I am giving up plastic.
Oh, right, yeah, OK I said I was going to do that at new year. But the truth is that giving up plastic completely is too hard and in reality no-one cares if you slip up. And up I have slipped many times.
What I need is people watching me! YOU are those people.
So my new challenge is:
ZERO PLASTIC WASTE
That is, any I plastic I do buy, I can't throw it away when it's useful life is over, either into the recycling or the landfill bin. If I have something plastic and it breaks or wears out, I have to find another use for it.
And, since this should be quite easy, as I've been trying to do it since January, I'm going to set myself a new challenge each month and keep you all updated on this blog! Just what you've always wanted!
Plastic is everywhere. From the wristband placed around your wrist at birth to the mouse your hand is resting on right now, you can’t get away from it. It’s fantastic stuff... when used well.
We’ve grown a bit of an addiction lately though, using it like it's going out of fashion in the most ludicrous way. From individually wrapping bananas to encasing a stick of glue in an unbreakable plastic case, to single-use carrier bags, our use of plastic has gone wild.
And it’s not without it’s consequences.
Landfill and recycling
Thankfully, not all plastic waste ends up in our trees and seas. Every year 800,000 tonnes of plastic bags are used in the EU, and only 6% is recycled - down cycled, we should say. Plastic recycling is nowhere near as efficient as glass or aluminium can recycling; it dramatically reduces the quality of the plastic and uses lots of energy (although not as much as making new plastic from scratch).
But it’s far better just to use less in the first place.
Climate change
Plastic is made from oil, and making it uses a fair whack of energy: for every kilo of plastic six kilos of carbon dioxide is released.
By avoiding buying excessively packaged goods you can save 250kg CO2 a year – the same as 40 cups of tea a day all year.
By just taking your own cotton bags to the supermarket you can save 23Kg CO2 a year.
The penalty
Each month I will set myself a penalty for not meeting the challenge.
So, if I slip up on the April zero plastic waste challenge, I promise to walk through the centre if Bristol wearing nothing but (recycled) plastic bags at the end of April. So keep watching me!
Sponsor me!
I want you to sponsor me, but I DON'T WANT YOUR CASH!!
Instead, I want YOU to pledge to make a change in your life too.
You don't have to be as extreme as me, for example you could pledge to give up buying drinks in plastic bottles, or just to stop buying food in plastic packaging. And you don't even have to go down the same lines as me, you could challenge yourself to stop driving your car instead - whatever you fancy.
There are loads of suggestions on the website.
http://213.138.117.136/doers/holly-anticrap/year-eco-challenges
Whatever you choose, I look forward to hearing about how you get on.
Here is a list of the challenges I plan to take on over the year:
April. ZERO PLASTIC WASTE
May. No meat.
June. No gadgets (TV, PC, phone) after 5pm. Take up new hobby instead?
July. Save water: timed showers, don't flush pee. No tea or coffee.
August. No flying.
September. Draught proof the house ready for winter.
October. Save electricity: Always switch lights of when leaving the room. Switch appliances off at wall when not in use.
November. Buy only seasonal local food.
December. Zero waste christmas: Only really useful presents, no waste wrapping, no cheap decorations.
January. Give up booze
February?
March?
Any suggestions for February or March?
Obviously some of these may change or expand as I might come up with other ideas over the year. And some of them are meant to be lasting changes, like zero plastic waste, and saving electricity and water, but others are only meant to be temporary like giving up meat and booze, but may last longer... Who knows?
You have a few days to decide how you are going to "sponsor" me. Have a look at the options on the website here:
And let me know how you get on!
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