The third sunday in Lent - half way to a plastic free lifestyle.

Well hasn't it gone mighty quick, just three weeks ago I came up with the ridiculous idea of giving up plastic and now I am halfway through the abstinence, with just one slip up..... CROUTONS!!!  I wasn't well yesterday, I had been throwing up in the night, so under strict instructions to "just eat soup" I thought 'in my condition, it would be fair to have a plastic packet of crutons'.  I have since changed my mind, they were very delicious but I had them and my tomatoe soup with toast.  I could have made the croutons out of the toast and by doing so saved my pocket a few pennies and the landfill another indigestion episode.

Anyway, 12 days ago Liam emptied our little landfill bin.  All we put in our landfill is plastic packaging that we don't think can be recycled.  All our card, paper, tin and glass goes into our recycling bin and since my plastic vow, any plastic containers that we do buy go into our 'bit and bobs' box for later up-cycling.  And this weekend up-cycle we did.  Liam and I were finishing off our raised bed and needed to cover it with some netting as protection from its use as a litter tray!! and the pigeons eating our produce.  We used Rolo yoghurt pots, with a hole in, upside down, as net fixers so that the netting doesn't come off the bamboo canes AND today I made my own watering can sprinkler by putting holes in the bottom of a Yeo Valley Yoghurt pot. And it works a TREAT.  I got quite excited actually because it produces quite a wide spray. Watch out BLUE PETER you have competition!!!

But what about those items that we do put into the landfill bin, that we cant think of anyway to reuse??  Are they things that we can stop buying altogether, are there alternatives to these items or are there methods of recycling them that we havn't yet though about?

So here's my pile of suffocating, earth upsetting plastic.

It contained:

• Cereal Packet
• Tissue Packet
• Crouton Packet
• Spaghetti Packet
• Plastic lid from a pot of cream
• Complimentary chocolate wrapper
• Cheese Packet
• Plaster (i cut myself again!!)
• Greggs chicken sandwich packaging (in the disguise of recyclable materials)
• Bread Packet
• Toilet roll packet
• Coca Cola packaging
• Sausage tray
• Broken carrier bag
• Medication blister pack and a
• Scratch card (we have just given up, I promise)

For alternatives I have already recognised the following.  Bread and cheese packaging I had been buying in paper bags from Cambridge market, but Liam and I have started having our food delivered by Abel & Cole and I didn't think that 'of course they wont deliver a sliced loaf or a block of cheese naked'.  However they do have these wonderful refrigeration boxes, with recyclable ice blocks and lined with wool, so there is no Polystyrene (Big thumbs up for that one).  As for cereal, I am now getting organic porridge oats in a paper bag and for Liam's meat I am going to ask the local butcher if they would be happy to put meat straight into my own Tupperware containers.

With regard to things that we could just give up because we don't need them. We have given up the scratch cards, we can decline the complimentary chocolates, I will make my own croutons from my paper packaged bread and I can make myself a couple of handkerchiefs out of old t-shirts, instead of buying packs of tissues.  The cream is still a bit of an issue as we still havn't found a non-plastic way of getting our mits on it.  Fox and Sonja have suggested soya, but I really am not a fan of the old soy bean myself, and Stephanie has sent me some recipes on how to make my own cream, which I am plucking up the courage to have a go at.  Watch this space for that comedy show.  As for coca cola packaging, I shall have to request that my dearest buys his life juice in separately wrapped cans and then at least we can recycle the can, even though it is aluminium.  And the broken carrier bag, I dont know how we ended up with the carrier in the first place, so for that its a matter of making sure we have a reusable bag when shopping.

But my problems lie with the two other items.

Firstly, toilet roll.  All toilet roll that I know of, even those brands that have high environmental credentials are wrapped in plastic.  Andrex used to come in paper but I am not sure that it does anymore.  Does anyone have any solutions???  I am not quite prepared to start collecting spaghnum moss for the bathroom and I am not so sure that Cambridge Sewer Treatments would be too keen on the idea either.

Secondly, are blister packs for medication.  I think that the pharmaceutical industry is really going to need some innovative technology if it is going to manage the onslaught of peak oil.  As a transitioner I am happy to experiment with herbal plant remedies to heal my illnesses, and with what I believe to be the healthier tranistion way of living, illness will hopefully not strike so often.  But the medication that many people rely on to SURVIVE is completely dependable on the use of fossil fuels and plastic packaging.  For me the contraceptive pill is a landfill bug bare, its my preferred method of reproductive control but I cant have it without have plastic waste.  Luckily there are other methods that I could choose which would result in a lot less plastic waste, but all those individuals that dont have any other choice, what can they do?  This brings up the whole issue of the pharmaceutical reliance on fossil fuels, which also delves into an issue about our lifestyles and would prevention lead to a reduction in the consumption of medication?  For all of us who like to pop an aspirin as soon as a headache appears, or take a pro plus when the exam stress is on, maybe we can rethink about our use of such resources, but for those of us who need medication to manage heart problems, diabetes amongst many many other things, your health is definately more important than that little blister packet that went in the landfill.  And if you cut back on the other things, your impact will be negligible.  

Whilst we make our own personal developments in the face of  peak oil, maybe the Pharmaceutical industry are investing in alternatives too, not just with regard to packaging but also with the production of such medication. 
Let us hope.

Love and hugs, 

Jade