Plastic Waste
5 January 2019 09:07![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nym_wibblyMy home has been reasonably "eco" since I was a teenager. We don't use a car, we buy secondhand clothing/small homewares, we don't waste food most weeks, we compost our garden waste, and we choose our cleaning and personal care products to avoid the worst nasties. Our heating bill is modest, we use the bath sparingly without filling it too much, and do ye olde fashioned wash at the sink most days instead. We recycle everything that our local council collects at the kerbside, plus a few bits and pieces that we can collect and drop off somewhere reasonably nearby.
The one big holdout is plastic.We seem to recycle and throw away more and more of it each year as staple groceries switch from glass/card to plastic packing, and from one layer of plastic to two. Our council collects plastic drinks bottles and a few other types, but way too much still ends up in the bin. Whoever decided that wrapping toilet rolls in plastic is better than wrapping them in paper flow-wrap needs to be hauled before some court in Geneva for crimes against humanity. (Larger Sainsburys recycle their own loo roll packaging along with carrier bags, collecting in-store). We already try to avoid buying the stuff we can't recycle - the black microwave containers and the lids-made-of-different-plastic - but the chore is getting harder as the years go by, not easier.
Our household New Year's resolution for 2019 was to get on top of this problem. Eliminating plastic is damned near impossible, but I think we can reduce it by changing how we shop. For example, I just checked to see if we can still get a doorstep milk delivery in this area - we can. The milkman who served us 20 years ago (back when you could still buy glass bottles in the supermarket) is still going, in cahoots with an online ordering service that can bring us not only glass bottled milk and juice, but a range of other staples. As in the old days, these holdout milkpersons take back the glass empties. It's a small beginning, because we don't actually use much milk. I'm allergic, and the parental unit mainly has a drop in coffee and tea. But it's one plastic pot per week out of the picture, with the added bonus that Milkie will bring me a box of fresh eggs each Wednesday and save me the bus trip I currently make to obtain good quality, hen-happy shelled ovulations.
My next job is to figure out how to store and freeze batch cooking without plastic baggies. I'm thinking Kilner jars or similar - used with care (cool food before filling, leave a good gap for expansion, chill in fridge before sticking in freezer), they shouldn't crack. I'm holding out for square-ish shapes that won't waste freezer space, but in a pinch, I reckon a decent jam jar will get the job done. Alternatively, I've found a biodegradeable range of single-use takeaway containers made of cornstarch, which should do nicely for portioning out my stews and sauces.
Baby steps.
The one big holdout is plastic.We seem to recycle and throw away more and more of it each year as staple groceries switch from glass/card to plastic packing, and from one layer of plastic to two. Our council collects plastic drinks bottles and a few other types, but way too much still ends up in the bin. Whoever decided that wrapping toilet rolls in plastic is better than wrapping them in paper flow-wrap needs to be hauled before some court in Geneva for crimes against humanity. (Larger Sainsburys recycle their own loo roll packaging along with carrier bags, collecting in-store). We already try to avoid buying the stuff we can't recycle - the black microwave containers and the lids-made-of-different-plastic - but the chore is getting harder as the years go by, not easier.
Our household New Year's resolution for 2019 was to get on top of this problem. Eliminating plastic is damned near impossible, but I think we can reduce it by changing how we shop. For example, I just checked to see if we can still get a doorstep milk delivery in this area - we can. The milkman who served us 20 years ago (back when you could still buy glass bottles in the supermarket) is still going, in cahoots with an online ordering service that can bring us not only glass bottled milk and juice, but a range of other staples. As in the old days, these holdout milkpersons take back the glass empties. It's a small beginning, because we don't actually use much milk. I'm allergic, and the parental unit mainly has a drop in coffee and tea. But it's one plastic pot per week out of the picture, with the added bonus that Milkie will bring me a box of fresh eggs each Wednesday and save me the bus trip I currently make to obtain good quality, hen-happy shelled ovulations.
My next job is to figure out how to store and freeze batch cooking without plastic baggies. I'm thinking Kilner jars or similar - used with care (cool food before filling, leave a good gap for expansion, chill in fridge before sticking in freezer), they shouldn't crack. I'm holding out for square-ish shapes that won't waste freezer space, but in a pinch, I reckon a decent jam jar will get the job done. Alternatively, I've found a biodegradeable range of single-use takeaway containers made of cornstarch, which should do nicely for portioning out my stews and sauces.
Baby steps.
no subject
Date: 5 Jan 2019 12:38 (UTC)I freeze food in tupperware-type things. Still plastic but reusable and won't leave you with broken glass in the freezer. Not that I currently cook anything - I have a ready meal problem. :/
-i
no subject
Date: 5 Jan 2019 13:09 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5 Jan 2019 14:20 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5 Jan 2019 15:03 (UTC)