Plastic in your kitchen

Heather from Island Bay

Howdy neighbours,
We spent time in India recently. What a fantastic country and the people are so friendly. However the amount of plastic waste on the sides of the roads and rivers was mind-boggling. It was a real eye-opener as far as plastic waste is concerned as we have nothing like it.
So I have made a concerted effort to get rid of all plastic containers from my pantry. I am replacing them with glass jars and/or baskets and stainless steel (mostly from op shops so it's not an expensive exercise). Its hard but I'm doin' it!
I am refusing plastic bags from supermarkets and shops too. If big business really cared about the environment they would stop using plastic bags and packaging altogether! It will take time but it can happen.
I have a box in my boot and it's not much extra effort to take some cloth bags with me. I don't put my spuds, apples or carrots in a plastic bag any more either. I just take them up to the counter as they are. I am also going to start unwrapping things that are in unnecessary plastic and leave it at the supermarket. I saw this on Facebook the other day...great idea!
A big thing for me was not using plastic bags in my kitchen tidy. I now wrap everything in newspaper (bio-degradable) so there is no smell, recycle stuff at the Recycle Centre at the Landfill in Happy Valley, and compost the rest.
Hey I'm not what you would call a all-out greenie and sometimes I forget to do it but this is major and if we all don't get together on fixing this then the planet Earth (although it already is) will be in for serious problems from it. When I see children playing in plastic waste and fish with plastic particles inside them it breaks my heart. Please please get rid of your plastic and start with your kitchen. It won't happen overnight but it will happen! Apologies for the missive but it has finally hit home! Thanks. x