Planning ahead for Plastic Free July 2019!

Planning ahead for Plastic Free July 2019!

Happy New Year! It's pretty much the half way point between 2018 Plastic Free July and July 2019, so a good time to share some reflections.

We remain committed to making deliberate choices to buy and consume less plastic. Our goal is not to become a strict Plastic Free Household, but a household that produces as little waste as possible based on: Refusing, Reducing, Reusing  and as a last choice, recycling. We're also big on using the fifth 'R' which is rotting - we promise we will write at least one blog on compost in July 2019. In simple terms we are continuing to try to eliminate as much single use plastic as possible, and when we need to replace a product (that can't be repaired) we make sure that we choose an appropriate no, or low plastic replacement.

So far we have continued with what we see as 'the basics' of living with less plastic, which includes:

• Carrying our own water bottles (since plastic free July we have purchased four water plastic water bottles, all while on holidays)
• Using Keep Cups for Take away Tea and Coffee
• Carrying utensils and a napkin to reduce take-away food waste
• Taking our bags to the grocery store, along with mesh bags for fresh produce
• Increasing the amount of fresh produce that we are growing, and using our compost bin for food scraps
• Using our Council recycling bin, and collecting and recycling soft plastics

Our main goal for 2019 is to strive to eliminate as many single use plastics as we can, especially from personal care products. Some of our other goals for the next couple of months are:

• Baking more bread and making our own yoghurt and cheese
• Taking our own containers to the Deli and butcher
• Purchasing more pantry staples in bulk

We're looking forward to sharing our Plastic Free July challenge again in 2019. We’ll be in England and Scotland in early July so there will definitely be a focus on travel and what our family and friends in the UK are doing to reduce waste and their reliance on single use plastic.