PLASTIC SURGERY FIVE DAYS WITHOUT PLASTIC PACKAGED FOOD
Priyankaa Joshi details the trials and tribulations of her plastic-free experience for a working week
W
e all know that life in plastic is far from fantastic. It’s estimated there’s over five trillion pieces of plastic floating in our oceans and if we carry on like this, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. There’s even a floating island of plastic in the Pacfiic that’s three times the size of France. There’s no shying away from these facts. It’s clear that we need to change our consumption habits and fast. While businesses from supermarkets to coffee shop chains are making pledges to ditch single-use plastic, what can we do to reduce our personal plastic footprints? I like to think of myself as a pretty eco-conscious person. I don’t eat meat, I walk everywhere and I’ve got a reusable coffee cup. Well done me. That being said, there’s definitely room for improvement. I often forget said reusable coffee cup, I’m partial to a takeaway and I buy my fruit and veg from the supermarket, wrapped in plastic. So, I set out on a five day challenge to see how easy it is for the average person, who doesn’t have oodles of time or money, to cut out plastic food and drink packaging.
HERE’S WHAT I LEARNT...
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Not exactly the pick’n’mix I was hoping for
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E FRI ASY E END C LY OSW APS ON O UR W
Plastic straws suck!
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PREPARATION IS KEY
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Ahead of the challenge. I’d planned to hit up a farmer’s market and a local zero-waste shop to stock up on some plastic-free essentials. Unfortunately, life got in the way and I didn’t get round to it. When Monday morning arrived and the challenge began, I really wished I had made the effort. Breakfast was a sorry affair. My usual combination of granola, yogurt and berries was off the menu – they all came in plastic packaging. To make matters worse, oat milk was off limits too because the carton had a plastic lid. Porridge with water and a black coffee it was. Brilliant. Things didn’t get much better as the day progressed. I ended up being dehydrated because I couldn’t take my plastic water bottle around with me and I had no plastic-free tupperware to take a packed lunch in. Key learnings: invest in a plastic-free water bottle and Tupperware, carry around metal cutlery and stock up on food that isn’t wrapped in plastic.
