To wrap or not to wrap? Here’s the tale of one woman’s crusade to buy her 5-a-Day plastic-free. Member Alyson Green takes up the challenge – how did she fare?
![Photo of Alyson Green](https://sigbi.org/lichfield/files/2020/11/Alyson-Green-Midland-Chase-Region-1-295x300.jpg)
Not having half a dozen kinds of shampoo and ten different types of household cleaner available to reduce, I didn’t see much scope for plastic saving except when it comes to pre-packed fruit and vegetables. Now, I don’t generally believe in re- incarnation but I concede that I might be entirely wrong there and had a previous incarnation as a fruit bat. I can live without many things but fresh fruit is not one of them, and I also account for generous quantities of vegetables.
“Only five?” I thought, when the five-a-day mantra came in. It’s where a sizeable chunk of my non-negotiable food budget goes, and I admit to not paying enough attention to the fact that most of what I was buying came in the kind of plastic which those of us of a certain age would recognise as cellophane. Whatever its scientific name, its most important characteristic is its total non-recyclability, and who knows how long it takes to biodegrade in landfill? So that was my challenge for the month of September – how much of what I would normally buy could I buy without plastic packaging, where could I buy it and within my budget could I buy the same amount or would I need to cut down?
![Photo of potatoes in a paper bag with a plastic window](https://sigbi.org/lichfield/files/2020/11/20200917_184547-225x300.jpg)
So what about greengrocers or markets? Scarcer than hen’s teeth. My nearest greengrocer is more than two miles away – it’s averagely priced, not as good as it used to be, and the market is a shadow of its former self. There is a farm shop about three miles away, but the quality is indifferent probably due to lack of turnover and it’s expensive. I haven’t found anywhere to buy an unwrapped stick of celery.
![Photo of celery in a plastic wrapper](https://sigbi.org/lichfield/files/2020/11/20200917_184644-225x300.jpg)
We’ll be keeping an eye on Alyson’s one woman’s crusade to buy her 5-a-Day plastic-free, but the best way to help is to put pressure on the supermarkets through letters, emails and social media, or better still support your local producers and growers when you can!
If you’d like to know more about what we do to help our Planet, take a look here or get in touch.