As I said at the beginning, we’ve been considering our plastic footprint for a while and had already taken a few steps to reduce the plastic we buy, trying to find swaps and alternatives. And that's the reason that we wanted to take part in this challenge - but it really has been a lot more challenging than I would have expected!!!
Knowing that I couldn't win the competition didn't really make too much difference as this was about what changes we could make as a family for the better - forcing us to be super strict for a finite period of time, and seeing what stuck.
Knowing that I couldn't win the competition didn't really make too much difference as this was about what changes we could make as a family for the better - forcing us to be super strict for a finite period of time, and seeing what stuck.
If you’ve read any of the other entries from the week, food packaging has been the biggest issue – it is basically impossible to get hold of a plastic free cucumber (a vegetable that already has a skin!), eating healthily doesn't necessarily mean low plastic and you have to be on guard all the time to avoid ending up with plastic you didn't ask for. Snacks are essentially a no go, and who knew a Greggs was good for the environment!
The terms of the challenge that we established at the beginning of the week have also been much harder to stick to than I would have thought. I initially thought that we would be able to achieve more - but the first step has been all consuming:
1. Try to eliminate all pointless plastic.
Going into the week we were thinking about plastic bottles, plastic cutlery, takeaway coffee cups - which for us are easy to avoid - but food, and the amount of plastic packaging on food has totally blindsided us. Sneaky single use plastics like the wrapping around multi pack tins, the sheer quantity of plastic in the fruit and veg aisles at the supermarket, the unasked for plastic bags that wrap everything. I was really keen to stick to shopping for myself for the challenge but moving forward I'm going to look into a veg box delivery (and I thought I couldn't be any more Cheshire) They are often prohibitively expensive but I'm going to research suppliers and might finally find a plastic free cucumber!
We’re also going to try growing our own – we already have quite a lot of herbs (basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, chamomile, oregano) and quite a lot of fruit (apples, rhubarb, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries) growing in the garden, but my beloved spinach is high on my list of things to try and grow because I eat a lot and I haven't found any plastic free alternatives to the supermarket bags.
2. Consider all plastics that have a short use phase.
We’ve been so busy with the task above, we haven’t put as much thought into this as I would have liked. The good news is that a by product of our shopping on the high street has meant that we haven’t bought as many “additional” items as if we’d been in the much more convenient supermarket - the focus has meant we've automatically been much more considered in the items we pick up.
Going into the week we were thinking about plastic bottles, plastic cutlery, takeaway coffee cups - which for us are easy to avoid - but food, and the amount of plastic packaging on food has totally blindsided us. Sneaky single use plastics like the wrapping around multi pack tins, the sheer quantity of plastic in the fruit and veg aisles at the supermarket, the unasked for plastic bags that wrap everything. I was really keen to stick to shopping for myself for the challenge but moving forward I'm going to look into a veg box delivery (and I thought I couldn't be any more Cheshire) They are often prohibitively expensive but I'm going to research suppliers and might finally find a plastic free cucumber!
We’re also going to try growing our own – we already have quite a lot of herbs (basil, mint, thyme, rosemary, chamomile, oregano) and quite a lot of fruit (apples, rhubarb, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries) growing in the garden, but my beloved spinach is high on my list of things to try and grow because I eat a lot and I haven't found any plastic free alternatives to the supermarket bags.
2. Consider all plastics that have a short use phase.
We’ve been so busy with the task above, we haven’t put as much thought into this as I would have liked. The good news is that a by product of our shopping on the high street has meant that we haven’t bought as many “additional” items as if we’d been in the much more convenient supermarket - the focus has meant we've automatically been much more considered in the items we pick up.
The big win in this category is that we’ve finally done what we’ve talked about for a long time and confirmed a doorstep, glass bottle milk delivery which we are all very excited about. With a young family, we get through gallons of milk every week so this should have a real impact on the number of plastic bottles we are throwing away, the kids absolutely love it and I'm currently in the market for a cute, totally Instagram-able bottle holder to keep at the front door.
We were concerned about yogurt pots as we all enjoy yogurt and the kids ones can be quite small, although we try and buy the larger sizes. having just said that we were much more focused and considered away from the supermarket(!) our high street experience meant that we stumbled upon a brand new yogurt maker in a charity shop for £3! We haven’t had the time to experiment this week but we will be making our own yogurt in future which again should eliminate some of our weekly plastic waste.
3. Try and replace plastics that have alternatives.
3. Try and replace plastics that have alternatives.
This was probably the simplest of the categories and I had to shop for it which I really didn't mind(!)
We’ve already made a number of swaps – and in the last couple of years those swaps have been made for us - in the case of plastic bags costing money, or instigated by Horwich Farrelly in the case of reusable cups for coffee and water.
Cotton buds without plastic and paper straws are simple, they are easy to come by and practically the same price. As well as flannels for the kids (instead of beloved wet wipes) I've started using a washable cloth instead of cotton wool pads that come in a plastic bag. Some of the beauty items have been harder than I was expecting but I’ll be traialling brands such as Neal’s Yard and Lush moving forward, as well as some online brands like The Beauty Kitchen and I'll keep making my salt based scrubs and using bar soap in place of shower gel and hand soap dispensers.
It's been a great mix of wholesome, silly, challenging, disgusting and there have certainly been moments where I've said "I don't care" - see bottled water on the 10k, spinich and cucumber, and an undisclosed biscuit or two.
Breaking the wet wipe habit has definitely been the hardest thing for me. We don't change nappies any more but I've clung on to them for years for face and hand wiping, nose blowing, cleaning up after the kids eat, especially on the go, and generally polishing the kids when I need to.
But, the soap and flannel solution has been fine and after the initial shock the kids seem happy with it too.
If anyone can tell me whether the wet wipe use or the frequent flannel washing using energy and flushing microfibers into the water streams is better or worse for the environment that would be great. I hope I can still use the wipes...
We’ve already made a number of swaps – and in the last couple of years those swaps have been made for us - in the case of plastic bags costing money, or instigated by Horwich Farrelly in the case of reusable cups for coffee and water.
Cotton buds without plastic and paper straws are simple, they are easy to come by and practically the same price. As well as flannels for the kids (instead of beloved wet wipes) I've started using a washable cloth instead of cotton wool pads that come in a plastic bag. Some of the beauty items have been harder than I was expecting but I’ll be traialling brands such as Neal’s Yard and Lush moving forward, as well as some online brands like The Beauty Kitchen and I'll keep making my salt based scrubs and using bar soap in place of shower gel and hand soap dispensers.
It's been a great mix of wholesome, silly, challenging, disgusting and there have certainly been moments where I've said "I don't care" - see bottled water on the 10k, spinich and cucumber, and an undisclosed biscuit or two.
Breaking the wet wipe habit has definitely been the hardest thing for me. We don't change nappies any more but I've clung on to them for years for face and hand wiping, nose blowing, cleaning up after the kids eat, especially on the go, and generally polishing the kids when I need to.
But, the soap and flannel solution has been fine and after the initial shock the kids seem happy with it too.
If anyone can tell me whether the wet wipe use or the frequent flannel washing using energy and flushing microfibers into the water streams is better or worse for the environment that would be great. I hope I can still use the wipes...
In conclusion!
Things we’ve changed for good:
Glass milk delivery
No more soap dispensers
Greengrocer for one off fruit and veg items
Bamboo toothbrushes for the children
No more cling film
Glass milk delivery
No more soap dispensers
Greengrocer for one off fruit and veg items
Bamboo toothbrushes for the children
No more cling film
Things to try:
Make your own yoghurt
Veg box delivery
Bake fresh bread more frequently
Sustainable beauty brands
Less snacking and therefore packaging
And we'll be learning more, sharing more, talking more about day to day ideas, solutions and alternatives to #BeatPlasticPollution And I can't wait to see what content Horwich Farrelly employees come up with to win the competition prize to get to the forefront of tackling the issue and finding out more in Belize!
Make your own yoghurt
Veg box delivery
Bake fresh bread more frequently
Sustainable beauty brands
Less snacking and therefore packaging
And we'll be learning more, sharing more, talking more about day to day ideas, solutions and alternatives to #BeatPlasticPollution And I can't wait to see what content Horwich Farrelly employees come up with to win the competition prize to get to the forefront of tackling the issue and finding out more in Belize!
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