About a month ago, one of my friends came up to me and told me about the idea of “Plastic Free July”; (Simply put) A month where you go without buying any plastic. I thought it was a bit incredulous at first “Uh yeah sure thing” I said and left it at that. But of course my friend is a bit more persistent than that, and so here I am, two days into July, writing my progress.
Now I know I dont sound that excited, but I am enjoying the challenge! (Feel free to go the the About page to learn what the challenge entails) When I first heard about it from my very sustainable friend, I didnt think much of it, because I do already try to cut down my wastage and plastic use. I.e. Taking a water bottle everywhere, bringing a reusable coffee cup to uni, shop at growers markets, packing my own lunch (mainly cos im a cheapo though…) But then I reconsidered – Hmm maybe I do use a fair amount of plastic… You see, I will freely admit, that I love glad wrap. I know! My one weakness. So honestly when I thought about a month without plastic, I was really thinking “A month with glad wrap” *gasp*
Well second day in and my love affair seems to be doing okay, for now anyway.
Anyway, moving on to today. I was meant to go to the local farmers market that I normally go to on a Sunday, but just didnt get there. So I went to one of my favourite fruit and veg shops, Galati’s.
No plastic bags here!
-Notice the fantastic Onya bag…I got these a little while ago, and they have been of fantastic use, and have prevented me awkwardly carrying an armful of fruit to the checkout. You can find them here.
Amazingly, Ive already found a few setbacks that I didnt expect, like choosing certain fruits and veges mainly only come in plastic at grocers…
Goodbye cucumbers and strawberries!
But there are some amazing things that Ive never paid attention to before (or I guess Ive taken them for granted), like buying feta, haloumi, tofu and olives at deli’s, or at another home of mine, Kakulas Sisters. And amazingly, I have found an alternative to using glad wrap for things! Storing some cooked beans today, I realised I could cover them by putting a plate on top of the bowl. My goodness, its a miracle! Maybe I wont be missing it as much as I thought…
Hundred Days of Life 
Congrats on joining the challenge.
I stopped buying plastic wrap a while ago as I thought why was I buying something to use one and throw out? Same with aluminium foil, baking paper and paper towel. I often think about how much money I am saving too.
Good luck
Thank you 🙂 It does save heaps of money, just in this week Ive noticed quite a change!. Its sad to think that something had so much effort go into making it, only to be used once and disposed of. Good luck with your plastic free endeavours too!