The Queen goes plastic fee

Well, almost - well done your Majesty

plastic free in Buckingham Palace


Meanwhile we're realising more and more how ubiquitous plastic is and how impossible it is to go entirely plastic free.

We need to be millionaires and devote your life to finding sources of plastic free food and 'stuff'. It's very frustrating - hence my silence for so long. But it's good to see her majesty embracing the issue and doing something about it.

Blue Planet II poster wrapped in plastic

So I went to war about the fact that my Blue Planet poster arrived wrapped in plastic. I tweeted it to no less than Sir David Attenborough and the Open University. I just couldn't believe my eyes after watching incredible, extraordinary and devastating footage of whales ingesting plastic, turtles getting wrapped in plastic and albatross chicks dying as a result of eating plastic. What on earth or what in the seas is wrong with a good ol-fashioned recyclable paper envelope!

Anyway, apparently I wasn't the only one to be up in arms about it. Here's a link to an article in The Independent. Ocean poster causes uproar

Just in case this earns me fame - I'd like to thank my friend and colleague Vicky who is a loyal follower, I should perhaps say, THE loyal follower of my tweets. Thanks Vicky. See you Monday if I'm not inundated with work offers preaching against plastic!

Tesco - Not currently recycled

Not Currently Recycled

Paul's shoes are size 12 to show how big this 'not currently recycled' crisp bag is.

As you can see, we're doing well with our plastic-free year.That's five items on our shelves with 'not currently recycled' plastic on them, not to mention the titanic bag of crisps. I've tweeted Tesco about it so they're bound to do something about it now; if they don't, Sir David Attenborough will, whom I have also tweeted. What a life this is, protesting right, left and centre about single-use plastic!

Apparently the logo for 'not currently recycled' does not mean 'not currently recycled', it means that that type of plastic is only being recycled by 20% of councils. That means checking with South Somerset to see if we're one of the few that does recycle it. Watch this space . . .

Writing to the Prime Minister - stop the manufacture of plastic bags

Well, it's been a frustrating discovery that it's impossible to go plastic free unless:

1) You don't work at all
2) You have lots of money

We compared cheese prices this week. Paul uses the plastic-wrapped bog standard cheapest of the cheap Cheddar cheese at £5.12/kilo. "It can't be that much more money to buy it in a round from the Deli Counter," we decided. So we tried. Oh, yes, it is. The cheapest was about £8 odd per kilo. We just can't afford to do that. Nor have we got the time to wander round looking for all the different shops which can offer plastic-free options.

Yes, we're willing to try and to travel within reason, but gone are the days when you could buy everything locally without buying a plastic bag. We can go to the butcher and take our own containers - and are doing that. We can buy loose fruit and vegetables whenever possible, but what about shampoo containers, bags of pasta and rice, crisps, biscuits, bread? I just don't know how we can buy these things without buying plastic too - and it's too drastic to stop buying them. I'm afraid I'm not about to start using a bar of soap/shampoo. I do like some luxuries!

So . . . . what to do . . . well, I've written to our Prime Minister about plastic bags in particular. Cut them off at source I've said. Why not? I see no other way of ending the misery our seas are in!

Day 7 - Recyclable plastics

So much for my posting every day resolution! The good news is that we are undaunted in our fight for a plastic-free life. Today's discovery has been about the types of plastic and which ones can be recycled.

Here are the seven standard classifications for plastics, and the recycling and reuse information for each type:

We've done a bit of research into which plastics can be recycled and which can't - and why. It's all a bit scary, but basically any products with 1 or 2 can definitely be picked up from the kerbside on recycle days and increasingly anything with 5 on can now be too (such as ketchup bottles). Sadly, shampoo bottles cannot generally be recycled as it is  used to, and still may, contain phthalates, which are linked to numerous health issues ranging from developmental problems to miscarriages. They also contain DEHA, which can be carcinogenic with long-term exposure. DEHA has also been linked to loss of bone mass and liver problems. Don’t cook with or burn this plastic. (infor from http://naturalsociety.com/recycling-symbols-numbers-plastic-bottles-meaning)

• It’s found in shampoo bottles, clear food packaging, cooking oil bottles, medical equipment, piping, and windows.

• This plastic is recycled into paneling, flooring, speed bumps, decks, and roadway gutters.

Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/recycling-symbols-numbers-plastic-bottles-meaning/#ixzz53cokfoRp 
Follow us: @naturalsociety on Twitter | NaturalSociety on Facebook

Where can I buy shampoo in a recyclable container?

Also, many thanks to Vicky at work who has sent me a great link to shops which sell loose food - more on that tomorrow!

Day 5 - Home made bread

We went to the Co-op and had to buy a punnet of strawberries (reduced to 50p) and a punnet of blueberries. What a compromise. Not sure if you can recycle those plastic punnets, but I have a feeling you can't. We also bought some Warburton's bread (reduced) because that is in a paper wrapper. I made some bread too, but it takes such a lot of doing I'm not going to be able to keep that up for long! I wonder how my grandma managed it!

Day 3 - Butchers and brown paper bags

I think what I'll do (in theory) is write every day for a week, then maybe post once a week over the year. That's the plan anyway.

New things to ponder: can you recycle tin foil? Paul says yes, I wasn't so sure.

Having to compromise means we're still going to use the single use plastic bags we have and any other plastic we already have. This will give us time to find ways of getting alternatives.

I had a good discussion with our local butcher today about days gone by when butchers used to put meat on a piece of greaseproof paper and then wrap it  up in white paper like they  do fish and chips. I guess that paper was then eventually burned (which I know is contributing to global warming and pollution, but where do you draw the line?) He readily put our diced steak in one tub and our chicken breasts in another (which I shall clearly label for future use).

I then went to our two local farms which sell vegetables and bought a tasty mixture of loose veg for £2.20

As we were cooking our delicious buttered chicken recipe this evening, the doorbell rang with a huge package. "Christmas isn't over after all," I whooped as Paul declared it was addressed to me. Fortunately I didn't have too long to get excited before we realised it was the delivery of 1000 brown paper bags - wrapped, wait for it - in plastic!

My kitchen now looks like an old fashioned green-grocers!