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| (Source: The Guardian) |
We are becoming increasingly aware of the need to reduce plastic consumption in our day-to-day lives, but doing so can prove to be very difficult. When it comes to the weekly grocery shop, items wrapped in plastic are usually cheaper than their non-plastic counterparts due to the extremely cheap nature of plastic. Hopefully the seaweed wrapping investigated in the previous post will take off and prove to be a cheaper alternative so that people more readily opt for that option, but until then, is doing a plastic-free grocery shop only possible for those with greater disposable income? Or for those who live within range of a zero-waste or bulk buy food store?
I picked a selection of 8 items that incorporate plastic in one form or another from a recent Tesco receipt to see how easy it would be to acquire these items plastic-free and at what cost. These items were:
- Milk
- Toothpaste
- Pasta
- Red lentils
- Honey nut cornflakes
- Dishwasher tablets
- Organic yogurt
...which comes to a total of £8.04.
The first thing was to see how easy it would be to complete this task without straying from Tesco as finding a store dedicated to zero packaging can often involve travelling a lot further.
Searching through the online store, the only item that was available plastic free was carton milk, although this was long-life UHT milk. All other items were to be hunted for elsewhere...
Tooth powder is the (unpopular) replacement for toothpaste, and can only be found in Morrisons... where it's advertised as a stain remover for smokers, so not the most attractive sounding oral care. There are a couple of companies that sell toothpaste in glass jars, but as you can imagine, these are much more expensive, with the cheapest being £3.35 for 40g of Truthpaste. Alternatively you can make your own using bicarbonate of soda which works out as the cheapest option and despite what many may think, the taste isn't too bad since you can create several different flavours.
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| (Source: Hello Magazine) |
Pasta. Of the main UK supermarkets not one sells pasta in cardboard without any plastic at all. At the very least they have a plastic window, unlike several places in Europe where it is common to buy pasta packaged entirely in cardboard boxes. However, like red lentils, cereals and yogurt, it can be bought at a zero waste or bulk buy store which are becoming increasingly popular. Several of these stores exist in London, but convenience is key so many will be reluctant to spend the time and money travelling to these locations. Some of these include Hetu in Clapham Junction, Unpackaged in Islington and Naked Larder in Herne Hill. These stores are great for buying all sorts of dried foods such as pasta, grains and cereals, and you can even refill your cleaning products at some too! Although, in most cases, these items come at a higher price.
If the above 7 items were to be sourced plastic free (and you chose against making your own toothpaste), the cheapest total cost would be £19.58, more than double the plastic equivalent, demonstrating that in this case it's only those with greater disposable income who can afford this way of living. Which raises the questions:
Should those more financially privileged do more to reduce plastic consumption?
Will these prices ever match the plastic prices? and,
Are these zero waste and bulk buy companies looking to profit from this new age of environmental consciousness or is it genuinely more expensive buying plastic-free?
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| (Source: Telegraph) |
BUT, before you think that going plastic-free will cost you an arm and a leg, remember that the items that were investigated didn't include any fruit or vegetables, items which will make up a large portion of someone's shopping and can easily be bought loose.
Rather than discourage you, this post should hopefully make you more conscious when doing your shop and get you to consider the non-plastic alternatives. Remember, reducing consumption is the first step to eliminating the need for unnecessary plastic.
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