You are probably very aware that plastic pollution is everywhere. But did you know that it is entering our food chain and we are now consuming it in more ways than one? I came across a scary statistic the other day saying by 2020 there will be more plastic in the ocean than marine life. Unless we do something about this, we are going to find out the hard way what the health implications of this will be.
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Refusing single use plastic such as plastic bags, plastic water bottles and plastic straws is a great start to fixing the problem. So it got me thinking - wouldn’t it be a great if Daylesford, like Anglesea who banned the plastic bag some years ago, became a plastic bag free town. They are already banned in South Australia, Tasmania, Northern Territory and the ACT.
We are dragging the chain when it comes to legislating for their ban in Victoria so let’s not wait to be told what to do and let’s stop using them today.
Eliminating plastic from your life takes some effort at first and that’s why attempting to stop using plastic bags as a first step is much easier than eliminating all single use plastic at once. Acting sooner rather than later is a must as we use five billion plastic bags in Australia each year and 150 million of them end up as litter, either in landfill or in our waterways.
I’m not your lover of plastic so I’ve been attempting to eliminate it from my life over some time. Some of the ways I’ve done this is by:
* Taking reusable bags shopping with me and refusing disposal plastic bags;
* Avoiding take away food (well at least takeaway in plastic containers);
* Saying no to straws;
* Reducing the purchase of plastic packaged food;
* Refusing bottled water and using a reusable bottle;
* Refusing disposable coffee cups and always having a reusable cup handy; and
* Really thinking about my purchases and avoiding plastic where I can.
My latest win has been the elimination of cling wrap. I ran out of it recently and refused to buy it again. How do I survive without it I hear you ask? Well actually really easily. I discovered reusable beeswax wraps. What a marvel they are! Not only do they work well, they look gorgeous too. Of course I still have the plastic containers that I have collected over the years until I saw the light, so they also eliminate the single use of cling wrap but, I have to say, the beeswax wrap is proving to be a success.
They can be used for wrapping sandwiches for lunches, wrapping cheese and covering food in the fridge. After use, you simply sponge with some detergent and cold water. Apparently they last for one year and, being biodegradable and non-toxic, they will break down in the ground, making it safe to continue to grow food.
The wraps I've bought are made in Australia, which is rare these days. They also contribute to the increase in the honeybee population, which has been rapidly in decline. They cost $45 for three different sized wraps but so far I'm really impressed with the investment. Besides, you'd most likely spend more than that per year on cling wrap, which is only used once then ends up in landfill or in our oceans.
My next challenge for the family is to no longer use plastic toothbrushes. I've just purchased environmental toothbrushes made from bamboo by another Australian company. All components of this product are biodegradable meaning that, unlike every other toothbrush I've used in my lifetime, this one won't outlive me.
But I’m jumping ahead of myself, as I’d like to assist us as a town to at least start with banning the plastic bag. So are you keen to get involved? Do you have concerns about how this will be done? Then I’d love to hear from you. Please email me at info@bedesigns.com.au and let’s ban the bag sooner rather than later.
