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We tried going plastic-free – it’s not as easy as it should be!

Sector: Thought leadership
Environment

We recently hosted a sharing lunch in support of Plastic Free July, inviting members of the team to source their lunch without the use of single-use plastic in the packaging. Despite being in Bristol, the first UK city to be named European Green Capital back in 2015, there were some real challenges. 

During the lunch, we spoke to our team to find out why people are finding it hard to go plastic-free: 

“It seemed like supermarkets were making reasonable progress in offering unwrapped products – particularly in the fresh veg aisle – but post-Covid it feels like there’s been a backwards step.” 

“While on the hunt for plastic-free products for the sharing lunch I was fooled by what I thought was a paper bag containing my deli items, only to find it was plastic-lined and completely non-recyclable which was so disappointing.” 

“I order my groceries online for convenience, but when they get delivered there’s a lot of plastic waste as fruit and veg often comes in plastic packaging.” 

“While some snack items are easy to make yourself to reduce plastic waste (I tried making my own hummus and loved it!), popular snacks like crisps come in plastic packaging which is unavoidable. I’d much rather buy crisps in paper or biodegradable bags if they had them!” 

But hope is not lost. We have seen positive steps made by individuals, organisations, and by government over recent years, for example:  

  • The UK government’s ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds, introduced in 2020, has stopped over 1 billion pieces of plastic waste from entering the environment annually.  
  • Since the UK introduced the 5p plastic bag charge in 2015, the use of plastic bags has dropped by over 95% across major supermarkets. 
  • Nearly half of UK adults say they have made changes to reduce single-use plastic in their daily lives in the past year, showing a strong public shift towards plastic-free choices. 

Promising stuff. But if all of us were to make real changes it would start to have a much bigger impact.  

If you are one of the many wanting to make the shift and reduce your single-use plastic waste, we have a few simple steps for you to follow: 

  • Bring your own: Use your own bags, jars and Tupperware to buy rice, beans, nuts, and cereals from bulk bins instead of pre-packaged plastic bags. You can even do this at most supermarket deli counters and in some takeaways! 
  • Buy fresh bread instead of plastic-wrapped loaves: opt for bakeries and supermarkets that wrap bread in paper, or bring your own cloth bread bag.  
  • Ditch the cling film: use silicone lids to cover leftovers and beeswax wraps to transport sandwiches. 
  • Avoid individually wrapped items: buy in bulk and separate portions into a reusable tub or bag, or even make your own granola bars, trail mix, or energy balls to avoid buying plastic-wrapped snacks. 
  • Shop smart: Choose supermarkets that are actively reducing plastic waste or seek out zero-waste or bulk stores that offer products without plastic packaging, like Zero Green Bristol. 
  • If you DO end up with single-use plastic, please remember to wash and recycle it! Clean plastic helps recycling facilities process it more efficiently and reduces contamination, making sure more of it gets properly recycled instead of ending up in landfill.