that is half of the year.  The winter solstice (in the Southern hemisphere) is gone and now the days will begin to get longer, although the coolest days are still ahead of us.  Here in Australia the financial year ends on 30th June each year and then there will be a flurry of activity of tax returns and hopefully, refunds.

This year, the beginning of July will also herald a Federal election on 2nd July after an inordinately long campaign of about 8 weeks.  In some respects, it seems much longer as we were subjected to much speculation regarding the date prior to the actual announcement.

None of this fills me with particular joy and optimism but there is one highlight and that is ‘Plastic Free July’.

‘Plastic Free July’ began with one Council in one city in Australia 5 years ago and last year the concept was embraced by groups and individuals in 69 countries around the globe.  You can read more here.

I have read various discussions in which people have mentioned that are are setting themselves up for the challenge by buying or making tulle vegetable bags and beeswax wraps as a substitute for plastic film.

My plan is continue much as I currently do and redouble my efforts to get rid of more single-use plastic from my life.

What single-use plastic could you eliminate?  What alternatives would you use?  Are you looking for ideas?

I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas to develop a discussion where we can all learn from each other.

Here are some plastic-free treats from our vegie garden.

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Dragged Down

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As much as possible I try to keep my blog posts positive.  Now I know why.

During the last few days I have stumbled on some really negative and downright depressing discussions on the internet.  I have realised how much I have been dragged down by it all.  This combined with being tired from a busy work schedule has drained my creative juices and made writing a blog post almost impossible.

One of the discussions was related to this article which is well-written and contains some really useful information in the article and also within the links.  However, many of the responses were negative and ranged through bitterness, envy and disbelief.

The other was about global warming, although I prefer the term ‘climate change’ as a more accurate descriptor.  I was astounded and dismayed at the number of people who seemed unable to accept the premise of human-induced climate change which is accelerating at an ever increasing rate.  Even more worrying were the links being shared which referenced articles from such ‘luminaries’ as Ted Cruz, Andrew Bolt and Lord Monckton.

However, my faith was somewhat restored when I read this comment in the discussion.

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I thought I would add what I have been doing personally as I am very concerned about this issue myself.
I have read Naomi Klein book This changes everything. It was very hard to read for me as I need things set out more clearly in non fiction but she raised some good points. I also read Vandana Shiva Soil not oil which was much easier to read and something I felt I could do more about.
Switched to power shop for my electricity. Compost all food stuffs though council. Reduce car usage etc. Trying to cut down meat consumption. I know a lot of people think we should all just go vegan and angrily support that but I think think that would be like a badly failed diet for everyone. I think think you’re better off encouraging a slow change to encourage permanence.
I have joined one million women, 350. Org , green peace and a heap of others to support their works sign petitions etc.

Need to work on my plastic bag use and buying unnecessary packaging, although I am doing better than most I know.

It is lovely to hear of others who are prepared to do their bit and I applaud every small step that each and every one of us can take.

It is only 2 weeks until July – and that means 2 weeks until ‘Plastic-Free July’ so please take a look here and consider what you can do to make a difference.

Going Shopping & Gluten-Free Muesli

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As many of you would be aware, I buy most of my dry goods from the bulk bins at Simply Good.  This means I can buy as much or as little of an item as want with no packaging and no waste.  This is a topic dear to my heart and one which is being encouraged during ‘Plastic-Free July’.  I use re-usable mesh bags for things like dried fruit, seeds and nuts and reuse paper bags for flours and almond meal.  Once I get home they are decanted into storage jars.

Storage jars
These are the ingredients I use to make my gluten-free muesli.  You can adjust the quantities to suit yourself.

2 cups coconut
3 cups pumpkin seeds
3 cups sunflower seeds
4 cups almonds (roughly chopped) – I use the food processor
2 cups sultanas
2 cups flaxseed meal
1/4 cup cinnamon
1/4 cup ground ginger (optional)

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.

Gluten-free muesli
I store my mix in a large airtight container.

Muesli container
To serve – I use 1/4 cup of muesli and add 1 dessertspoon each of chia seeds and psyllium husk.  I usually add 1 apple (grated) and 1 kiwifruit (chopped) plus a spoonful of plain yoghurt.  It makes a delicious and satisfying breakfast.

Plastic Free? – Not Yet

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As we approach the end of the month I feel as though I am limping towards the finish line with respect to Plastic Free July.

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On Wednesday we bought a new telephone for home.  It has an inbuilt answering machine and a second handset.  It was packaged in a cardboard box which is great but every single item was separately wrapped in plastic!

Plastic packaging

I generally keep any plastic bags that do happen to make their way into our home.  Even ones with air holes are used for containing rubbish.  These are too small to be of any use so I think I will have to pack them all inside one bag and then put them in the rubbish.  This is far from an ideal solution but the main thing will be to ‘dispose of thoughtfully’ so that they do not end up in the marine environment where plastic does untold damage.  Here is an example that I saw posted on Facebook the other day.  It comes from this page.

Photo: As a little baby this poor snapper turtle swam through a plastic ring and got stuck. Conscious Consumers - think about the plastic you buy and how you dispose of it.

Today I bought a book for our guests to write comments on their stay.  I looked at several different ones but in the end I decided that rather than a generic one with a black vinyl (plastic) cover from the newsagent that I would buy a handcrafted one from an independent bookstore in our town.  It is made in Sri Lanka using handmade paper from elephant dung and post-consumer waste paper.  The only problem was that it was packaged in shrink-wrap plastic.  This will go in the bin along with the telephone packaging.  Here is the book (plastic removed) and the addition of a title (printed by me).

Guest book

I have also bought more yoghurt, cheese and milk – all in plastic.

So what have I learned from participating in Plastic Free July?  Awareness, mostly.  It is pretty difficult to live an existence that is completely free of single-use plastics.  I think in the scheme of things that I do quite well, but there is room for improvement.  The dairy products are the only things that I buy regularly in plastic.  Reducing consumption in all aspects of your life and not buying new will certainly limit the plastics more than anything else you do.

I bought the regular things that I do this month so this is a true indication of the single-use plastics that I contribute to the waste stream.

Plastic Free July – Update & A Refresher

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Today I am reviving an older post  that should help in our quest for Plastic Free July and also in the future.

Do you buy pure butter in a compostable, paper wrapper?  Or are you like the majority of the population and buy margarine or some type of spread in a plastic container?  Want to stop getting those plastic containers?  Here is your answer.

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I have been reasonably successful in sticking to plastic-free options so far this month.  My list of items containing single-use has been updated with a couple more items.  You can find it here.

Last night we ate out, at our local pizza restaurant.  There was no plastic involved as they use proper crockery and cutlery, however, the soft drink always is served with a straw (plastic).  I thought of this before I went so when we ordered our drinks I specifically asked for no straw.  I should really have taken it a step further and explained why I chose not to have a straw.

I was discussing this with The Duke and said that for Plastic Free July to have any real value, I needed to push the boundaries and not just do plastic free things that are part of my normal routine.

Have you done anything different this month?

Nothing At All

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That’s right.  Today’s post is all about nothing.

I went to work.

I wore clothes that I owned yesterday.

I travelled by train and my ticket is prepaid.

I took my breakfast and lunch from home.

I drank water (free from the tap).

I spent nothing.

I acquired nothing.

The day was plastic-free.

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Dinner was omelette, avocado and cherry tomatoes – all plastic-free and zero food miles.

Tomorrow will be a little different.  I will be buying my lunch, as a group of us are going out to lunch to celebrate the life of our colleague’s mother who passed away recently.  It is our way of supporting a friend.

However, most of my work days are like today.  What about you?

Time Is The Enemy

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We have had a busy few days and my plastic-free challenge has taken a bit of a beating.  On Friday we went shopping and I had my share of successfully avoiding plastic packing.  However, some items were not so easy.

First, we bought sausages at Aldi for a planned BBQ with visitors on Friday evening.  I buy these because a) I like them and b) the sausages are gluten-free.  The downside is that they come in a plastic tray and are covered in cling-film.  I try to limit the damage (marginally) by buying the bulk pack of 24 sausages.  Am I kidding myself?

The other purchase pictured below is some bells in a plastic packet.  I wanted these to make some Christmas earrings as we were going to a Christmas in July celebration on Saturday evening.  They were not an essential purchase but I did share them with a friend and I will store them in the original resealable packaging so that I can use them on other occasions.

2013-07-07 01On the other hand, I did do better with some of my other shopping.  I went to the butcher to buy chicken breast fillets, chicken thigh fillets and minced beef.  All of these were packed into my own containers (plastic) that I took with me to the shop.

The cabbage in the background was bought at the local fruit stall were I shop regularly.  The usually have cabbages cut into quarters or halves and wrapped in cling-wrap.  I asked if I could have a whole cabbage and the owner happily collected one for me from the cool-room.  I did not really need a whole cabbage but I used this strategy to ensure that I did not get one wrapped in plastic.  I will make sure that it is used and not wasted.

The cream cheese was another rare purchase for me.  It was required for a recipe I was making to take to the Christmas in July party.  I made a conscious decision to buy the pack in the cardboard box rather than the plastic tubs.  Inside the box the cheese was wrapped in foil which I carefully washed and dried but then discarded in the rubbish as I was not certain whether it was coated with plastic film.

2013-07-07 02I do not have a photo but I also bought a 500g punnet of strawberries for the recipe as well.  They came in a plastic punnet but it was marked with a recycle symbol so that is where it ended up.  I also bought the larger punnet so that there is potentially less plastic per strawberry.  Perhaps??

What I have learned from this is that the less time you have, the more likely you are to succumb to items with plastic packaging.  If I had more time I would have sought more plastic-free options.  For example, I know that if I drive about an extra 4km I can pick my own strawberries and bring them home in my own fabric bag.  If I had remembered to source the bells last week I could have looked in some craft shops near my work and maybe found some being sold as loose items.  That way I would have ended up with 2 bells (what I needed) instead of 12.  I rarely buy cream cheese but this has reminded to me to look into alternatives which I may be able to buy without plastic packaging.  I also need to look into buying sausages from the butcher.  They will have to meet a couple of criteria – be suitable for my dietary requirements and also that we actually like them.

Any suggestions for avoiding the dreaded plastic would be appreciated.

Failure or Opportunity?

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It is now the end of Day 3 of Plastic-Free July.  I was doing well, mainly because I had not bought anything, but tonight we called in to the supermarket on the way home.

We bought ice-cream in a plastic tub, milk in a plastic bottle and a block of butter wrapped in paper.  2 out of 3 – FAIL!  So now I can do one of three things:

Declare this challenge a failure and give up – not likely!!

Accept that this will always be the case and not worry – possibly??

Keep a list of all of the single-use plastic items that we buy during July and use it as a prompt to consider alternatives, both this month and in the future – definitely!!

The list will be added as a tab at the top of my blog so you can keep track of how I am going.

Any Step…………..

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…………is better than no step.

This short quote came from an online discussion about ‘Plastic-Free July’.

I stopped and thought about the comment.  How often does perfection render us impotent?  Do you find yourself doing nothing because you feel (even subconsciously) that you cannot do the task or commit to a cause completely?

2013-07-03 01Whether it is ‘Plastic-Free July’, the mending pile or the kitchen cupboards that need decluttering, make a start.  One plastic bag refused, one button sewn on or one drawer decluttered is one step.

Utensil drawer

Take that first step and let me know how you go.

What holds you back?  Is it perfectionism or is it something else?