How I am removing 826 plastic bottles from my Annual Shopping - And how you can too!

I recently discovered this fun fact:

(source:  BBC Seven Charts that Explain Plastic Pollution)

Say what!!!!

For those of you who like some context, that is equivalent to the weight of the entire human population and then another 82.4 billion people on top of that. That is an unimaginable amount of plastic.

When I first read this statistic I was appalled into temporary muteness. Words did not seem big enough, actions did not seem big enough.
The only thing that did seem big enough (in rather unfair quantities) was the problem itself.
Add in the equally disturbing 'plastic whirlpools' that are cropping up in all our oceans and variously choking, strangling or filling up the stomachs of our aquatic life, I decided it was time to take some action on a personal level.

10 million Tonnes of Plastic Waste Ends up in the Oceans Annually

Unfortunately for me the term 'Microgreen' (damn you rocket!) was already taken, so I decided to embark on a project to create my own pocket-rocket (LOL) movement, let's call it 'micro- eco'. Little changes that, when embraced by many, would equal big results.

My first target, the supermarket and my weekly shop.

I had become increasingly uncomfortable (I no longer had the benefit of blissful ignorance after all) with the amount of plastic that was tumbling into my trolley on a weekly basis. This after all was an area of plastic consumption over which I had direct control.

For a quick win, I challenged myself to swap, reduce or remove ten trolley items that I regularly purchased in plastic packaging.
The results were, for me extraordinary. At the end of the second week of my experiment I realised that my previously over flowing recycling bin was only half full and I imagine that as my plastic free approach becomes more entrenched the results will only improve!
I can also imagine, what results would come from whole communities embracing this idea? The mind boggles.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, for more information please read my disclaimer.

My 'Swap' Ten:

1. Body Wash and Hand Soap: It is so easy to mindlessly pluck the bottle of Body Wash off the shelf that makes the most appealing promises to your skin. Soft, moisturised, oil free, anti itch, exfoliating, fragranced, unfragranced .... the promises are endless and alluring.
I have made a different choice, switching to (soap free) cakes of soap. I am careful however to pick brands that come in cardboard and are not individually wrapped inside. Some of these cheeky soaps are better packaged than my home loan! Total plastic packaging saving? Around 15 bottles a year!

2. Sparkling Water in bottles: Sparkling water is my go to 'I feel like I am having a treat when I am not actually having a treat' drink (yes, this is possibly lame). I did not want to give it up.
This however, was one item that I decided to REMOVE from my shop, reducing my plastic bottle consumption by a minimum of eight bottles a week, or 416 bottles a year.
I did not however, give up sparkling water, instead, I invested in a Soda Stream and the endless flow of sparkling water was uninterrupted. Because I did not make the purchase for money saving reasons, I resisted calculating how long it would take me to be in profit on my machine. Frankly, I don't care. The 416 bottles a year I am no longer putting into the waste management system is reward enough.

3. Wrapped Produce: Now this one has ALWAYS annoyed me, who needs their broccoli shrink wrapped anyway? My Husband and partner in 'shopping crime' was however, less than impressed when I would not let him buy the green bananas that came in their own plastic bag. I had to explain, that these bananas were in no way 'green'. Pun intended.

4: Produce Bags: Many stores have introduced a ban on single use plastic shopping bags and not before time. Produce bags however, continue. What are the alternatives?
Where possible I skip the bag altogether, I have enough faith in my bananas to not run away that I simply put them as is in my trolley. I am more suspicious however of the eight onions I have bought , they look shifty! So for these I have invested in some reusable produce bags. There any many options available on the market, such as those shown below, most are light and washable and more than capable of wrangling your greens.

Naturally Sensible Produce Bags 

4. Shopping Bags: Many of us have had to buy reusable shopping bags as our local Supermarket has either banned, or is now charging for the use of plastic. For me, this is not so much a swap or change item, but a plea to remember! Forgotten reusable shopping bags are not so easy to use, it is extremely hard to load your (plastic free) groceries into bags that are sitting at home on the kitchen bench. My new routine is to put them straight back into the back of the car after unpacking and I always carry one when I walk into town, because, well you never know when an impulse purchase will strike!
If you object to the idea of advertising for a particular shop while you are carrying your bag, there are many cute options available for purchase away from the Supermarket shop floor. These bags from Earthwise are my favourite because they stay open for easy loading.

Earthwise Reusable Shopping Box Tote

5: Deodorant: This one was a difficult one for me, because I have always hated spray on Deodorant, it, for want of a better explanation, gets up my nose. The good news was I was able to swap out my plastic roll on model for a roll on encased in glass. Phew, I did not want this to have to fall in to the 'remove' category. That, my friends, would not have been good for any body who has to interact with me ;).

6: Milk: A simple swap out from multi litre plastic bottles to one litre cardboard containers. Boom. Three less plastic containers in my trolley every shop. Or, 156 less bottles (at the bare minimum over a year).

7: Washing Detergent: I have long been a buyer of liquid clothes washing detergent. But even the most stubborn of us can change. I swapped to powdered, bio degradable, detergent packed in cardboard. At the rate I go through washing powder, I have reduced my plastic consumption in the order of 26 one litre bottles annually.

8: Drinks: I (and I am sure this will come as a big surprise) am not immune to embracing bad habits and like all human beings I sometimes need a good kick in the pants to help me move on from them. In this case, my bad shopping habit was buying myself, and anyone who happened to be shopping with me at the time, a 600 ml bottle of drink. My drink of choice, Coke Zero. Sometimes this would equal up to four extra plastic bottles in my weekly shop, or more horrifically, 208 plastic bottles per year.

9. Water Bottles: I don't think I am on my own when I say I have often, parched at a petrol station, bought a bottle of water and secretly patted myself on my back for my 'healthy choice'.
Yay me. Avoiding sugar, big tick, adding to plastic pollution, not so much.
To be honest, this issue is not one that can always be avoided, sometimes we are just not prepared and dying from thirst does not seem like a viable alternative. I have however, purchased myself a good, glass, water bottle and try my very best to make sure it is full and in the car before travel.
Sometimes I forget, more importantly however, is that often I remember and that, is what will make all the difference!
There are some great glass water bottles available in even the most basic of Supermarkets, I do however love this '6 pack' of Brieftons water bottles from Amazon, in my case, it is one for all the family, and a couple spare! Add in the fact that they are different colours and you never have to share germs (great for all us closet germaphobes out there).

Breiftons Water Bottles from Amazon.com

10. Watch out! Number 10 on my list, might sound silly, but in practice it is quite powerful.

It means simply this, at the start of my shop I remind myself of my 'micro-eco' project and I 'watch out' for sneaky and unnecessary plastic that will try to make its way to my home.

In the past it has STOPPED me in my tracks before the packets of plastic straws and plates (darn it I will just have to wash up after all!), made me turn around and walk the other way when considering buying packs of plastic wrapped disposable floor wipes (sigh, I do have a mop after all) and has even seen me raise a single eye brow in disdain at the packs of individually wrapped lollies.

I know, none of this is new and it's micro.

As a movement however, a commitment from the many? Perhaps we are capable of putting the brakes on plastic pollution after all? 

In the mean time, I am looking out for other 'micro-eco' initiatives that actually work. I would love to hear your ideas!

I am looking forward to sharing more, researched, micro eco changes that we can all implement in future posts! 

Until then, happy shopping!

P.S. For those of you who are interested, this is the model of Soda Stream I picked, it was a little pricey. But it is epic.... and the water is comparably fizzy to the bottled versions I was previously buying.