Yesterday, I did not buy anything and so was not the direct economic cause of new plastics.
However, a friend and I went to a play (outdoor venue with groundling seating that encourages picnicking), and he brought a bunch of snacks that were very much plasticky (berries and grapes in plastic clamshells, cheese wrapped in plastic, crackers with plastic liner). I partook because that was dinner and the cost was already sunk, and I’m not gonna impose my attempts at habit change on anyone else.
I really wish it wasn’t a fight to find these things without plastic. I know why it is, I just really wish it wasn’t!
bottle of B Complex (NEW) - finished my existing bottle of B Complex vitamins the other day so bought and opened a new one. I take a liquid form that comes in a glass bottle with an eyedropper, so the cap around the neck is plastic. Also plastic safety seal, for safety.
Rainier cherries (NEW) - They came in plastic bags. I did not care. Rainier season.
pineapple (NEW) - I bought a pineapple to make tepache. The pineapple had a tag attached by a plastic thingie. (All pineapples here have this, so…?)
Dutch process cocoa (existing) - I made mocha ice cream, it contains cocoa powder which comes in a plastic tub. (I did at one point look at the bulk store to see if they had any, and they did, but not Dutch process.)
espresso powder (NEW, sort of) - Also used in the ice cream. This was a jar I already had but was unopened (the opened jar had only a bit left). Comes in glass with a plastic lid, also had a plastic seal.
olive oil (existing) - made tzatziki, still using my giant jug of olive oil, it will never run out.
lemon juice (existing) - made tzatziki, keep forgetting to get some lemons at the store, used my canning lemon juice.
swing top bottles (NEW) - I bought a few Grolsch bottles for my experiments. Apparently the new ones use some sort of heavy duty plastic for the lids, and not ceramic as I was thinking. Ce la vie! I will use them anyway.
champagne yeast (NEW) - bought one packet for experimenting, comes in a little foil-y, plastick-y pouch. Again, not mad.
Thoughts:
I guess I don’t care about the environment after all. Bought or used a lot of stuff today!
I have been really good about avoiding the things in the spotlight. We have used no take away cups, no plastic drink bottles, no plastic shopping bags and no straws.
Bread and milk are annoying me the most at the moment. I’d like to change those as they are so disposable. My toothpaste tube at least holds the toothpaste for a couple of months, the milk holds in for a few days at most.
I’ve been trying to push this as far as I can for myself. This is the second weekly trash pickup where the city didn’t empty my bin because it contains a total of four potty bags and one store-size plastic bag of cat and dog waste.
I’m saving my non-pet-waste trash to visually remind myself of my challenge and there’s not even enough to post about yet: two plastic rings from milk bottles, one unlabeled plastic piece that came with my new phone.
Everything else has been compostable or recyclable. So far the only plastic recycling has been w my phone shipment.
I did purchase bird netting (plastic) that came in plastic but haven’t opened it yet/haven’t checked how to dispose of the wrapper.
This is proving to be very eye opening for me.
Oh!
Last night I put my leftovers in a glass jar I had with me without saying anything, and someone I’d just met asked about it. She was very impressed and hadn’t ever considered reusable options for takeaway. She and her husband go out a lot, so if she even starts using a reusable coffee mug that’s huge!
milk (existing) - when I made ice cream the other day I used most of the whole milk I had left and all of the media creme, and I have been using the rest of the milk for coffee. Used up the remainder today.
Nothing new purchased, and I will have to decide which canned milk to test next (for coffee).
Hardly anything used, but I ate exclusively leftovers, and I guess it is balancing out for the previous day.
Went to buy a Leuchtturm journal and they were all wrapped in plastic. I’ll have to see if the store where I have gotten Rhodia notebooks has anything not packaged. Hmph.
Someone from my activist circles started working in compost advocacy. She posted a picture from an event today, her and a coworker smiling in their compost slogan shirts. The text was about making compost, not trash, and saving the planet.
In front of them on the table was a dessert or drink in a Styrofoam cup, with a plastic spoon sticking out of it.
olive oil (existing) - for vinaigrette for couscous salad
lemon juice (existing) - for vinaigrette for couscous salad (I found an old lime in my crisper (oops) and used it, but it was not enough, so I supplemented with my canning bottled lemon juice)
General update, because I’m not doing day-by-day recaps.
My PFJ is going pretty well overall. We continue to use up things previously purchased in plastic; the real trick will be maintaining the low rate of new plastic purchases as we run out of these things.
Yesterday we went to our closest bulk food shop for the first time (Perth peeps - Fodder and Forage in Maylands). It’s tiny but it had everything I wanted except for a wider range of salty snacks and sweet treats, and the owner was super lovely and helpful. I’m impressed that we managed to get to the 14th before having to hit up a bulk shop. It was expensive, but not unreasonable - we’d definitely notice the higher prices for nuts, oats, pasta and snacks/treats if we shopped there regularly (which we plan to) but I still think it’s worth it. My mantra is “if not me, who?” given that our little family is in a great position to make these changes and financially support more environmentally conscious businesses.
The not-so-great: I planned not to consume anything in plastic that we would have to replenish during the month. I haven’t stuck to this. I’ve been consuming a very small amount of milk (about 20% of what I normally would) and the occasional serve of frozen raspberries, both of which Mr H has been buying from the supermarket in plastic. We COULD go to a shop specifically for milk in glass bottles and unpackaged frozen raspberries but we haven’t. Clearly going to an extra shop every week is not a change we’re willing or able to make right now: I’m trying to make peace with this and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
I’m going to have to try very very hard and be extremely organised in order to keep this up on holiday first with my sister, and then later with Mr H, Ewok, MIL and BIL. I think my sister will be up for the challenge; MIL is politely baffled by my environmentalism but indulgent.
I’m getting better at the occasional items, but realising it will take more energy than we have to do even this short term challenge. Goal for the week is to visit at least one bulk store, though, and see what they’ve got/ how they work. Then I need to go through our containers at home so I can bring them on a shopping trip.
I think just being aware of what we use as a culture and as individuals is a huge win for the challenge, regardless of how much we’re able to change in our day today lives.
I bought antihistamine eye drops in a plastic bottle with paper packaging. Medications will be in plasticland for a long time but I’m finding myself evaluating size of the bottle related to quantity for over the counter items.
Managed to NOT buy chips or ice cream even though it was very hot today
I’m finding it fascinating just how poorly we’re set up to have the option not to use plastic as the default - both my household, and my community in general. Add another layer for difficulty in getting goods in an unpackaged format. I am quite certain I saw a bulk dry goods van at the farmers market, and I now realise I didn’t even think to check the grocery store we went to last night for a bulk option for dried fruit and nuts.
But we did have a win with the food thermos I bought for DH’s breakfasts - they are exactly as perfect as I hoped and he loved using them. I also made & froze hommus on the weekend, instead of buying the tasty plastic tub stuff. I can see progress but it’s not of the “we managed without plastic for a month!” quick win variety.
I have not used or purchased any of the ‘big four’ (plastic bags, water bottles, straws, coffee cups).
I have not purchased any takeaway in plastic packaging.
We have used cloth nappies for almost all of Ewok’s daytime wear.
A much, much smaller proportion of our food purchases have been wrapped in plastic.
Mr H has transitioned to using hankies instead of tissues, and has agreed to shaking up our bin system to better represent our reduced contribution to landfill.
We’ve continued our other good environmental habits (minimising travel by car, eating less meat and dairy).
I’ve become super aware of plastic everywhere so far this month. There are too many things for our family to tackle at once at this point in time, but I’m trying trying to be more observant and aware of what we do use, make the easy swaps and keep an open mind to possible changes we can make over time. It’s tricky because on the one hand I have moments of feeling anxious and hopeless about all the single use plastics I now see, but on the other hand, being aware with an intent to make progress is a win too.
Bought or used a lot of stuff today!
