To think reducing plastic consumption is only really possible for wealthier families.

[P3onyPenny]

So we recycle every single thing we can and having researched reusable bottles that don't leak all 5 of us have Smash bottles at £12 each. Not having the plastic in the house in the first place is what really counts and wanted to do more but every single recommendation costs a fortune.

We shop for most of our bill at Lidl which is the worst for plastic packaging so can't change supermarket.

Changing to a milkman to stop plastic milk cartons cost double.

Having toilet role delivered in non plastic wrapping which supports building 3rd world toilets is double.

Having a Riverford( or any box) for veg let alone meat is hugely more expensive.

Lush shampoo bars and tins are very expensive.

Bamboo toothbrushes,paste in jars,non plastic deo are things we would get though a lot of and again are££££££...

Beeswax wraps are £££££ for a decent size x5........

I've had the same struggle. Loose vegetables for example not always cheaper at Asda. I can get a bag of those small apples they call them kids ones for £1. Anyway when I order online they put any loose veg in plastic bags anyway . I've switched to bar soap as that's cheaper but tried to find one packaged in cardboard and it was about £2.50 for one bar of soap

One switch I have made which is cheaper long term is buy those little Tupperware sandwich boxes and not use cling film anymore. Leftovers go in Tupperware so not really much use for cling film now.

You paid £60 for 5 bottles?! I just buy a plastic bottle of water for £1 and reuse it...

You might already be doing some things though - taking a bottle of water out with you rather than buying. Buying you're own re-usable coffee mug or not buying coffee out, making sure you don't buy drinks which come with a plastic straw, if you buy loose veg from the supermarket they usually let you use your own paper bag. Using leftovers in tupperware rather than buying a sandwich or pasta in a plastic container.

Someone will pop up in a minute to talk about markets.

There are no markets here, or within at least 10 miles.

Even that nearest one is a 'farmer's market' with fancy bread at £4 for a tiny lump, and cheeses that must be made of unicorn milk.

We do buy boxes of washing powder instead of liquids and stuff though.

You have to do what you can, it's not possible to be plastic free.

I noticed a dust pan and brush in Matalan had wooden handles, and Tesco cotton bud sticks are cardboard. We've also bought metal and paper drinking straws from Amazon. Things are changing.

I do try to look at alternatives to anything I buy (Metal/wood/paper), but if it's priced too high I'd have to go with plastic still.

I agree with you. I do think a water bottle pays off in the end because you can use it for years and you don't need to buy drinks when out and about. Considering the price of bottled water, it probably pays off after a couple of months!
But apart from that, I think you're right, especially regarding groceries.

phos is the washing powder any good I have to say I've never thought of that. Is it just completely cardboard packaging?

We are pretty good at reducing plastic use, we have drinks bottles, don't use bottles of shampoo or body wash, don't use cling film but the food packaging is ridiculous. We also shop at lidl and the amount of plastic packaging is stupid. Most of it can't be recycled, the supermarkets need to sort this. Plastic can.be very useful from protecting food from spoiling but they should use a limited number of types to make recycling easier and stop.using things like black plastic trays that can't be recycled.

What did we do 30 years ago?

I think plastic reduction is possible - plastic elimination at this point is probably impossible for all! Things like:

Reusing shopping bags
Having reusable water bottles /coffee cups
Making sandwiches rather than buying plastic wrapped ones
Using tubs as opposed to cling film
Using the market who around us are cheaper, better and use paper bags (But I accept not everyone has a local market)
Being careful about clothes - buy a bit more to last rather than throw away plastics
Making sure what you do use is properly disposed of.
I shop in Tesco usually and their loose fruit/veg is often cheaper - but you still need something to put it in so I get that is hard.

Will be interested to see what else others do.

Bar soap is cheaper than shower gel a lot of the time

I also just reuse plastic bottles from water or fizzy drinks. I use toilet paper plastic bags in the kitchen bin, smaller ones in the bathroom. I use empty bread bags for sandwiches and snacks where I don't want to carry around an empty container.

I think it’s more diffucult if you’re on a budget but any reduction at all is good.

I keep checking the fruit/veg. Often it is more expensive loose. Both work full time and shoe horn food shopping in on Fri after work. Can't really get to a market easily,not got one that near.Weekends always uber busy. Could look into it but shopping at 2 supermarkets to cut cost already eats up a lot of time.

what did we do 30 years ago

We had a high street with shops and a market. I used to go out on Saturday and visit each of them to buy what was needed plus we had a great fruit and veg market with mainly seasonal foods that were wrapped in paperbags (which we then reused for sandwiches!)

I think it is a case of doing as much as you can within your own individual constraints. we would never get milk deliveries here so I do buy 6 pinters. I shop at the farm shop for season veg and try not to buy out of season foods to save on the air miles. plus batch cooking and using Tupperware is good. I am thinking that as I get older I would like to be a bit more militant and start taking packaging off of stuff and leaving it at the check out. I think the problem at the moment is that people who aren't well off and don't have limitless amounts of time, only see the eco warriors on TV and because they know they can never fully match this it makes it difficult to make a start.

I shop in Tesco usually and their loose fruit/veg is often cheaper - but you still need something to put it in so I get that is hard. Only if you are buying 10 of something, surely? A few onions, 5 apples, can just go on the scale loose.

I agree, but at the same time I think most people on a budget just naturally use less plastic.

For example at our skintest times we would never have done anything but take sandwiches in tupperware on a day out because we couldn't afford to do anything else!

The fact that it's not a change to use less plastic in this way doesn't mean you're doing nothing, it means you are a step ahead.

We’ve never bought liquid for clothes washing...powder doesn’t gunk your machine up and comes in a cardboard box which I put in the compost neap, or into recycling.

Soap in a bar is v cheap.

Use bowls with a saucer on top in fridge.

Cach but they still end up in landfill or recycling just later in the week.

Reducing via recycling is pretty pointless,like shovelling snow in a snowstorm. I do it but I'm realistic.

It's single use plastic that's the problem and you don't need to buy Tupperware you can cover a bowl with a plate!
You will save more by using solid shampoos, solid deodorants etc as they last longer. Same with a reusable cup as most coffee houses now give a 25p discount.
Personally I'm finding this all a lot cheaper (after some initial investment in a bread machine) and I think whatever your budget we all have a responsibility to do what we can as there has already been so much damage we can never eradicate it all - to do that the entire human race would need to be wiped out as we are the biggest problem this planet has!

I think you are partially right and sadly some unscrupulous traders use the ‘green’ message to charge more with little impact.
We do need to reduce our littering and plastic waste. We need to get away from a disposable mindset or we’ll ene up with a beautiful country covered in detritus - a bit like parts of India.
I think the constant coffee or can of coke habit has added to this. Many people seem incapable of going on a train or to town without buying refreshments in disposable cups or cans. Children are growing up thinking it’s normal to snack continuously- creating more problems than just litter!
It is more expensive to do the right thing though.

I agree but there are things you can do to reuse the plastic first which helps.

So for example plastic fruit and meat trays and can cleaned and if they can't be recycled (I know some authorities won't take them and some are the type of plastic that can't easily be recycled) then you can poke holes in the bottom and use them as seed starter trays/pots (if you don't grow plants then someone you know surely will)

Bamboo toothbrushes can be bought cheaply from ebay - at the moment the airmiles thing makes it a complicated eco decision but ultimately if enough people start using them then the big manufacturers will change to meet the demand.

You can make your own wax wraps fairly easily I believe if you look on youtube. There's an initial outlay for the wax but you can use old shirts which are too scruffy for the charity shop for the fabric. I actually bought a set of reuseable silicon lids which, whilst plastic, will be used numerous times instead of the cling film which would have been chucked.

The biggest thing I think is actually about the overwhelming consumerism. Just thinking each time "do we need this" has changed some of my habits. We are fortunate in that we can afford to buy most things we need but we shouldn't do that just because we can.

foxes its fairly easy to find soap packaged in paper. And washing powder is the norm surely? It's fine and better for the machine.

Non plastic wrapped soap isn't necessarily cheaper than shower gel, I only spend £1 on a bottle of shower gel. I am switching as can afford it but it isn't cheaper.

Go to TK Maxx for water bottles. The sisters ones don’t leak and are often on sale. This is the one best change I think anyone can make. Freeze the water the night before if you want cold water. We don’t use cling film at home. The dc think they are deprived not having their packed lunch in foil or cling film.

I concur re the bamboo toothbrushes. We use reusable plastic straws at home from Waitrose. Also meat/veg wrapped in plastic. We are reducing the amount of meat we eat though and that is definitely a change.

I need to get a moon cup! (Ok, not plastic, but you know....).

4 bars of soap at Sainsbury’s are about 1.20. I get big bottles of shampoo (1litre) at tk Maxx