Urban Nurture’s 1-week Plastic-less Challenge!
By Emma
Kajiyama
Consider for
a moment how long it has taken for corals to evolve. Their present form has
taken millions of years of evolution and yet they are on course to disappear, if
not in our lifetime, our children’s lifetime. Pollinators are vital to providing
pollination services and the growth of our crops. Their ancestors have been
recorded as being present 100 million years ago. 100. Million. They are also in
decline. The rhino’s ancestors first plodded this earth around 34 million years
ago but sadly, as a species their future seems dire. It was only just recently
reported that the last male white rhino passed away. The black rhino is
critically endangered and there are only 40 (probably less) Javan rhinos left
in the world. This is just a tiny fraction of examples. Why the declines?
Unsustainable hunting, overexploitation, pollution… And mostly due to a lack of
knowledge, a lack of education and a divergence in human attitudes to
conservation, nature and differences in culture. Humans are speeding up the
process of extinction. We are in the middle of an extinction crisis and let’s
face it, it is not looking good.
 |
| The last male white rhino, Sudan as pictured in 2015. |
Credit: Georgina Goodwin/Barcroft Media
As an
environmental conservation student, I’m learning so much all the time. But very
often I feel weighed down by the enormity of conservation and it is often hard
not to be disheartened and discouraged. But the top piece of advice that I try
to adhere to is that optimism leads to action. Focusing on solutions rather
than the problems is key.
The issue of
plastic waste has been on my mind for a long time throughout starting Urban
Nurture, but I didn’t have the knowledge or the ideas to start tackling it
properly. So recently, in the wake of Blue Planet 2 and the videos circling the
internet showing heart-breaking footage of oceans becoming ‘dumping grounds’
for our rubbish and turtles trapped in plastic fishing gear, I decided it was
time to take action. I also invited readers, friends and family to join me. The
Urban Nurture 1-week plastic challenge was set last year, and I asked people to
see how difficult (or easy) they found reducing their plastic intake for a week.
 |
| Discarded fishing gear can be lethal for marine species. |
Credit: NOAA PIFSC
Since starting
the challenge, plastic and its effect on the environment has been bubbling to
the surface, dominating the news. Today’s newsfeed reported that Michael Gove
has announced a plastic bottle deposit scheme for the UK as adopted from
Norway’s recycling system which has been in force since 1992. A relatively straightforward
idea, it would aim to reduce the amount of recycling and littering by a deposit
added into the price of bottles and cans. The deposit will be refunded with the
return of the empty containers. The battle against supermarket plastic
packaging has also taken off. Campaigners have removed plastic packaging whilst
in store, leaving it for supermarkets to deal with and with any luck, move them
to reduce the amount of plastic-wrapped foods.
There have
been many people however, whose plastic-free lifestyle is not new. A wonderful
group I have joined on Facebook called ‘Plastic Is Rubbish’, are a community of
like-minded individuals who have tips such as where to source plastic-free
items, ingenious alternatives and highlight current campaigns against plastic
waste. The founder has been living plastic-free since 2006!
For the majority
of us newbies however, it will take some time, help and encouragement to adjust
to a lifestyle that we inevitably must move to if plastic-use does not drastically
reduce. The world unfortunately cannot support the amount of waste we are
creating, and that overspill to other species and environment can never be
ethical.
The challenge
The ten
questions I asked for my participants were:
1. How easy / difficult did you find the
plastic-less week?
2. Did you find it more / less
expensive?
3. Did you manage to eliminate plastic
completely? If not, roughly how much were you able to reduce? (%)
4. Does this challenge make you more
aware of the plastic around us?
5. Are there any items that you think really don’t need plastic?
6. Before this challenge, were you aware
of the problem with plastic in our oceans?
7. Do you recycle your plastic?
8. Do you know how often plastic can be
recycled? (please tick/highlight)
Indefinitely
About 100 times
About 30 times
0ne or two times
9. Will this challenge affect your
future shopping decisions? (What kind of plastic would you say you use the
most?)
10. Do you have any ideas / solutions /
advice on how to reduce or replace plastic use?
Most of the
respondents found the challenge difficult and quite expensive. Although many
bought loose fruit and vegetables, the plastic-packaged deals that one can
invariably get from buying in bulk made this task more expensive overall.
The amount
of plastic that was reduced varied from 20 – 70%. Even though some bought
unpackaged fish and meat, they found the product was still handed over to them
in plastic unless they specifically refused it. The general outcome from this
challenge, and what I also felt, is that almost everything seems to arrive wrapped
in plastic, whether it requires it or not! A lot of fruit and veg come with
their own natural packaging and switching to alternative packaging such as
biodegradable paper or glass could really cut down the amount of plastic. As
one respondent said, it does require a lot of careful planning but the motive
behind a reduced plastic lifestyle can definitely be a huge incentive.
 |
| …………………………… |
Credit:
Mark Blackburn (onebrownplanet.com)
A study by
Schymanski et al. (2018) found that plastic packaging releases microplastic
particles which, yup you guessed it, are then ingested by us, the consumers of plastic
wrapped products. Another study found that microplastics are present in bottled
and tap water, indicating that our drinking sources have been highly
contaminated. So not only are we putting other species at risk, but we are also
putting our health on the line.
Thank you
I would like
to end by saying thank you so much to the people who have participated in the
challenge - you have inspired me. With their permission I have attached their
answers to the end of the blog. I encourage you to have a read, and if you feel
inspired to try the challenge, please do! I personally found it difficult and a
complete lifestyle change but I believe we can make a difference in helping
eliminate needless plastic-use.
(The answer
to question 8 by the way = plastic can only be recycled once or twice. Finding
this out was a huge eye-opener to me!).
And finally,
some good news: Bangor University students are leading a campaign to help
Bangor become plastic-free by working alongside ‘Surfers Against Sewage’ – a
very inspiring campaign. Support their progress on Twitter @plasticbangor and on Facebook
@plasticfreebangor
Here are some
more cool anti-plastic schemes, groups, scientific papers and ideas that I have
found inspiring and interesting. If you have any, please do post to The Urban
Nurture homepage, I’d love to hear them!
o
“Plogging”:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/237c63d4-0a54-406a-ae51-ad677a872456
o The study by Schymanski et al. (2018): Analysis of microplastics in water by micro-Raman spectroscopy: Release of plastic particles from different packaging into mineral water.
o
A fascinating
paper on the cultural evolution that is needed for our environment: https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/52/1/31/291350
o
How the plastic
bottle scheme works in Norway:https://www.lifeinnorway.net/how-to-pant-in-norway/
o The brilliant guide to living plastic-less by Plastic Is Rubbish (They are also on Facebook):
http://plasticisrubbish.com/welcome/
o
A plastic-free
aisle in a supermarket in the Netherlands:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/28/worlds-first-plastic-free-aisle-opens-in-netherlands-supermarket
o The Bangor University student-led campaign:
http://www.thebangoraye.com/bangor-university-students-launch-plastic-free-bangor-campaign/
Maggie Holland
1. How easy / difficult did you find the
plastic-less week?
Very
difficult as most things use plastic as a wrapping.
2. Did you find it more / less expensive?
Buying things loose is always a good practice as you can have one carrot if you need. so potentially less expensive though I didn't calculate.
3. Did you manage to eliminate plastic completely? If not, roughly
how much were you able to reduce? (%)
No. I did buy the unpackaged veg and fruit and meat and fish . They are still handed to you in plastic though unless you specifically refuse it.
No. I did buy the unpackaged veg and fruit and meat and fish . They are still handed to you in plastic though unless you specifically refuse it.
4. Does this challenge make you more aware of the plastic around us?
Yes incredibly so
5. Are there any items that you think really don’t need plastic?
Fruit
veg meat and fish. All plastic bottled stuff could be glass which could
be reusable or recycled. Shopping bags could be biodegradable. A new
plastic-like material which could biodegrade must be invented and replace
all our plastic goods.
6. Before this challenge, were you aware of the problem with plastic in our oceans?
Yes
7. Do you recycle your plastic?
Yes
but there are still plastics which cannot be recycled or so it seems????
8. Do you know how often plastic can be recycled? (please
tick/highlight)
Indefinitely
About 100 times * but I don't really know about this.
About 30 times
0ne or two times
About 100 times * but I don't really know about this.
About 30 times
0ne or two times
9. Will this challenge affect your future shopping decisions?
Yes
I shall try to cut down even more.
Emily
Pitcher
1. How easy / difficult did
you find the plastic-less week?
Really hard actually. I already considered myself
as someone who didn't use a lot of plastic (I always carry a reusable shopping
bag and reusable flask for example) but when I tried to give it up altogether I
started noticing it in places I never had before.
2. Did you find it more /
less expensive?
A little more expensive maybe for individual
products but I tried to buy less overall and buy things that would last longer.
For example I bought naked shower gel and naked deodorant from Lush with have
an initial higher price point than bottled ones but should last 3 times as
long.
3. Did you manage to
eliminate plastic completely? If not, roughly how much were you able to
reduce? (%)
About 70% I think. Going plastic less
requires a lot of careful planning I've discovered. I found a fantastic bakery
that wraps everything in paper but one day I got there too late and they were
sold out so I had to buy bread in the supermarket and it all comes wrapped in
plastic which was infuriating. I found some great local shops that sell fresh
things without plastic but they all seem to be open Mon-Sat 9-5, so if you need
something evenings or Sunday you have to go to the supermarket and everything
in our local supermarkets seems to have plastic somewhere in the packaging.
Also could not find anywhere locally that sold milk in glass bottles.
4. Does this challenge make
you more aware of the plastic around us?
Yes definitely, it's inspired me to go even
further in cutting out plastic. I kind of thought as long as I recycled plastic
it was ok, but now I realise that in can only be recycled once or twice I will
try to buy as little as possible.
5. Are there any items that
you think really don’t need plastic?
Most fruit and veg could be sold without
plastic. Dried rice and pasta, I don't understand why this comes in plastic
bags rather than cardboard boxes. Fresh loaves of bread could easily sold in
paper bags not plastic. Christmas cards, I could not find a single pack of
Christmas cards this week that were not in a plastic box so I have decided this
year not to buy any.
6. Before this
challenge, were you aware of the problem with plastic in our oceans?
A little, but definitely more so now. The
problem is much greater than I realised.
7. Do you recycle your
plastic?
Yes.
8. Do you know how
often plastic can be recycled? (please tick/highlight)
Indefinitely
About 100 times
About 30 times
0ne or two times
9. Will this challenge affect your future
shopping decisions? (Where does plastic feature most in your shopping at
the moment?)
Yes, this is definitely the start of my journey to
becoming zero waste (or as close as possible) most plastic I buy definitely
comes from supermarket food. I have managed to buy bread, fruit and vegetables
locally without plastic, but things like rice and pasta I can only find in
plastic. I'm also partial to the odd ready meal but these come covered in
plastic so I'm going to try to be more organised with my cooking so I can cut
these out.
10. Do you have any ideas
/ solutions / advice on how to reduce or replace plastic
use?
The things that have worked
best for me this week are:
1. Always remember to take my reusable water bottle
out so I'm not tempted to buy plastic bottles.
2. Buying my fruit and veg loose at my local
greengrocer has cut out loads of plastic from my weekly shop.
3. Switching to shampoo bar, bar soap, naked shower gel and naked deodorant has
probably halved the amount of plastic in the bathroom.
4. Always carry a reusable shopping bag, then even
if you have an impulse buy you don't need to buy a plastic bag.
5. Plan meals ahead, convenience food comes with
lots of plastic.
Ruth Choo
1. How easy / difficult did you find the plastic-less week?
Challenging
2. Did you find it more / less expensive?
More expensive
3. Did you manage to eliminate plastic completely? If not, roughly how
much were you able to reduce? (%)
15-20% (I think)
4. Does this challenge make you more aware of the plastic around
us?
Great idea to put out questionnaire -made me think!
5. Are there any items that you think really don’t need plastic?
Bottles, carrier bags and other packa
7. Do you recycle your plastic?
Yes
8. Do you know how often plastic can be recycled? (please
tick/highlight)
About 30 times (?)
9. Will this challenge affect your future shopping decisions? (What kind
of plastic would you say you use the most?)
Yes
Packs of fruits - buying in large quantity unnecessarily
Drinks in Plastic Bottles
ging used for marketing
6. Before this challenge, were you aware of the problem with plastic in
our oceans?
Yes
Crisps packaging
10. Do you have any ideas / solutions / advice on how to reduce or
replace plastic use?
Use more glass bottles -returnable & say 5p refundable.
Tax plastic bottles manufacturers
Karen Walker +
Jools Abel
1. How easy / difficult did you find the plastic-less
week?
It
wasn’t as easy as we first thought it would be. There is so much plastic that
it is very hard to avoid it
2. Did you find it more / less expensive?
It
was more expensive as if we bought fruit/veg out of plastic you don’t get the
deals you get with the packet stuff. Having said this, we didn’t buy bottles of
water.
3. Did you manage to eliminate plastic
completely? If not, roughly how much were you able to reduce? (%)
No.
We’re not sure we were able to reduce it by a great deal in a week. But we did
put all soft plastic in a bag to see how much we generated in a week. We were
shocked. It also made us more aware of the types of plastic we use. There is
far more ‘soft’ plastic than we originally thought, such as tops on yoghurt,
bags that bananas, tangerines, come in and plastic tops on glass bottles, etc.
4. Does this challenge make you more aware of the
plastic around us?
Oh
yes! We looked far more carefully than we have before.
5. Are there any items that you think really don’t
need plastic?
Fruit
and veg don’t need to come in plastic. This is done for convenience and also to
make us buy more. Water bottles should be made more substantial, so they can be
reused for longer or perhaps there could be money given on return bottles. Cat
food pouches – should go back to tins, these are far more widely recycled for
the general public.
6. Before tis challenge, were you aware of the
problem with plastic in our oceans?
We
were. But this challenge coincided with the final episode of The Blue Planet 2
for us. It is frightening to think that something we throw away could end up in
the sea and cause injury to sea life
7. Do you recycle your plastic?
Yes,
but as part of this challenge we have also found somewhere we can recycle soft
plastic for our business waste and we sneak our soft plastics from home in
there too. Also, we have stopped using straws and we burn cotton buds instead
of throwing them away.
8. Do you know how often plastic can be
recycled? (please tick/highlight)
Indefinitely
About 100 times
About 30 times
One or two times
Don’t
know
9. Will this challenge affect your future shopping
decisions? (What kind of plastic would you say you use the most?)
Yes.
We will avoid using plastic where we can but also, now we have found a
recycler, we are more able to recycle a wider variety of plastic. Soft plastic
such as bags is something we use most of.
10. Do
you have any ideas / solutions / advice on how to reduce or
replace plastic use?
Reuse
water bottles, or better still, don’t buy them in the first place.
The
government should put together an awareness raising campaign that covers all
demographics, with remuneration made for companies who are forward thinking and
innovative in their work to reduce waste. Councils should provide a better
recycling system. Our council recycles bottles but not the tops. Most people
don’t know why so information about what is recycled and why would be good.
We
put all of our soft plastic in a bag during the challenge week. This was
because we can recycle other plastics but the soft plastic usually goes in the
bin. It was shocking to see how much we produced in a week and there’s only two
of us. It was a real eye opener and we would suggest others try it just to see
why we need to reduce waste.
Megan Johnson
1.
How
easy / difficult did you find the plastic-less week?
Very difficult, especially when using the big
supermarkets like asda, aldi and morrisons.
2.
Did
you find it more / less expensive?
When I could find an option to
pick my fruit or veg I found mostly it wasn’t that much more expensive. However
when looking at things like toothbrushes they were expensive.
3.
Did
you manage to eliminate plastic completely? If not, roughly how much were you
able to reduce? (%)
I think altogether I only managed
to eliminate about 20% of my plastic, I was shocked as I expected to do much
more.
4.
Does
this challenge make you more aware of the plastic around us?
Very much so, I was shocked to
see that everything was wrapped in plastic, coconuts, oranges, toilet roll.
5.
Are
there any items that you think really don’t
need plastic?
Yes, fruit and veg do not need
plastic, every supermarket should allow you to pick however many produce you want,
rather than forcing you to buy three courgettes. Things like lemons, limes,
bananas, oranges and coconut do not need a plastic package.
6.
Before
this challenge, were you aware of the problem with plastic in our oceans?
Yes I was slightly aware but not
as much as I am now.
7.
Do
you recycle your plastic?
Yes
luckily in Bangor it is very easy to recycle your plastics.
8.
Do
you know how often plastic can be recycled? (please tick/highlight)
Indefinitely
About 100 times
About 30 times
0ne or two times
9.
Will
this challenge affect your future shopping decisions? (What kind of plastic
would you say you use the most?)
Yes I now make sure I also pick
unpacked fruit and veg, and I am also trying to find an affordable razor that
isn’t plastic, to stop me going through loads of disposable ones a year.
10. Do you have any ideas / solutions /
advice on how to reduce or replace plastic use?
Not really, I think supermarkets
changing the way they package food may help, having a plastic free aisle will
also be helpful I think.
