Hashtag Scrumptiousideas! Making small changes for the environment

Every so often an article in the newspaper, or a report on the radio, grabs my attention and I feel I have to challenge myself to make some changes.

The other day I read about plastic drinking straws, along with other plastics, ending up in the ocean, and then being eaten by fish and by sea mammals.


Plastic is a wonderful thing, I am not anti it per se.  I am glad that it is used in hospitals ensuring that medicines, blood and dressings are all safe and sterile.  It has so many good uses, but I believe that single use objects such as straws, cups, picnic plates and cutlery, grocery bags and supermarket packaging are so often not necessary.  They  end up in land fill or even worse in water ways and oceans, and take hundreds of years to disintegrate.

I have decided to make changes in my use of plastics.  I am starting small, but hope over the next few months I can remove much of the wasteful plastic I come across daily.

Rather than use Cling film (plastic wrap) I am using Bees Wrap (a fabric covered in bees wax - I intend to make my own as well) and Duralex glass boxes with silicone lids for storage in the fridge.

I have started buying soap powder for both the washing machine and dishwasher, this comes in cardboard boxes, and has no plastic wrappers to deal with.

For covering food left on the counter top, I am using old fashioned beaded bowl covers. (I know that the beads are plastic, but as I already own them, feel it is better to continue using them, rather than replacing them!)

At present I am using paper straws, but have some metal, reusable ones on order.

Are you worried about plastics in landfill and the ocean?  What steps are you taking to reduce your "once only" plastic use?

Do follow my journey to a more environment friendly home and life style here on Scrumptious Kitchens and on Instagram at my new hashtag scrumtiousideas!