Location:, United Kingdom

Name: Sarah Fleming

Week: 2

Personal Info:

Living with partner. This is our combined plastic waste.

List of plastic items REFUSED this week. (Yay!)

Lots of carrier bags

Total items collected: 19

Total weight: 152

Items: Recyclable
Juice bottle
Carrot packaging
Sliced Loaf Packet
Bread roll bag

Items: Nonrecyclable
Bags containing sweet potatoes, baking potatoes, frozen chips, chillies, tomatoes, plastic tray in the tomatoes, blueberry tub and plastic film lid, ring pull from drink, yoghurt pot lid, packaging from garden items- hose pipe nozzle and watering can roses.

I was surprised how much of this stuff wasn’t recyclable. Before starting this challenge I just used to throw anything plastic into the recycling collection but now I am checking each item. I want to learn more about non-recyclable plastic waste and what happens to it.

What items can I easily replace with plastic free or less plastic alternatives?
All the bags holding vegetables. I have access to a few market stalls and shops where I can buy loose items so I need to start taking my own bags and making choices based on what isn’t packaged in plastic. A plastic tray inside a plastic bag is unacceptable for 8 tomatoes! I know I wont be able to get strawberries and blueberries unpackaged so I guess I’ll just have to grow my own.

What items would I be willing to give up if a plastic free alternative doesn’t exist?
All of these have a plastic free alternatives, I just have to make the choice.

What items are essential and seem to have no plastic-free alternative?
None that I’ve come across so far

What lifestyle change(s) might be necessary to reduce my plastic consumption?
Baking my own bread
Making my own Juice

What one plastic item am I willing to give up or replace this week?
This week I’m giving up vegetables wrapped in plastic. The very idea is abhorrent.

What other conclusions, if any, can I draw?
Very nearly didn’t record the results of this weeks challenge even though I had successfully saved all of the plastic I had accumulated; I felt a bit dismayed at it all but as the rules of this challenge state, guilt is unnecessary, and I am now feeling inspired to reduce my plastic waste in the forthcoming week.