deliciousmagazine.co.uk 47food for thought.P
lasticis a hottopic.
Campaignerssuchas
DavidAttenboroughand
programmesincluding2019’sWar
onPlastichavehelpedtoputthe
problemonthenationalagenda.
Thereare 150 milliontonnesof
plasticintheoceans,andevery
yeara millionbirdsandmorethan
100,000seamammalsdiefrom
eatingandgettingtangledin
plasticwaste,accordingtoa UK
Governmentreport.Recycling
aloneisn’ttheanswer:thesystem
is groaningundertheweightof
plasticpackaging,andsome
problemplastics– straws,black
producttraysandclingfilm– aren’t
currentlyrecycledatall(ittakes 500
yearsfora plasticstrawtobreak
down,accordingtoDEFRA).
Likemanypeople,I’vebecome
‘plasticwoke’.I’vegota water
bottle,a KeepCup,anda totefor
theshops.Butif I reallywanttocut
downmyconsumption,I needto
tacklethekitchen.Mykitchenis a
blackholeforshort-lifeplastics.
Therearerandompacketsinthe
larder,kiddiesnacksinthe
cupboardsanda fridgefullof
unnecessarypackaging.
“Kitchenscanbea hotspotfor
plasticwaste,”saysFriendsofthe
EarthcampaignerJulianKirby.“But
witha fewsimplechanges,everyone
canhelpstemthetideofplastic
pollutionthatharmsourwildlife
andblightstheenvironment.”
I decidedit wastimetoeliminate
single-useandshort-lifeplasticfrom
mykitchenandI gavemyselfa
monthtodoit.Here’showI goton...
WEEK 1 FRESHPRODUCE
Thesoberingtallyofsingle-use
plasticitemsinmykitchen,from
cleaningproductstoclingfilm,
is 156.I’mnotsurewhatI was
expecting,but 156 seemshigh.
I tacklefruit,veg,meatanddairy
first.I calla localdairyandarrange
a milkdelivery.Easy.NextI call
the greengrocers on the other side
oftownandarrangea weeklyveg
box.Bytheendofweekone,the
kidsareenjoyingcreamymilkon
theircereal,andtheylovefinding
glassbottlesonthedoorstep.Our
vegboxis packedwithlocalapples,
pears,rootveganddarkgreens,all
looseorinpaperbags.It mightbe
confirmationbias,butI swearthey
havemoreflavourthantheir
supermarketcousins.
Meatandfishcomeinour
supermarketdelivery,smothered
inplastic.Free-rangechickenis the
worstoffender:it’sinthoseblack
plastictraysthatcan’tberecycled.
Severalsupermarkets,including
MorrisonsandSainsbury’s,are
encouragingcustomerstobring
theirowncontainerstothemeat
andfishcounters.Tupperwareat
theready,I vowtostartshopping
in-store whenever possible.WEEK 2 THESTORECUPBOARD
TimefortheStorecupboardof
Shame.It containsthehighest
proportionofshort-lifeplastics:82.
Thatincludescerealboxlinersand
packetsofrice.I callBethNoy,
founderofonlineretailerPlastic
Freedom,foradvice.“Lookinto
zero-wasteshopsnearyou,”shesays.
A nearbyhealthshophasa refill
station.I fillcanisterswithlentils
andquinoaandtopupspicejars.
Youdon’tneedfancycontainers:
AlexHead,founderofconscientious
catererSocialPantry,suggests
reusingjamjars.Therepurposed
jarsinmycupboardarea more
calmingsightthana jumbleof
packets.A sidebenefitofcutting
downonsingle-useplastic,says
BethNoy,is thatyouculltheclutter,
too.Minimalistkitchen,hereI come!
Themountainoforganickiddy
snacksbothersme.Allthose
chickpeapuffsandfruitypawscost
a fortuneandsendourplasticcount
sky-high.Willmyperma-ravenous
kids,agedtwoandfour,behappy
with Beth’s suggestion that I makesnacksfromscratchandstore
theminthefreezer?It’ssomething
I dowhenI can,butlifegetsinthe
way.I blockouta Sundayandprep
fortheweekahead.Homemade
courgetteandcheddarmuffins
area hit,asarepearflapjacks.My
toddlerstillwantsherbeloved
fruitleatherswiththebearon
thefront,though,andI drawthe
lineatmakingmyown:recipes
I findonlinetake 12 hours.
Costis undoubtedlya barrierto
goingplasticfree.Whena bagof
supermarketpennecosts20p,it’shardtostomachthecostof
buyingit froma zero-wasteshop.
Supermarketsdoyieldsome
eco-friendlybargains,though:
Lidloatscomeina paperbagand
itscouscouscomesina box.Look
outforriceandpastaincardboard
boxesfromothersupermarkets too,
suggestsBethNoy.
I buytheglassoptionwhere
possibleformayo,condimentsand
soysauce.Plus,if it’saningredient
I won’tuseoften,a zero-wasteshop
is a savvychoice:youcanbuyonly
asmuchasyouneed.Butif we’re
allgoingtocutoutplasticswithout
breakingthebank,weneedmore
helpfromthebigretailers.WEEK 3 KITCHENHELPERS
Thingslikeclingfilm,freezer
bagsandgreaseprooforbaking
papermakea cook’slifeeasier.
I useuptheclingfilmandreplace
it withbeeswaxwraps.They
shouldlastatleasta yearand
canbecompostedwhenthey’re
eventuallydone.I investinreusable
siliconezip-upbags:perfectfor
packedlunchesandstoringsoups
andstewsinthefreezer.
Doing the challenge has alerted→Ihavea waterbottle,a
KeepCup,anda totefortheshops- butI stillcounted 156 itemsof
single-use plastic in my kitchen