Yesterday was the first day of my plastic free week challenge. I have spent the last few weeks planning and talking about it as well as hearing from constituents who are joining me.
Fresh fruit and veg at the People’s Supermarket
The first tricky thing was breakfast. I was at home and we usually have cereal. The problem is that all milk seems to come in plastic. Luckily, in Leeds milk is available in glass bottles by delivery. Today though we made do with toast.
I spent much of my morning in the constituency office, where we don’t have much in the way of kitchen facilities so I thought I’d grab a sandwich locally. I was in a hurry so went into Subway. I could get a sandwich and cookie wrapped in paper, no drink though as they all came with a plastic top. I did notice how much plastic was used in Subway. The staff use plastic gloves which is great for hygiene but that must result in a lot of plastic being thrown away. These could easily be made from another material such as corn starch, so could the drink caps and the plastic straws.
Next stop was to get some shopping in. R.K Harris on North Lane is a fantastic greengrocer. Not only
R.K Harris in Headingley serve great produce in a paper bag.
do they supply fresh produce, they also sell it in a paper bag. Across the road is the natural food store. Result – I got a really nice loaf of bread in a paper bag as well as some chocolate eggs in foil for the kids. I couldn’t buy much in the ambient chiller though as everything was wrapped in plastic.
Weirdly, the toughest part of my day was at the train station. I was desperate for a packet of crisps (my weakness), they all seem to come in plastic. I would be very grateful to anyone who got in touch to tell me how I could get crisps with no plastic!
The peoples Supermarket in London is a fantastic social enterprise and great for going plastic free.
In London, I stopped off at The Peoples Supermarket, a social enterprise that promotes fresh local produce and sustainable living. I bought some ingredients for dinner, went home and made a Catalan style Pan Con Tomate. Yum!
I’d love to hear your stories, please post on my Facebook page or write to me at alex@alexsobel.co.uk.