Like many of you I had banned single use plastic from my kitchen.
The public campaign to reduce plastic shopping bags had been highly successful. We had all got into the habit of taking our own fabric, jute or reusable bags with us when we went shopping – although I tried not to acquire long life plastic bags, because they do fall apart eventually. But I wanted to take it further.
Clingfilm was the first to go. I tried bees wax wraps, which can be used to cover anything kept in the fridge in a bowl or cup. They are also a useful way of wrapping leftovers, although they do need to be lined with greaseproof paper.
I had gradually acquired a pile of stackable boxes in two sizes and I used those to store leftovers in the fridge. I often cook enough for 4 or 6 servings and freeze the remainder in two portion sizes in the boxes.
Next to go were the tear-off bags provided in the supermarket for loose fruit and vegetables. Instead I sourced some washable drawstring mesh bags which I took with me when I went shopping.
I then turned my attention to packaging, which can be more of a challenge. Much of it ensures that food reaches the home in a healthy state, and these days a good proportion is recyclable. I do wash and save any plastic that can’t be put in the household recycling and store it. Some of the supermarkets encourage us to return anything like that, so I dutifully take it along with me, hoping that they have found some way of recycling it all. At the moment I am storing packaging in my spare room (along with the shredded paper and other items destined for the charity shop or tip when all this is over).
But my good intentions have now been undermined. For understandable safety reasons all the supermarkets now deliver goods in plastic bags so they can leave them on the doorstep. I now have dozens of plastic bags – some are the tougher longlife ones but many are flimsy single use type.
In contrast prepacked boxes of fruit, vegetables, groceries and even meat from a number of suppliers arrive in cardboard boxes. We can order toiletries and other items online, and they usually arrive in cardboard as well. However it is very difficult, if not impossible, to buy everything we need that way, especially when delivery slots are like gold dust and we have to take what we find. Unless you know otherwise, of course.
Please note
We have been in full self-isolation since 16th March to protect my husband whose immune system is compromised.
If you are in self-isolation then join the Lib Dems in self-isolation Facebook group.
You can find my previous Isolation diaries here.
* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.
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16 Comments
Sainsburys have been providing free gloves at their petrol stations, single use, ordinary hygiene, also free air for tyres.
Mary Reid: “I now have dozens of plastic bags – some are the tougher longlife ones but many are flimsy single use type.”
Tough ones are bin liners. Flimsy ones are dog poo bags.
I never bought a roll of bin liners until supermarkets charged for bags. Oh, have I changed one form of plastic consumption into another? Who would have thought!
I know that I am an environmentally conscientious liberal weirdy, and that laws which seem contrary to me have reduced the CO2 output of numpties, but I get upset when somebody can’t work how to reuse a plastic bag.
@Phil Beesley – “but I get upset when somebody can’t work how to reuse a plastic bag.” I think I am capable of working that out, Phil. I am more concerned about the environmental impact of the greater production of plastic bags when we had all got used to managing without.
Mary R: “I am more concerned about the environmental impact of the greater production of plastic bags when we had all got used to managing without.”
We are not without the requirement for dog poo bags. Some people, those who do not shop much, buy bags for the combined purpose. Food; poo bag.
@Phil Beesley – ah, I don’t have that inconvenience, as I don’t have a dog.
Me neither, Mary. I have neighbours with hairy critters.
C0VID 19 has added to the waste mountain particular in terms of a massive growth in on-line shopping much of which now arrives in large carboard boxes .I have a bin full of cardboard boxes but my council only wants card which is acceptable to our MRF provider . Warwickshire County has shut down the municipal residential bulky waste facility for residents on the basis it cannot police safe distancing and a fear that when lock down is lifted they will be inundated with residents disposing of all the waste generated by projects undertaken by bored and enforced isolation of householders .
I would be interested to know how other municipal waste authorities are handling this .
Mary Reid | Tue 5th May 2020 – 5:00 pm
Iceland seem to have lots of slots available, but a minimum charge of £35.00 makes it difficult to order. I wanted to order lots of frozen fish and some of their triple-cooked chips, but there was no fish on the website for online delivery.
My wife found a slot at ASDA, who have delivered this morning between 7 and 9 am. The merger with Sainsburys did not go through. It would have provided Tesco with competition.
Saving the last shop in the village is worthwhile. That is a butcher who does local delivery and wraps meat in sealed bags marked “Premium Food in Premium packs”. The empty bags go in the general rubbish, which is mostly collected on alternate weeks, while the bacon rind goes in a small box which should be collected weekly.
The borough council needed to negotiate new contracts because a Lib Dem campaign about recycling glass from home (fortnightly) had succeeded.
BBC1 Countryfile covered the fish shortage last Sunday. They reported on broken markets in both directions.
A middleman wholesaler had travelled 800 miles to Scotland to collect supplies for empty retail shelves.
An alternative to recycling is re-use.
2 litre transparent plastic bottles can be cut with scissors and used as mini greenhouses to protect spring seedlings from wind, squirrels, wild rabbits, etc.
Obviously tap water is cheaper and may be wholesome.
Low alcohol cider (under 1%) is available from Waitrose. They did deliver.
Mary Reid 5th May ’20 – 11:12pm
Keep smiling through, just as you always do.
Yes, plastic DOES have its uses. It’s how we dispose of it that is really the problem. Just watch the renaissance in car usage when all this is over. What now public transport? Don’t get me wrong, I’m in favour of greater use and other so called ‘modal shifts’; but how do you make it safe?
Back to disposal. A few years ago the Lincolnshire County Council, in order to minimise the amount of rubbish going into landfill sites, commissioned an Energy from Waste (EfW) plant (aka incinerator) in North Hykeham, where I live and was a councillor for thirty years. As one of the two County Councillors for the area (at that time both Lib Dem) it was my job to answer queries and concerns, which turned out to be very few. The most common complaint was pollution and whether it would affect recycling rates, which thanks to an aggressive District Council, of which I had also been a member for some 18 years, had been some of the highest in the country for many years.
Well, unlike Norfolk CC, which had to abandon plans to build an EfW plant near Kings Lynn, despite spending around £30 on development costs because of local opposition, LCC went ahead with quite frankly minimal opposition, our plant has been a big success, financing much needed Highways improvements through Section 106 agreements etc. Pollution? Well, not that I can see – and the chimney on the plant is visible from my upstairs window. Recycling rates? Although I might argue that you need a university degree to understand what you can and can’t put in your recycling bin, they are still pretty good, although the District Council does keep moving the goal posts!
Nothing is of course perfect; but I just wish that the George Monbiots of this world would lighten up a bit. So perhaps ‘burn, baby, burn’ might not be such a bad idea after all.
@ R.A. Underhill “BBC1 Countryfile covered the fish shortage last Sunday. They reported on broken markets in both directions. A middleman wholesaler had travelled 800 miles to Scotland”.
The poor old southern English, always suffering and complaining. Try this – always pleased to support a family firm in my old constituency ward in a more civilised part of the country. Great people, great products… especially the crab and lobster.
DR Collin & Son – Providing Quality Scottish Fish & Shellfish …www.drcollin.co.uk
D. R. Collins & Son supply award winning restaurants around the country and around the world. Fished in local waters, landed in Eyemouth, delivered to your door.
David Raw 6th May ’20 – 10:35am
Of course 800 miles was a round trip.
The BBC did not specify exactly where he went.
Try watching it on catch-up.
“John Marriott 6th May ’20 – 10:34am
Yes, plastic DOES have its uses.”
Consider UPVC as used for window frames. Hard wearing, as opposed to softwood
mostly used for new houses and painted, but UPVC can be used for window frames in tall buildings,
Tropical hardwoods are less effective, particularly for repairs.
David Raw 6th May ’20 – 10:35am
I did buy lobster recently, and have eaten it.
There were instructions on the box as to how to open the contents, with a hammer.