Which is easier to drink without a straw – a mojito or a caipirinha?
Back in November last year I set myself a task of making one change each month to reduce the amount of plastic I use – read the blog here.
This is my progress so far:
November – Buy larger sized containers of everything I’m able to.
December – Absolutely refuse carrier bags, always, everywhere, even if I have to carry everything in my arms.
January – Use a refillable water bottle and remember to take it with me.
February – Buy moisturiser brands that use glass jars instead of plastic tubs.
March – Take my sandwiches to uni in a reusable plastic box, not plastic bags.
April – Put loose fruit and veg bought at the supermarket straight into the trolley, not into a plastic bag first.
May – Stop using dental flossers with toothpick attached in favour of a reel of floss.
June – Use cotton buds that have a paper stick, like these from Muji (expensive)
or Wilko (cheaper).
July – Buy soap wrapped in paper instead of shower gel (my special treat from Liberty)
August – Take my own mug to the coffee shop. Reusable AND I get 25p off for not using their cup.
I do realize that some of the above do not cut out plastic completely, and they are very small changes, but they do reduce the plastic I consume. I’m well aware there are many people out there living a plastic-free existence and I really take my hat off to them. My intention was to challenge myself to make 12 small changes to get the ball rolling so to speak.
This month I had an interesting visit to a well-known high street coffee shop in the UK when I asked for a take-away latte WITH NO LID!!! If I sat in the shop I could have my coffee in a ceramic cup or a glass mug with no lid but if I wanted to take it out I had to have a plastic lid, “for Health and Safety reasons”. I could not convince them, so from now on I’ll take my own reusable travel mug and get my discount to boot.
So, getting back to the cocktails! I usually only have cocktails as a treat on holiday or at Christmas, and as I’ve been on holiday already this year I’ll have to wait until December for the opportunity to refuse a straw! There are some very graphic videos online showing how damaging simple straws can be to our marine wildlife. So it’s no straw in future or maybe one of these stainless steel numbers?
I have another couple of ideas for September and October to round off my year but would be very interested to hear if you have any suggestions.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx