It’s Plastic Free July, and I'm challenging myself to find alternatives to single use plastic for an entire month - and to write a daily blog on the most interesting parts of the experience. Today I needed to buy milk, bread, cereal, and laundry detergent.
First of all, I forgot my reusable bag in my car and had to go back for it. I’m looking forward to reusable bags being a normal part of the shopping experience, to people carrying them without a second thought, like mobile phones.
Here’s how my trip went:
Bread
I normally buy Helga’s or Abbott’s wholemeal, but as they both come in plastic, I bought the bakery bread and put it in a paper bag. As I freeze my bread, I decided to slice it before freezing it - lucky I had a good knife!
Cereal
Surprisingly, this was the hardest! I usually buy VitaBrits, but realised like most cereals, they’re enclosed in a plastic bag inside the box. The only cereal that looked plastic free was Uncle Toby’s oats, as the box had perforations for pouring and specified that it needed to be transferred to a sealed container.
But my detective work was rushed and I might have missed some less obvious choices, so it would be helpful if brands could include ‘plastic free’ on their packaging.
Milk
I couldn’t find budget full cream milk in a carton. Every carton was for special dietary requirements - or a premium brand like A2, which I ended up buying for three times the price of my normal milk. I’ll do my next shop at Coles instead of IGA, to see if they have a bigger selection.
Laundry detergent
I prefer liquid over powder detergent, but I’ll have to buy powder from now on as it’s the only plastic free option. At least, Earth Choice’s version is. Other brands like Bosisto’s have a plastic bag inside the box, which is disappointing as I like their products too!
I’ve also seen some recipes online for making your own liquid detergent. So if I don’t like the powder, I might make my own and store it in a glass jar.
On another note... dinner tonight
I’m having dinner with my family tonight, and they often give me leftovers to take home. I haven’t managed to buy a glass or stainless steel lunchbox yet, so I’m taking this glass mixing bowl! Thanks for your suggestions in yesterday’s post - I’m going to put a plate on top as a lid.
Tell me about your shopping experiences - how do you go plastic free in the supermarket?