48 deliciousmagazine.co.uk
metohiddenplastics.There’splastic
in most tea bags, for example (I’ve
switched to plastic-free ones from
Clipper). Greaseproof/baking paper
is another suspect. Some brands (it
can be hard to discern which) have
a plastic or chemical coating. “Once
you become aware of your plastic
use, you become aware of things
you never gave much thought to,”
says Beth Noy. To be on the safe
side I’ve switched to If You Care
baking paper (available through
ethicalsuperstore.com and Amazon),
which is fully compostable.WEEK 4
CLEANING PRODUCTS
I’d love to sweep around the kitchen
with a (biodegradable) bin bag and
ditch the plastic in one go. But I’m
learning to be patient. It’s better to
use things up to avoid waste, then
replace with eco alternatives when
they run out, says Beth Noy.
Repurposing is even better. “If
you already have plastic, the most
sustainable thing you can do is keep
it in the system. Take care of it and
use it repeatedly,” says chef Skye
Gyngell, who’s made the kitchen
at her London restaurant Spring
single-use plastic free. So, when
my sprays run out, I refill them.
Ideally, I’d make cleaning
products with only lemons, vinegar
and a bit of can-do spirit, but I’m
busy and tired. So I don’t. Instead,
Beth sends me some nifty refills
from eco-brand Iron & VelvetDoing the challenge has
alerted me to hidden plastics – in
tea bags and greaseproof paper,
for example(ironandvelvet.co.uk). I dissolve
them in warm water, then decant
into an old spray bottle. It takes
seconds, and – like many an
eco-swap – is bizarrely satisfying.
Cleaning products are one of the
easiest areas to make a change.
I take a soap dispenser to the refill
shop and fill it with washing-up
liquid (at 69p, it’s a thrifty swap).
I get compostable bin liners, I wash
J Cloths in boiling water with a
drop of vinegar (another tip from
Gyngell) and switch to a natural
loofah sponge. I finish the month
on a high. We now have a total of
71 single-use plastics in the kitchen- a reduction of 54 per cent.
I was naive to think I could
eliminate all my single-use plastics
in a month (that’s only possible if
you cull in one go, rather than use
them up), but we’re steadily making
our kitchen a greener space. The
journey doesn’t end here.
WHAT ABOUT THE
SUPERMARKETS?
Most of the UK’s major
supermarkets are signed
up to the UK Plastics Pact
(see box, below) and are
already making small but
important changes:OReusable produce bags
are on sale at supermarkets
including SAINSBURY’S
and LIDL
O You can BYO containers
to the in-store meat and fish
counters at MORRISONS
and SAINSBURY’S
O ALDI is trialling both
paper and compostable
bags across its stores and
has also switched from
polystyrene to cardboard
discs in its pizza boxes –
a move that’s saved
180 tonnes of plastic
O WAITROSE is removing
plastic wrap from packs
of canned vegetables and
has removed unrecyclable
black plastic from its
own-brand products
O TESCO has put an end
to the use of hard-to-
recycle materials in its
own packaging
O ASDA has removed
single-use carrier bags
from in-store and home
deliveries, a saving of
375 millionbagsperyear
OMORRISONSnolongerWHAT’STHE
GOVERNMENTDOING?
TheUKPlasticsPactisa joint
initiativebetweentheUK
Government,NGOsandmajor
foodbusinesses.ThePactaims
tomake 100 percentof
packagingreusable,recyclable
orcompostableby2025.
“TheUKPlasticsPactwill
generatea fundamentalchange
inthewaywedesign,produce,
use,reuse,disposeofand
recycleplastics.ThePact’s
membersareresponsiblefor
85 percentofplasticpackaging
soldthroughUKsupermarkets,”
explainsHelenBird,plastics
expertatWRAP(Wasteand
ResourcesActionProgramme).
“ThroughthePact,we’re
targetingsingle-useplastics
thatareproblematicand/or
unnecessary,”saysBird.This
includesplanstoeliminateeight
typesofsingle-useplasticbythe
endof2020,includingstraws,
disposablecutlery,drinkstirrers
andpolystyrenepackaging.OMORRISONSnolonger
sells 5p carrier bags