We did it!

Well, we survived one month without buying anything that will go in landfill!
HOORAY!

Ok, well, that's not strictly true... I did have to buy some antibiotics in a plastic packet, plus the pizzas we ordered (despite me specifically saying 'do not put them on') came with those silly plastic things to stop the box touching the pizza. Also we did end up with the dog food with the plastic bag inside the cardboard box. Plus, a few lids from milk bottles...



However, compared to our usual purchasing habits this was a very, very, very different month.

How do we feel then at the end of Wasted?

Mixed feelings really:

• relieved that it's November, and things will be easier and less pressured!
• grateful for all the support and encouragement that we recieved
• happy to have dedicated some time to thinking about the bigger picture beyond daily living and working
• convinced that it is our busy, pressured lifestyles that encourage us to buy so much plastic wrapped stuff - it's all about convenience. If we spent less time working and rushing around we could think before we buy, choose to buy a different product from a different shop or take our own containers etc.
• reluctant to buy stuff with non-recyclable plastic packaging now I have thought deeply about what really happens to it
• that I want to carry on being organised eg. always carry a re-usable shopping bag
• proud of Chayo who did the whole month with no fuss and is seriously considering whether he should ever buy crisps again
• happy that we raised awareness and made a small difference
• committed to sustaining some changes that we have made
• curious as to how the year ahead will go - what will we and won't we buy now after having done this month?

I will end the blog by re-posting the song that made me and others around me particularly think about single-use plastic bags. Isn't it time they were banned in Our City?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koETnR0NgLY

Two days to go... Our Plastic Legacy... and... In Praise of Bakeries

Didn't think I'd say this at the beginning of the month, but Wasted is starting to feel normal! I am now quite used to walking into shops and straight past mountains of plastic wrapped convenience foods, towards the one or two things that I know I can buy.

Today, for example, I went to the Co-op and came out with some apples (no packaging), a box of eggs (cardboard packaging) and some dog food (cardboard box). We also went to a bakery to buy pasties and donuts (in paper bags), and it felt completely normal ignoring all the other the plastic wrapped treats and drinks.

 

                         


Our bin, though, is still alarmingly full. How can that be?

I had imagined at the beginning of the month that I would feel an amazing sense of pride at my empty bin. I even took a photo of it on Day One! However, it turned out not to be so simple...

It emerged that the PLASTIC LEGACY in our house was huge. The truth is that only now are we really starting to feel the full impact of our month without buying anything that will go to landfill. We have been using up stuff in our cupboards - and so much of it is wrapped in PLASTIC. So, our bin has got lots of plastic in it as we have gradually eaten through our supplies. At the moment the cupboards and fridge and freezer are all becoming quite bare.

Here's a list of some of the packaging that we have thrown away in the last few days (from stuff we already had):

rice (plastic bag)
lentils (plastic bag)
spaghetti (plastic bag)
birthday chocolates (plastic box)
yeast (plastic sachet)
tortillas (plastic bag)
frozen chips (plastic bag)
pasta sauce (plastic pot)
breadsticks (plastic bag)
frozen peas (plastic bag)

Part of me is, of course, looking forward to November - I want to buy cheese, and sour cream and some new tights!

Chayo, on the other hand says we should just carry on "It's not been that difficult mum," he says.

Katherine and Phil

Hooray! Two more people have decided to take on the WASTED challenge for its final days. Thank you Katherine and Phil.

One of the best things about other people joining in is that they realise how difficult it is. Perhaps we could make it a regular challenge? An annual event? October is Wasted month each year? Perhaps more and more people would join in...

I think that would be good - not only will we put less STUFF in landfill for a month, but the legacy of it in our minds will perhaps mean that over the whole year we 'naturally'  consume less non-recyclable plastic... (more thoughts on this later).

(Cartoon by Polyp)

Stuff that I would have bought

Every day there's at least one or two or more things that I think of buying - and then realise that I can't.

Mascara    (plastic tube)
Tangerines (in a plastic box)
DVD  (plastic wrapped, plus of course the DVD itself will be in a dump one day)
Kitchen towel (wrapped in plastic)
Indian takeaway  (after further investigation it turned out the seemingly paper lid was plastic coated)
Cheese (plastic wrapped)
Hand cream (plastic tube)

Bag Bans?

It is inspiring to see how many places around the world have banned plastic bags.
Rwanda.
China.
Mexico City.
Toronto.
Mumbai.

Bangladesh banned single use plastic bags in 2002 after it became clear that plastic bags greatly exacerbated the devastating flooding of 1988 and 1998.

And lots more.

England....?    NOT YET.



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17027990

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/apr/28/plasticbags.frontpagenews

http://people.howstuffworks.com/how-many-cities-have-a-ban-on-plastic-bags.htm

http://www.salon.com/2007/08/10/plastic_bags/

Thank you 6TP

My class are incredible too. Thank you 6TP for your deep thinking, discussion, debate, inspiration and support these past weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 17

Well, I'm kind of getting used to thinking before I buy, and not buying plastic...
Lunch today out and about was a pasty from a bakery in a paper bag (couldn't get a sandwich - all in plastic wrapping).

We've been cooking some creative and lovely meals too.

Chayo happy with the Smarties in the cardboard tube.

The truth is that doing this month will, I think, change us forever... I can't imagine we'll easily buy all our plastic wrapped snacks and foods after this. Not saying we won't buy them at all, because it is virtually impossible we are finding out.

Some things have really kept us going though. Just through doing Wasted, so many people around us are talking about landfill and plastic. Every time a whiteboard pen runs out in the classroom the children commiserate about the fact that it's going to landfill (discussions about using chalk have followed). Today in the staffroom a colleague said she was thinking about us last night when her takeaway arrived on polystyrene trays and she realised they'd be going straight into landfill. A child in my class said he's seen about 10 plastic bags floating around on Clarendon Road yesterday evening. So, people are noticing things and talking about them, plus quite a few friends and colleagues are taking active steps to reduce waste.

Chayo is so committed and amazing too. He keeps me going. He was so devastated when he realised the dog food we'd bought in a cardboard box had a plastic bag lining: "Oh no, Mum, we've lost!" he said. Today we went out to eat and he decided not to take a free kids party bag - "The pen's got a plastic wrapper on it, and it'll end up in landfill".