Saturday, June 8, 2013

Weekend Cooking: Zero Plastic Week

So for this weekend cooking I have something totally different. Next week it is Zero Plastic Week and the goal is to buy no plastic for 1 whole week. There are a lot of reasons why plastic is bad. And tbh, I haven't even looked into it in detail. But I know that it takes a long time to break down, that animals eat it and that it is used for too many unnecessary things. Like for example: do cucumbers really need to be wrapped in plastic? In the Netherlands there are plastic bags to put in your fruits and veggies. Why can't they be made from paper?

So I think it will be fun and very educating to not buy new plastic for a whole week and see what options I have left? I am allowed to use plastic that I already own. So I could use bags I already have to shop etc. I even heard you can wash plastic bags, but I yet have to see how I do that.

I already know that it will be impossible to keep this up for linger than a week, because for one week you can say: okay fine, I won't buy this for a week, but for longer? Some things like toilet paper are impossible to get without plastic packaging. So no, I don't intent to keep this up forever, but what I do hope to learn from this is to see if there are things I can easily change this week and keep those up for the rest of my life. I mean there must be some things that can be done easily to reduce the plastic I use in my home.

So for the next week I will blog about how to do my groceries plastic free. Maybe you have tips for me, or you can join me. Zero Plastic Week starts next Monday, June 10th. For more info look at: http://www.zeroplasticweek.org/ , in both Dutch and English.

This post is part of Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads. Please check out the other participants for your dose of foodie inspiration.


Posted by at 11:23 AM
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7 comments:

  1. Beth FJune 8, 2013 at 12:48 PM

    What a great experiment! This sounds like it'd be difficult -- as you said, there are somethings I'd not give up forever! But I'm sure the world would benefit if everyone tried to find a way to avoid plastic as much as possible.

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  2. caiteJune 8, 2013 at 1:12 PM

    it would be hard!

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  3. JoyJune 8, 2013 at 2:51 PM

    Cool idea!

    I have these nylon sacks for carrying produce home from the store: http://www.reuseit.com/flip-and-tumble/flip-and-tumble-flip-and-tumble-reusable-produce-bags-set-of-5.htm

    I use and re-use those green sacks for storing washed produce at home and I do think they help my produce stay fresh longer: http://www.reuseit.com/food-storage-and-produce-savers/reuseit-evert-fresh-green-small-bags-10-pack.htm

    And, I have a bag dryer for the green sacks and for re-using zip-lock bags that didn't get too dirty: http://www.reuseit.com/snacktaxi/snacktaxi-plastic-bag-and-bottle-dryer.htm

    Joy's Book Blog

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    Replies
    1. UniflameJune 8, 2013 at 3:09 PM

      Thanks Joy, for the links! I will surely check those out :) I already have green bags for the veggies as well, but the other ones are new to me :)

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  4. (Diane) bookchickdiJune 8, 2013 at 5:14 PM

    This is an interesting concept. I always bring my cooler bag and have lots of canvas bags that I bring to the grocery store, so try to do my small part.

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  5. CaroleJune 9, 2013 at 1:41 AM

    Great idea - I do use re-usable bags at the supermarket but still seem to end up with lots of plastic.

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  6. Laurie CJune 9, 2013 at 6:04 PM

    I try to avoid plastic, too, but as you say, it's impossible to completely avoid using it. Good idea to post this for Weekend Cooking, because my local produce store only offers plastic bags, too. Everything has to be weighed at the check-out, so the store doesn't want you to just bring up everything loose in a reusable tote, but that's what I'd like to be able to do!

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