Three weeks into a month-long challenge can be a crisis time as the novelty wears off and old habits re-assert themselves. Week three of trying to avoid all single-use plastic has been a tough one, not helped by a road trip to Queensland and back.
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But then you see the news that both Coles and Woolworths have announced plans to phase out single-use plastic bags over the next 12 months and you go “wow, I can do this for at least another couple of weeks”.
Given the track record and profit imperative of the supermarket giants, it’s reasonable to be cynical about their motives and what the announcements will actually mean in practice.
But I remain an optimist and believe that any move to reduce consumption of single-use plastic is better than none. I believe the Cole-Worths announcements and the ABC’s excellent War on Waste series are signals of a mushrooming mainstream consciousness that we have to do something and we have to start now.
And as with any major societal change, we can all play a part in making it happen. So whether you’re observing Plastic-Free July or not, here are 10 helpful tips for lower plastic living from the Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange.
1. Carry reusable shopping carry bags in the boot of your car and/or in your handbag so you always have some close by.
2. Buy or make some reusable fruit and vegetable bags and carry them in your car/handbag as well.
3. Shop at food retailers that encourage you to bring your own bags and containers, or who provide alternatives to plastic. In Orange these include The Agrestic Grocer, Aldi, Bakers Delight, Racine Bakery and Woodward Street Quality Meats.
4. When buying take away milkshakes, say no to plastic lids and straws.
5. If you really want to use straws at home, try paper straws instead.
6. For your morning take-away coffee, get in the habit of taking a reusable coffee mug along to your favourite cafe.
7. At home, make full use of composting and your green lid bin so that you have no food scraps going into the red ‘landfill’ bin.
8. Buy some glass refrigerator jars for storing and reheating your leftovers.
9. Make supermarket decisions easier and reduce your plastic consumption by making your default choice the products with the least plastic packaging.
10. The golden rule is to think before you shop. Practicing awareness and a little bit of forward planning should help you live with a lot less plastic in your life.
So if it bothers you when you see plastic bags littering our streets and clogging our waterways, you can make a difference.
None of the above tips are particularly hard, they just require some effort.
