Tomorrow is “Buy No Food in Plastic” day!
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Join in with No Food Purchased In Plastic Day!
Jeananne Laing from the Low Crap diet in Canada contacted me this week to tell me about the first annual “Buy No Food in Plastic” day.
Taking place tomorrow (Friday 17th July, 2009), it’s a special day for Jeananne; it’s her Birthday!
Back in March, we asked you to help Little Miss Green celebrate her 8th Birthday by committing to one more step you could take to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.
Now Jeananne is asking you to celebrate her Birthday by participating in the first annual “Buy No Food in Plastic” day.
Jeanne has been so frustrated by the amount of food packaging she is left to dispose of, that she’s been taking part in a 30 days experiment to cut down her reliance on plastic.
You are invited to take up the challenge for just one day, tomorrow.
Jeanne shares the following ideas for participation:
- Look at how your favourite foods are packaged. (Do you really need your sandwich wrapped if you are going to eat it right away?)
- If you do purchase plastic-wrapped food; reuse or recycle the packaging.
- Use washable knives, forks and coffee cups, rather than disposable items
- Use your own reusable bags
- Purchase plastic-free-food where possible
I think we will join in – it should be fun and it’s a great starting point for those of you who want to flex your zero waste muscles a little more without getting overwhelmed.
What about you? Could you go 24 hours purchasing only plastic-free-food? Will you join in with Jeananne’s challenge and help celebrate her Birthday?
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HI Mrs Green,
Using containers, plastic but reusable, does away with all waste plastic for meat/fish purchases. As you know I rarely use plastic packaging save for milk and vinegar bottles tops. This requires discipline but is much easier for the single life. Avoiding all plastic, including recyclable types, is a stiffer challenge but beyond most people’s abilities.
Yesterday, Liz at WRAP mentioned a novel refillable system at ASDA in the later part of the year. We can get refillables at Ecover and Entrading, in my locale, but this is a change for the better in supermarkets. Fabric conditioner is the commodity indicated for this. We all should support this sustainable option though we can ensure that Zero Waste applies beforehand.
I’m looking forward to having people join me in the “Buy No Food in Plastic” challenge. It’s not easy or convenient … change never is. But by raising our ‘plastic awareness’ we will all have a better understanding of the scope of the problem.
Whenever I get frustrated about the impossibility of this challenge, I think about how frustrated those fish must be when they eat plastic particles floating in the ocean that look to them like delicious bits of food.
Good luck everyone and happy plastic-free shopping.
Jeananne
@John Costigane: Hi John, I’m covering the ASDA story tomorrow and I hope it works out as it would be a way forward if supermarkets take it on.
@Jeananne: Hi Jeananne, did you get much interest in your day? I hope so! I agree that raising awareness is the first step towards positive change. I hope you had a celebratory day and enjoyed your Birthday 🙂
I was able to do it! I just didn’t buy anything. 🙂 I really do strive to not bring food home in plastic ever. It is hard, especially since many companies have switched from glass to plastic.
@Alea: That;s the best way Alea. Saves us money and gets us in the mindset of separating wants from needs; which is great.
It’s a shame that so many companies are making, what we perceive as, negative switches with their packaging.
Do you have the facilities to buy many loose products over there?
We had some awareness created for the “No Plastics Day” and many friends and family members told me how they cringed evertime they purchased something with plastic. One friend put it this way: “We had a tough time but we were aware of how many rules we were breaking all day.” I think it was a great success!
@Jeananne: Hi Jeananne; great to see you again. I’m so pleased that you’ve had positive feedback from family and friends. It’s funny how you work your way into their psyche! I have people telling me they are just about to throw something into the bin and then they think of me and immediately retrace their steps!
I think I must haunt some poor people!
Anyway, it sounds like you have really raised people’s awareness which was your goal; so well done you!