Hi and welcome to our first blog entry. I say our blog but it will be mostly me, Lorna, who rambles on at you!
WARNING – You might want to make a cuppa first. It’s a long one as I have the whole of March to write about. Subsequent entries will be substantially smaller I promise!
I’m sticking to a theme with this first entry. As our first campaign is in support of banning plastic bags, and there is an eco-living section encouraging you to change one thing per month, I thought I’d fill you in on how well we’ve got on throughout March with trying to stop using plastic bags –it’s not as easy as it would seem!
The supermarket checkouts are now surrounded by re-useable bags so it’s easy enough and relatively cheap to pick up a couple. So that’s the shopping sorted out. Of course the next time we end up at the supermarket we have forgotten the bags. So begrudgingly we again purchase more. We firmly resolve to empty the bags as soon as we get home and return them to the car. Life somehow gets in the way and the next time we are at the supermarket I remember where they have all disappeared to. Three of them came in very useful for stuffing all of the paperwork in that I could no longer bare to look at. These now reside out of sight at the back of the wardrobe. Another came in handy to put the ironing pile into when Jack decided that the clothes basket makes a good ‘boat’ to play in. Needless to say this one is still full of the ironing and hiding behind the sofa and five more came in useful to put Jack’s baby clothes in that I can’t bare to throw away.
Ignoring the tuts and sighs coming from Andrew I make him buy more. This time I am told in no uncertain terms that he will be taking care of them from now on! Of course Mr Righteous remembers them on our next shopping trip so has spent the last week being smug.
At least we have finally we got the weekly shopping under control and I’m feeling proud of us.
The pride was short lived. I started thinking about all the other things we use plastic bags for. From previous shopping trips we have a kitchen draw full of plastic bags, a common site in most homes I guess. Over the last month the once stuffed draw has become a tad more spacious. I’d like to tell you that it’s because we have taken them all back for recycling. Sadly though, it’s because I have used them for numerous other jobs without even really thinking about it.
I use them for all manner of jobs from lining smaller waste bins, wrapping Jack’s nappies in to putting muddy boots in so that car doesn’t get filthy. This got me thinking and I went and had a look at what we had bought that week from the supermarket. Almost everything came pre-wrapped in plastic or was loose and I put it in a plastic bag.
© Matt Dale
When Matt Dale sent me his photograph of the gannet on Fistral beach it made me feel sick. Not because it was gruesome but because I haven’t been using plastic bags to spite wildlife or to try and destroy the countryside. There was no malice behind my decision to use them. I was using them because they were there. It was easy and I didn’t think about doing so. It was a purely thoughtless act. This single bird made me wake up to my responsibilities. The world today seems to allow you to move through life without thinking about your actions or the consequence of those actions. It’s easy to close your eyes to the damage that these thoughtless acts cause
The plastic bag drawer is now empty. They have all been taken to a recycling point. I can’t congratulate myself too much though as there are problems with plastic bag recycling (see our campaign section for more details).
We are going to continue on our quest to be greener by changing just one thing a month (see eco-living for more details) but the most important thing I have changed in March is my attitude.
Congratulations if you've made it to the end of this post! It would be great to chat with you in our forum and if you have taken any steps to be greener we have a topic devoted to eco-living so join in and let us know how you have been getting on.
TTFN Lorna