G DOES PLASTIC FREE!

Georgia rose to the challenge of going plastic free for the month of July. Was it hard? Expensive? Do-able? Read on to find out!

Well let’s get right to the guts of it… Plastic = bad for our environment, and yet it wraps around almost everything we buy as consumers. I always knew plastic was a bi product of our convenient modern life style but I never really contemplated the gross amount we use. Especially single use plastics. It wasn’t until watching the series “War On Waste” that my eyes were really open to the epidemic of the problem – the series honestly blew my mind!

So I decided to tackle the problem head on and dedicated a month to going plastic free!

I started out by just using up what I had already and then swapping my usual products out for plastic free alternatives. Here is how I tackled plastic free and some tips and tricks I stumbled across on the way!

My first grocery adventure I grabbed my basket and hit up the local farmers market – an awesome way to get local in season produce! We have a bunch of different markets around our area on different days.  My personal favourite is The Cradle Coast Market near Pier 1, you can have breakfast and get your groceries in one hit!

There are also plenty of non-plastic covered fresh food option in supermarkets, it was the other isles that were a bit of a challenge!  I found some products were thoughtfully packaged like Uncle Tobys but others not so much. It was easier shopping at places that offer bring your own containers. Places like Hill Street grocer were great for that, they have lots of deli options, refill olive oil, coffee bean refills etc.

A sneaky trick is if you do really need a produce bag just use the paper mushroom bags. I generally just wash my veg, but for green beans or mushrooms these bags are helpful.  Another trick I learnt, if it comes in a box look for a “push to pour” type opening, this generally meant whatever was inside the box was loose.  If I had to have a little plastic I made sure I got bulk good stuff for it! Buying BULK was a cheaper option in the long run too.

I also carry my keep cup everywhere for takeway drinks, the work crew even got in on this too and pledged NO CUP, NO COFFEE for the month! Thanks guys for your support! LEGENDS!

Some other things I changed were.. baking my own bread, lining my bin with newspaper (not as messy as you would think), refusing straws, remembering to bring a drink bottle, making my own d.i.y cleaning and beauty products, trying out products like beeswax wraps, re-using glass jars to store food, making and baking things from scratch, buying in bulk and just generally researching different plastic free alternatives.

I’m going to be completely honest it was tough! I had some fails, mainly these were a lapse in will power on my behalf. Others were simply a lack of options, which is pretty sad that as a consumer there isn’t an product currently on the market that totally aligns with my values. I have been a healthy and happy vegetarian for a few years now but found that a lot of vego substitutes are plastic wrapped with no alternatives. But hey, hopefully someone follows my journey and we start to see some change.

I will definitely continue my plastic free journey, I feel like any decision to make to cut back is a good one and every plastic conscious decision you make is a step in the right direction, even if some turn out to surprise you and be fails. Every little bit helps!