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It’s been a year since my family started our mission toward a plastic free lifestyle. Here are the highlights to inspire others as we embark on #PlasticfreeJuly. Come join us as #thereisnoplanetb 1/15
First change was to stop the online shopping - first groceries and then incidentals from the likes of Amazon. Packaging of delivered goods is excessive and all those journeys to my house. Free prime delivery? Not for the planet. Three exceptions for milk, veg and wine. 2/15
A really easy change was to get a milkman. It is more expensive, but very convenient and saves a lot of plastic with a growing family. Thanks @milkandmore ! Plus we don’t have a car so lugging milk and juice around is hard work. 3/15
Next we got our veggies delivered from @OddboxLDN . It’s not totally plastic free as their priority is to stop waste. I love their stuff - great variety and really good portions. We alternate small and medium each week and top up with more child-friendly options. 4/15
Dry goods come from the superb @LarderNaked in Herne Hill. We walk there every other month to collect about 25kg of food. 7th order has just gone in. Can’t wait to get snacking on banana chips again soon. Still craving macaroni. 5/15
We’ve managed to reduce supermarket trips to once per month each and we each cover a different shop. This gets us the best options from all and reduces the workload of remembering different shop layouts! 6/15
We’ve made all our own bread for 4 years now so that continues. 🍞 When I say ‘we’ I really mean @evilstreak 😍 7/15
We eat a lot less meat as the local butcher is expensive and it’s yet another trip to get it. The kids get more than the grown ups as we’re happy to eat pulses instead. My bean burgers still aren’t hitting the spot! Tinned fish is a big staple. 8/15
Santa brought us lots of goodies - metal straws, new water bottles for the kids and bamboo sporks. I could do better at carrying them about. I wish cafes would stop putting a straw in without asking. 9/15
Work day lunches are typically bought from a local salad bar Grab and Go on Strutton Ground. They’re happy for you to reuse your container everyday and it’s all self service so very easy. Zero waste lunches at the consumption end! 10/15
Bathroom results have been mixed. The toothpaste tablets didn’t go down well with the kids. Bamboo toothbrushes are great. Shampoo nightmares. Still not sure what to do about that. 11/15
As a family we still have a major problem with nighttime nappies - it could be time to re-establish the cloth stash. Any local folk with spares let me know! 12/15
Toward the end of the year I’ve been more flexible. Much needed to achieve a sustainable approach for my own mental health in a busy life! So cheeses are the biggest block, salami in huge sausages, cucumbers, a bit of cream for ice cream, frozen veg all come in plastic 13/15
All in all our rubbish is reduced to a small carrier bag each week (plus the nappies 😟). The recycling is still fairly substantial - mostly cardboard and tins and wine bottles. So we’re still a long way from zero waste, but we’re really proud of our progress. 14/15
My top tip to get started is to check what’s in your bins to pick off some quick wins. Also, get you kids involved as they have really taken the mission to heart 🥰. Here’s to another year on our plastic free journey. #PlasticFreeJuly 15/15
