Let me first start off by saying how challenging it has been this week on our "Plastic is Not-so Fantastic" pledge. As I've already made a decent commitment a long time ago to try to minimize my plastic use, I didn't think I had that far to go. Boy was I wrong. I collected my plastic trash for the week which I will post on Fake Plastic Fish, and it was sad to see how much I accumulate even when attempting to be plastic-free. I've highlighted here some of the pitfalls that I ran into:
1) always shop with many different sized reusable bags. I found that being prepared was my best defense.
2) when buying cleaning products, buy bulk whenever possible, as it minimizes the amount of plastic bottles needed.
3) snack foods were really my Achilles tendon. We love snacks around this house, and it was hard to give up some of our old favorites during our plastic-free week. I wasn't able to find a suitable bulk foods replacement, as I usually try and replace plastic-laden treats with bulk food ones. It was a not-so-fun sacrifice that my family wasn't happy with!
4) meat and dairy foods are also nearly impossible to get not wrapped in plastic. I tried to purchase larger pieces of cheese, as that seemed the most logical in getting the amount of plastic to a minimum. The meat was a totally different story as I went to the butcher completely unprepared and without a glass or reusable container.
More than anything, I think that's the key: be prepared. Have many bags in your purse or bag that can do double duty to shop, and buy things packaged in recyclable or biodegradable packaging. But being a parent, I understand that it's almost impossible to feel 100% prepared and ready for everything. We all have so much going on in our lives that it's hard to remember everything in order to be green. Try and be conscious of what you're buying, and what you're buying it in (plastic, glass, or other). I found this week to be really enlightening, and I'll take what I learned from this week into consideration every time I shop now. Just hopefully I'll be prepared and remember all my own tips!
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To mark our plastic-free pledge, we will be giving away one of our gorgeous Smiling Planet plates to one of our readers. If you haven't already heard (from all the international press raving about them) Smiling Planet plates are made from recycled and recyclable plastic and are a stunning reminder of our beautiful planet and a way to bring peace to mealtime - or so we think!
So what do you have to do to win the Smiling Planet plate of your choice? Simply leave us a tip here of what you're doing to minimize your plastic use, or a tip to reduce your plastic consumption. As usual, we'll choose a winner at random on the 27th November - good luck!
