The War against plastic waste

greenbee

I ordered some stuff from Seasalt the other day and it came in a paper sack, packed with tissue paper and no plastic, so although they're not quite in the same league as rapanui, it's another good choice for reducing volumes of plastic.

I need to go and buy food and am seriously depressed at the thought of potentially coming home with lots of plastic. I need to make a list and then work out exactly where I'm going to get what. I'm home for a bit (unusual for me at the moment, I've mostly been away for work) so need to get some nice fresh fruit and veg. And have a sort out of the contents of the freezer.

TheBanker

Primrose wrote: »

We recently received our National Trust magazine which came packaged in an oute wrapper which said:
"I am 100% compostable and contain Potato Starch....

I bought the Guardian yesterday and the supplements were packaged in a similar wrapper. I'm a bit nervous about using it for the food waste though, in case the bin men think it's a plastic bag and don't empty my bin.

Mummy2cheekymonkeys

https://www.morrisons-corporate.com/media-centre/corporate-news/morrisons-to-introduce-plastic-free-fruit-and-veg-areas-to-help-customers-buy-bagless/

Morrisons has announced it is going plastic free on its fruit and veg. I just hope it is rolled out to all stores.

Nonnadiluca

tori.k, thanks so much for the link to Rapanui, I hadn't heard of them before and am very impressed! I buy very few 'new' clothes but I am having trouble finding a hoody, the only thing I could really do with, second hand so will be ordering one from them. I'm happy to spend my limited income,
( pension) on supporting ethical business: as they say, every pound we spend is a vote for the sort of world we want!

TheBanker

Good news about Morrisons - but I wonder what the pricing will be like? I see this is in addition to. not instead of, plastic packaged products. So the cynic says the unwrapped ones will be more expensive.

Better than nothing, I suppose, but I remain to be convinced.

pattypan4

I bought three apples the other day, my local supermarket, not one of the biggies. They provided either a flimsy white paper bag or a poly bag off a roll. I picked up the paper bag and it broke as I put the first apple in, my apple rolled on the dirty floor. They need to start using bags fit for purpose if the GBP are to be pursuaded to use plastic free. Those paper bags would have been fine for the one small bread roll that I bought but there were only the poly bags with tiny holes, I had to use one of those as well as the poly bag



Trouble with pyo fruit and veg from supermarkets is the handling by all and sundry and the unwashed (people), the dropping and putting back

dreaming

TheBanker wrote: »

Good news about Morrisons - but I wonder what the pricing will be like? I see this is in addition to. not instead of, plastic packaged products. So the cynic says the unwrapped ones will be more expensive.

Better than nothing, I suppose, but I remain to be convinced.

I have to say that I am quite impressed with Morrisons as they seem to be beating the bigger s/markets in this area. I mostly shop there as it is closest to me and I did have some concerns at the end of last years as they seemed to have a lot of empty shelves, no matter what day/time I shopped.
This problem seems to have been largely resolved and looking the other day their loose f&v did not seem significantly higher than pre-packed. As a single person household I really appreciate being able to purchase the amount I want. I have always tried not to throw food away, but pre-packed f&v was the main problem as I couldn't always eat the amounts and I have limited freezer space.

pattypan4 wrote: »

I bought three apples the other day, my local supermarket, not one of the biggies. They provided either a flimsy white paper bag or a poly bag off a roll. I picked up the paper bag and it broke as I put the first apple in, my apple rolled on the dirty floor. They need to start using bags fit for purpose if the GBP are to be pursuaded to use plastic free. Those paper bags would have been fine for the one small bread roll that I bought but there were only the poly bags with tiny holes, I had to use one of those as well as the poly bag

Trouble with pyo fruit and veg from supermarkets is the handling by all and sundry and the unwashed (people), the dropping and putting back

You should feedback your experience regarding the flimsy bags to the store manager. The more we (the consumers) complain, and ask for better packaging, the quicker retailers are likely to respond.
I don't really see the problem with PYO f&v being handled as I would just wash it when I got home. To be honest, I usually wash pre-packed stuff as I am never sure what chemicals may have been used.

greenbee

dreaming wrote: »

I don't really see the problem with PYO f&v being handled as I would just wash it when I got home. To be honest, I usually wash pre-packed stuff as I am never sure what chemicals may have been used.

It's not just chemicals, anything pre-packed has also been handled. So wash/peel everything (even if you grew it yourself... you don't know whether a mouse/hedgehog/cat/slug/fly has been in contact with it before you harvested it...).

I have to shop tomorrow, so I'm going to put together a bag of paper bags/plastic food containers so I can avoid plastic bags where possible. I was going to donate the plastic boxes to the CS, as I use glass or ceramic for storage, but they'll be good for shopping (something I haven't done for weeks...)

DigForVictory

I noticed Tesco were doing half price sistema food boxes - in some reasonable sizes (as well as another brand in smaller ones). Lest anyone want to escape the tyranny of Lock & Lock or just try the own box bit on a budget?

tori.k

Nonnadiluca wrote: »

tori.k, thanks so much for the link to Rapanui, I hadn't heard of them before and am very impressed! I buy very few 'new' clothes but I am having trouble finding a hoody, the only thing I could really do with, second hand so will be ordering one from them. I'm happy to spend my limited income,
( pension) on supporting ethical business: as they say, every pound we spend is a vote for the sort of world we want!

Im the same Nonnadiluca as I have a capsule wardrobe so work on wear and tear replacement only, but you wouldn't regret it as the brand washes exceptionally well, the stuff we have from 2015 is still going strong, im not keen on there socks prefer (Braintree) Thought clothing as they are thicker. but was so pleased that Rapanui are now doing T-shirt dresses as I'd been using an oversized T-shirt as a nightdress and these are perfect, and i've had real problems finding nightwear that's sustainable and affordable.