Write a commentDay Seven and it's the last day of the Newry.ie Plastic Challenge We certainly won't miss the extra hours spent searching for plastic free items. It certainly did take a lot of extra time but there's no doubt we learned where to get and where not to get things in future.
Today we got our dry cleaned item back from Elite Cleaners in a nice paper bag with no fuss.
Next for a bit of ham from the Meat Boutique and again not an issue packaged in a little tin foil, In fact we were so impressed we bought a Quiche as well!
Went to Supervalu to look for a lettuce and some salad things. Determined to remove plastic covering and present lettuce at counter on it's own but bar code was on the plastic and didn't really want any more explaining so sadly did without the salad!
Couldn't last any longer so today was a day for shower gels and shampoos etc and there is no escape from plastic heaven short of perhaps not washing your hair. Even using soap is out as soaps are in their plastic wrappers! Felt bad more than doubling our weeks plastic intake in one foul sweep but it had to be done.
What did we learn - Well shopping plastic free really is a vocation with frustration, wasted hours and empty wallets all part of the mix.
Yes a certain level of wrapping is needed for packaging, especially un-cooked food but why does it need to be plastic? Why it is perceived that something in a cardboard box also needs another plastic inner wrapper.
Why is it thought that fruit packaged in plastic is cleaner. After all the fruit had to be picked by human hands and should be washed before eating anyway!
Why can items like lettuce not be sold loose like they used to be. A plastic bag does not make it cleaner!
Lastly to shop plastic free costs a fair bit more money. Loose buns, fruit, meat etc etc all costs more. This could be the ultimate reason why more people don't make the effort!
