My Plastic Free Birthday

As someone who eats quite a lot of cheese, I really miss it. They sell cheese in non-plastic packaging at the store in Pennard (mentioned in blog post 1), but I haven't had time to drive up there (and it's probably pricier than my usual medium cheddar in tesco). I can't say I honestly appreciated how difficult going plastic free was going to be. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I didn't account for how time consuming it would be. By now, I've made bread, jam, yoghurt, produce bags, granola... not to mention the fact that my shopping is done in multiple locations to get everything I need. I managed to do a lot of my shopping in Swansea Market. Billy Upton, the butchers, was very helpful when I explained my plan, and happily filled up my tupperware boxes. The prices were great (see the picture below), and they were even happy to swap gammon steaks for some sausages in the deal because gammon steaks were pre-wrapped. I also managed to get a lot of fruit and

First confession... I started a day late. I've spent the weekend away in Didcot, and all of the preparation I'd done was in Swansea. I expected to be back in time to start but I extended my stay up here. However, from this arose a couple of opportunities. Firstly, I picked a load of Blackberries, found some old jars and made some Blackberry jam. This doesn't save massive amounts of plastic, just the bit that's usually wrapped around the lid, but it's a good start. Secondly, I managed to go to the Waitrose in Oxford which is trialling their 'Unpacked' concept. The concept is soon being extended to Waitrose in a couple of other places too, so I decided to go along and check it out.  We should definitely recognise Waitrose for the efforts they've gone to in order to remove plastic packaging from their foods. Walking around the fresh produce section, the changes are evident, with mushrooms in recycled card boxes and biodegradable starch