So on the second day of Plastic Free July am I having a plastic free breakfast, well in that I'm not eating plastic yes ... but let's look at the component parts ... it's not looking very good.
Coffee - from a glass jar with a plastic lid
Grapes - from a plastic tub with a film lid
Banana - YES
Strawberries - from a plastic tray with a film lid
Nuts and seeds - Originally from small plastic bags
Peanut Butter - from a plastic jar
Yoghurt - plastic pot, removable cardboard collar and plastic lid
I think the yoghurt is a bit of a saving grace, in that for me it's not single use plastic.
Once I have peeled off the cardboard sleeve it goes into the paper recycling box, the foil lid goes into the metal recycling box, and the pot and it's lid I re-use for single portions of food that go into the freezer. They are great for a good portion of homemade soup or pasta sauce, although they do take up more room than takeaway style tubs.
I'm currently sat thinking of alternatives that I could use for everything else. How was your breakfast this morning?
Sue xx
Breakfast this morning - Earl Grey tea from a cardboard box and then in a tin (but I believe tiny amounts of plastic in the teabag). Home made bread (plastic-free ingredients as all components NOT in plastic. Oh, apart from the salt.) Cheese on tomato on toast. Cheese plastic-wrapped and in a plastic container in the fridge, and tomato originally in plastic tub. Must Do Better!
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to hear on Hugh's programme that teabags are 25% plastic ... no wonder they take SO long to break down in the compost bins. I guess I have therefore unwittingly been feeding my soil with minute plastic particles 😕
DeleteYep, I think we all need to do better ... but you did better than me 🙂
Apple bought in a paper bag, banana, strawberries from the garden:). Milk from a plastic bottle, can be recycled, oats from a cardboard box but plastic inner bag:(
ReplyDeleteThat's what has really been bugging me, the few things that we are still able to buy in paper or cardboard have inner bags or 'windows' made of plastic!
DeleteFage from a large plastic tub, strawberries from a plastic punnet, tea from a tea bag, milk from plastic bottle. I shall recycle all of that but then God knows what happens to it.
ReplyDeleteAnd that's the worrying thing now isn't it ... where is our recycling going to. At home in Wales Conwy Council leads the way in its recycling, but where does it go to once they have collected all our carefully sorted waste from the roadside each week.
DeleteGreat post Sue, and great comments too. I was having the same conversation recently with a dear friend - we sort all our rubbish, use as little plastic as possible, the council takes it away. WE are not throwing waste into hedgerows or the nearest body of water . . . so how is it getting there? Whilst we should undoubtedly reduce the amount of plastic produced and used, surely the bigger issue is what happens to everything we throw away?
DeleteIt struck my daughter and I yesterday when sorting out our shopping. Nearly everything had plastic somewhere except one onion which I bought loose. How does one avoid it - it's just institutionalised.
ReplyDeletexx
If only we could go back to shopping like we did in the sixties.
DeleteWe had different bags for different shops, the oldest always being relegated to be the 'potato bag'. The greengrocer would tip the weight of potatoes you asked for straight into your bag, then any other vegetables would go on top of the soily spuds and the fruit went into a string bag so it stayed clean.
Yes Sue I well remember being sent to the greengrocers on a Saturday morning with mum's shopping trolley, to get 14lbs potatoes, with most other veggies loose on top of them, and fruit and tomatoes in paper bags. At least some supermarkets are starting to provide paper bags instead of plastic for loose veg. They still need to do more though, much more - as do we all. Better late than never, i suppose.
ReplyDeleteSame memories here! I can picture the rectangular brown 'potato bag' that lived under the stairs in the larder until it came out ready for its regular trip to the greengrocers at the end of our street. It was a bugger for snagging tights and long white socks 😕
DeleteEh the 60's happy and simple days♥♥♥
DeleteBreakfast in sunny Cornwall toast and marmalade, banana, toast made frome home made bread, flour bag- paper, yeast- small tin container can be recycled, flora d/f spread- reuse container in freezer then recycle, salt and sugar - cardboard and paper, recycle. Marmalade glass and tin lid, banana as nature intended. We often have porridge which comes in plastic bag, would prefer to buy the one in a cardboard box but it is at least twice the price. I do wish we had a take your own container eco jobbies near us, we can refill wash up liquid etc which is a start.
ReplyDeleteI stocked up on porridge in cardboard boxes when it was on offer recently, it was still more expensive than the oats in plastic bags but not exorbitantly so, I'm just using the last of it butI doubt it will be on offer at the moment, they will want to make money while this push against plastic goes on.
DeleteI would love to discover a fill your own shop near me. We used to have one many years ago when we lived in Cumbria, it was the older sort with dried goods in giant round cardboard bins lined up along the shop floor. I have to admit to mostly using it for sweets!
I have found out that Cornwall has a mobile fill your ow which carry a surprising amount of stock but as yet it doesn't visit our little town, I think that's a great idea, they have said if I can suggest a place for them to park up and sell their wares they may come here.
DeleteSorry, own !!! doh !!!!
DeleteThat's a brilliant facility, find them some suitable locations quick 🙂
DeleteOur regular breakfast is porridge from a paper bag decanted into a plastic storage tub (but very old and well used) made with skimmed milk from a plastic bottle and tea from a teabag. Plastic with the milk and teabags. Lunch is often ham or cheese sandwich with homemade bread, the ham is home cooked so although the joint of ham comes in a plastic bag it's the equivalent of about 10 supermarket packs of plastic wrapped ham so I've saved a bit of plastic there. I bought some beeswax wrappers from the new and delightful Oak Owl Fox shop in Llanrwst to wrap cheese in once it's home. We often have crisps too, that's plastic again and for lunchtime puddings we have homemade Greek style yogurt, that's made with milk from a UHT carton with a plastic cap. We really fall over with the plastic avoidance with biscuits, they all come in plastic and I never have time to bake any and as Mike is currently in love again with Custard Creams and Nice biscuits I can't really replicate those in any case. Dinner is generally homemade but I know that most of it starts off in plastic - I'll have to try harder on the this
ReplyDeleteGosh don't we all, but I think what's coming across from all the comments is that we are all aware and all doing our best 😀
DeleteI wouldn't know where to begin to replicate a custard cream 🤣
Spaghetti made yesterday with sun dried tomato pesto, no plastic, Stored in glass bowl. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, did the pasta come in a plastic bag or a paper wrapper though. It's easy to foget when we decant things into plastic jars ... I know I do!
DeleteA box
DeleteA piece of salmon cooked yesterday but wrapped in clingfilm (not sure why since I have containers that it could have gone in)! A bit of brie - wrapped in a sort of plastic I think. Carrots & broccoli cooked yesterday (these are a win as I bought them loose and carried them in my reusable mesh bags). Tomatoes from a plastic clamshell container. Avocado - bought loose. Tea made with a teabag so some plastic there.
ReplyDeleteAs you can see this was more of a brunch as I tend to only eat twice a day now and I try to eat low carb, hence the protein and veg.
I prepped more veg yesterday and it is all stored in glass containers in the fridge and my big glass of water comes from a glass bottle in the fridge which is filled from my Brita filter container, which is filled from the tap! Although we did have a water outage last night (apparently the building across the street had a blockage problem so the water had to be turned off at the mains) which meant that I did have to break into one of my long term storage bottles - which is plastic!
It's not easy.
No it really isn't easy is it. I know what you mean about wrapping something in clingfilm when there are other options available, I've found myself doing that a lot. It seems the clingfilm habit, because of its ease of use has become ingrained in most of us.
DeleteI've bought a pack of what can only be described as multi sized shower caps. Still plastic but washable so they can be used many times which means, no more cling film purchases for me.
DeleteThose covers are on my list to buy!
DeleteMine are made by Dumil if that helps.
DeleteOur local cobbler has small recycling bins for crisp packets and biscuit wrappings...it can be done and more people are trying. We had porridge for breakfast (oats in paper bag from Broad Bean in Ludlow - cheaper than Sainsbury's if you buy 2.5kg) and local strawberries from a cardboard punnet with a paper bag cover. Hadn't seen this for years and was amazed how much better they have kept than ones in a plastic carton. Also yoghurt in similar packaging to yours, at least it's all recyclable. We also have Brita filtered water, if you tasted our tap water, you would use one too!
ReplyDeleteLove it that it's the cobbler that has the recycling bin and not a shop that doles out all the wrappers in the first place ... cobblers are and have always been so environmentally friendly with their repairs of everything that can possibly be repaired.
DeleteYes I've lived down South I know the awfulness of the water.
We're in Kidderminster, not too far from Wales but our water comes from the River Severn...and tastes like it!
DeleteEnglish multigrain muffin from a plastic bag:( Said bag I recycle at our local Coles supermarket, spread from a plastic tub which I wash and put into our recycling bin, weak cup of coffee, skin milk in cardboard box and coffee in glass jar with plastic lid:( So interesting to read all the comments. Last year I bought mesh bags for fruit and veg instead of using plastic bags, you can make your own:)
ReplyDeleteI'll be checking all supermarkets for bag recycling boxes as I visit them. I know Booths has one when I'm here at the Van but I'm not sure which do back in Wales. Whichever one does will have my custom from now on.
DeleteYeah I bought some mesh bags recently for loose produce, if you saw my hand sewing you'd understand why 🤣
Snap with the sewing Sue:(
DeleteSmoothie this morning with all the fruit fresh from the garden except the banana. Plus oats - plastic bag, oat milk - carton and maple syrup - glass jar, so overall not too bad.
ReplyDeleteSounds good. Does your council recycle milk cartons, ours does in the plastic/cans container, but I've heard not many do Tetrapacks yet. Now you've got me fancying a smoothie, luckily it is breakfast time and I have bananas in the freezer 🙂
DeleteWe live in France and can recycle all cartons like milk, juice etc. Smoothies are perfect for breakfast, enjoy.
DeleteBreakfast this morning was oatmeal which was from a paper bag. Coffee was from a tin foil type bag.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Yummy, a ice simple and healthy breakfast 🙂
DeleteOops forgot milk was from a plastic jug. Saving grace is that the milk jug is recyclable.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
This is really opening our eyes and making us think isn't it 😃
DeleteI use the yoghurt pots for soup. My closest friend loves home made soup but hates cooking so whenever I make soup (which is very often!) I always pot up couple portions for her. Once it's frozen it gets delivered so it's not taking up too much space in my freezer (my portions go in my Lakeland little square tubs, 8 years old and still going strong), then when friend has had the soup, she recycles the pot and lid. Savannah
ReplyDeleteYes they make a perfect one person portion of soup container. I use mine over and over, they are also good for putting berries in. I buy any fresh berries that are in the reduced to clear section and tip them into one of these yogurt pots and put them in the freezer.
DeletePorridge & milk from a zero waste shop. Coffee bought in a glass jar but with a plastic lid :(
ReplyDeleteor a banana and a benecol drinking yogurt in a little plastic bottle! grrrr
The plastic coffee lid & yog bottle are recyclable but still not good.