You don’t have to be a scientist to notice the drastic changes occurring in our temperatures, weather and atmosphere. The planet is getting hotter by the day, our weather is getting more extreme, the water we drink and the air we breathe is polluted. As much as people like to argue out of bitterness and guilt that individual change doesn’t make a difference, I’m about to spit some facts which will prove otherwise.
Don’t get it twisted though, my somewhat plastic free month was incredibly difficult, but it opened my eyes up to a lot of changes I should’ve made a long time ago. I’m what you call your standard millennial eco-warrior, a label I just gave myself. I’m a sustainable vegan, different to a regular vegan i.e not consuming avocados, almonds or anything containing palm oil (saving water and the rainforest), I’m a loud and proud sustainable fashion advocate and provider and (not-so-proudly) seldom rally/protest attender. One department I was lacking in, which most people base their guilt-free conscience on doing, is waste responsibility. Of course I was recycling (and properly, thanks to the mammys in my life), but I was still consuming and producing huge amounts of waste i.e single use plastics etc that cannot be recycled. We’ve all seen the pictures of the oceans filled with rubbish and the malnourished polar bears looking for food on the plastic islands, with a classic tut tut sad face emoji share on my story, but not actually doing anything about it. Everything that brings me temporary enjoyment is most likely packaged in something bad; crisps, chocolate, condoms etc. I was going to have to make some sacrifices for this month, especially during my period, which we all know didn’t end well.
Food
1. Breakfast
Now, this being the most crucial, since we need food to survive (obviously), and the majority of what we consume is in plastic packaging, whether it be single use or recyclable, I wasn’t availing of either. I’ll go into further detail later on why I avoid all plastics all together whether it be recyclable or not, anyway, moving on. It’s easier for me to just explain what I eat in a day so you get the feel of my potential shopping list; brekkie = toast with vegan butter, jam and chia seeds & coffee lunch = vegan pesto pasta with spinach and mushrooms dinner = some sort of curry/rice dish thing with veg. The only things on my shopping list that wouldn’t be in plastic in my normal supermarket would be the pesto, jam and curry sauce (in glass jars), very bad form. As much as I wished I was a domestic goddess, there was no way I was making everything from scratch. Although I didn’t go FULLY plastic free this month, I definitely reduced my waste hugely, and here’s what I found; the vegan butter alternative can be the Naturli Vegan Block (buttery and in a papery packaging), cashew butter (in a glass jar) or to reduce plastic usage, get a larger tub of vegan butter so it lasts longer (the packaging is recyclable *clean*). For bread, most supermarkets have loose bread in the bakery, I always get sourdough because it’s nicer on the digestive system and toasts better than other breads. When shopping I bring my organic cotton ecobags which I got in Stock, I got a bigger sized one for bread. Plastic packaging on sliced pans is NOT recyclable, when visiting the repak center they informed us that thin plastic like that gets caught in the machines and can be a fire hazard. At home I have a nespresso machine, I know Nespresso are very good at recycling their pods but I was trying to produce as little waste as possible in the first place. My options were; get a coffee in a café everyday (using a reusable cup of course) which is expensive, get a reusable refillable coffee pod with coffee grinds for the nespresso machine, use the french press with coffee grounds in paper packaging or get instant coffee in a glass jar. The best option would’ve been the reusable coffee pod, but I would’ve had to order it online and I didn’t want to take the risk for the packaging it came in. I took the lazy option and just stuck to tea instead, while buying more coffees when out. A major piece of info I learned during all this, which most Irish people will be surprised at, is that most tea bags have polypropylene in them, a type of plastic, yum! Although most tea brands have recently come out and said they plan to be plastic free, I’m not sure how many have been successful. For the month I drank green tea and chamomile tea from the brand Pukka, which individually wrapped their bags in paper, which is unnecessary, but their bags are compostable. I used up the chia seeds I had at home, as I was the only person who ate them, so they’d have gone to waste otherwise. Once they were used up, I had moved to Galway, and now live approx 4 minutes walk from the Filling Station, an eco fill store, where I get chia seeds and organic sugar, I didn’t have any nice jars so just used the paper bags they had on hand in the shop. It ended up being cheaper than buying them from a supermarket in plastic packaging. I’ve also invested in a coffee press and buy organic coffee grounds in a paper bag from Evergreen. If you’re a cereal or porridge eater I recommend getting familiar with your local refill store using the google machine, even if you have to travel a bit further, you can buy in bulk and it ends up being cheaper. Whether you’re a vegan or not, milk and mylk are all in plastic or tetrapak cartons, which are also made from plastic and hard to recycle. I have bought a nut mylk bag to make my own, but I’d also have to invest in a blender which I don’t want to do. Although I didn’t give up oat mylk completely for this month, I limited my consumption by not having cereal or hot chocolate and having green tea instead of normal tea whenever possible.
- Lunch
Where to get pasta was probably the most asked question I got over the month. Personally I am a very picky pasta eater, only the good stuff and gluten free if possible, just to be annoying. My usual go-to was the brown spelt organic pasta from Biona, which can be bought in most health food shops, but it is in plastic packaging. In my local supermarket (SuperValu) I found a gnocchi pasta in a paper bag with a small plastic window, it was very delicious. In Evergreen, or most health food shops I’d say, I found organic red lentil & brown rice pasta (gluten free) by the brand Clearspring, which was in a cardboard box but still a small window of plastic. Then finally I found spelt pasta in The Filling Station, kind of awkwardly stored it in my tote bag and still don’t have a storage container big enough for it, you can definitely get some sort of nice fancy spaghetti holder in Tkmaxx but for the moment I’m keeping it in an old plastic spaghetti bag. Most pasta sauces are in glass jars so whatever your favourite is it shouldn’t be hard to find, I use vegan pesto found in the free from section in Tesco. I was on the hunt for a plastic free tomato purée, and I found one! In Evergreen I found the Biona Organic one, which is in a glass jar. Loose vegetables have been pretty easy to find, there’s an organic market in town every saturday, which provide paper bags and on most days there’s a veg market open just beside Tesco on Headford road, which only provide plastic bags but I use my own ecobags. If I’m ever on the other side of town I can get loose veg in Ernies, the Galway Simon beside it is also one of the best charity shops in G town. If you ain’t a vegan you can get your cheeses in the deli of supermarkets, but as a vegan most of the processed plastic cheesy good stuff is in plastic, sad face. I usually put nutritional yeast on my pasta, which gives it a cheesy taste, be warned it smells like foot, and I have been informed that you can get it in refill stores, so I’ll save the normal container it comes in and use it whenever I run out. I’m pretty sure the one in galway doesn’t have it but ones in Dublin do.
- Dinner
As a pure bred Irish, I love me some potatoes. Fortunately enough, potatoes can be found loose in most larger supermarkets. For when I’m hungover: heat up olive oil on a large sheet pan in the oven, when hot place 3 or 4 potatoes chopped into wedges, cover in garlic salt and paprika. For curry dishes, which most vegans would be a fan of since you can pack in as much veg as possible, rice can be found at any refill store, buy in bulk if you have to travel far, curry sauces are usually in glass jars and coconut milks are in aluminium tins (just make sure it’s BPA free). At home I was very big into frozen veg, it reduces food waste hugely and you can chop them in bulk in advance of cooking which saves time. Since most frozen veg comes in plastic bags, now I just buy them fresh and freeze them myself, a good way to reuse single use plastic bags that would’ve been going straight into landfill, you don’t need to buy fancy silicone bags or new tupperware, just use what you already have at home. All spices can be found in refill stores so just use up what you have at home and keep the containers for when you run out.
- Treats
The most difficult part of all this, was the goodies. My usual go-to was salted microwave popcorn with a large Bourneville, hot chocolate with vegan marshmallows. All wrapped in plastic. My drunk go-to was an instant noodle, which possibly has the most unnecessary packaging of all time, I’m still trying to find an alternative. To fulfill the salty craving, I tried making homemade crisps, very soggy turnout. For chocolate I’ve been eating iChoc, which is in cardboard and a biodegradable plastic wrap (not the best but still), although more expensive than Bourneville, still sugary and not in the usual healthy bitter vegan chocolates category. I’ve never really craved fizzy drinks but as the saying goes you always want what you can’t have. I resorted to having a flavoured kombucha,which is in a glass bottle, fizzy and satisfied my sweet craving. I’m not big into take-aways but it’s best to avoid chinese food at all costs, as an alternative Camile Thai use compostable packaging!
I learned a lot throughout this month, and I’ve definitely made some big but accessible changes in my day-to-day food shop. One thing I have to touch on is the expense, although it’s very much apparent that you save money by buying without packaging and in bulk in the long run, but some just might not have that upfront. Some might not have a refill store close to them, resulting in extra costs in transport and travel emissions. The linear economy is not made to suit a waste-free lifestyle, although doable, not the easiest. From this experience I have opened my eyes and now think twice about what I buy, always looking for a glass or cardboard alternatives, avoiding plastic to the best of my ability, but sometimes it is necessary. So if you have/want to consume plastic; go for the share bag of crisps rather than the individual bags, get loose fruit and veg and freeze them yourself, get bread from the bakery and most importantly, don’t torture yourself, you’re trying your best.
Keelin Moncrieff 