{"id":5374,"date":"2020-09-01T00:02:50","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T23:02:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/lichfield\/?p=5374"},"modified":"2020-08-27T16:37:59","modified_gmt":"2020-08-27T15:37:59","slug":"how-can-i-possibly-live-without-cling-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigbi.org\/lichfield\/2020\/09\/01\/how-can-i-possibly-live-without-cling-film\/","title":{"rendered":"How can I possibly live without cling film?"},"content":{"rendered":"

SI Lichfield & District member Nichola Balmer, leads the Club’s Planet sub group. She’s also a trained volunteer ambassador for the Waste Savvy Staffs project and available as an online speaker. Here she muses on cling film (as you do…)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

If you give up one thing to help our Planet, give up plastic wrap – PLEASE!<\/span><\/p>\n

Plastic film, including cling film, makes up <\/span>roughly half of all the plastic packaging<\/b> used in the UK each year. That\u2019s huge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many local authorities don\u2019t accept plastic film in their kerbside recycling collections (including Staffordshire), so a lot of this ends up in landfill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cling film (and plastic film more generally) is an example of \u2018single-use plastic\u2019, which hit the headlines in 2018, prompting many of us \u2013 and some retailers \u2013 to start seeking out alternatives to plastic products that we use once then bin. Takeaway coffee cups, drinking straws and takeaway food containers all had a spotlight shone onto them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>Add this to the fact that <\/span>70% of all food waste in the UK is produced by homes like yours and mine<\/b>, and you have the possibility of a \u201cvirtuous circle\u201d going on…What do I mean by that? Well, throwing less food away will make a MASSIVE reduction in our domestic waste, so we need to use leftovers more and \u201ccook extra & freeze\u201d to reduce the energy we use in cooking and use up food which is nearing its \u201cUse By Date\u201d (more on labelling another time, don’t get me on that one here! Grrrrr)<\/span><\/p>\n

You may count cling film among your kitchen essentials, but it\u2019s easier to do without than you might think. It could even shave a pound or two off the weekly groceries shop.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s the good news? There is no bad news\u2026<\/b><\/h3>\n

The good news is that you don\u2019t have to spend any money on \u201cgreen alternatives\u201d unless you want to…<\/span>reducing our consumption<\/b> in the first place is the holy grail of waste management, so why not start by using items you already have, before looking elsewhere?<\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re Soroptimists…we KNOW this stuff, but perhaps we\u2019ve got out of the habit owing to our busy lives? None of the ideas here is new, so think of this as a gentle reminder\u2026<\/b><\/p>\n

How about I try and buy food without plastic packaging in the first place?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Absolutely. No more to be said there really\u2026So much original packaging is non recyclable film…<\/span><\/p>\n

How do I store my leftovers?<\/b><\/h3>\n

We all know that leftover food should be covered to stop the spread of germs in the fridge, but that doesn\u2019t mean you need to reach for the cling film. If you don\u2019t want to use <\/span>plastic food storage boxes<\/b>, put leftovers in a bowl with a small plate on top as a lid. If you use shallow enough bowls, you can stack another bowl with its own plate lid on top to save fridge space.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reuse glass jars\/lids<\/b> – if you\u2019re freezing food in them remember to leave 20% empty space at the top to allow the contents to expand – more if the food is quite \u201cwet\u201d such as a sauce. This is not necessary if you\u2019re just refrigerating the food of course.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>Some food \u2013 such as cheese \u2013 actually keeps better without cling film, which can trap moisture and encourage mould. <\/span>Biodegradable paper wrap<\/b> can be used and then put into the compost bin. You could use a special <\/span>cheese box with a filter<\/b>, or <\/span>foil<\/b> of course, which is largely recyclable (wash it and screw it up into a tennis-ball size before adding it to your kerbside recycling). As blue cheese can seep liquid as it matures, put it on a plate to avoid pungent leaks in the fridge. That said, it doesn\u2019t last long enough in our house for me to worry about seepage!<\/span><\/p>\n

If<\/span> you\u2019re food storing in bowls, <\/span>reusable silicone lids<\/b> are freely available. Useful for melons and larger fruit I find, (just put the silicone lid straight on the melon), and for covering leftover salad which I tend to make in a large bowl with a diameter larger than any of my plates.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do I cover food I’m reheating?<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reheating leftovers or steaming food in the microwave is fast and convenient, and a covering of cling film helps prevent splatters. Instead, turn a <\/span>plate or bowl<\/b> upside down and place this over the food you\u2019re heating \u2013 pasta plates work particularly well on dinner plates.<\/span><\/p>\n

You can buy <\/span>reusable plate (spatter) covers<\/b> of course…or use <\/span>\u201cbowlovers\u201d <\/b>– these are shaped elasticated cotton fabric covers – easily home made (or by the Club sewing bee of course) and fully washable and reusable. You can make them \u201cbespoke\u201d to fit your bowls. Here\u2019s a video tutorial.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

What do I do with my picnic\/lunch?<\/b><\/h3>\n

\"Plastic<\/a>Some of my \u201ctupperware\u201d is 30+ years old and perfectly serviceable. It exists and I don\u2019t want to ditch it, so I\u2019ll keep on using it until even I have to admit it\u2019s \u201chad it\u201d, at which point it\u2019ll get used in the garden\/greenhouse\/garage. A friend made a micro wildlife pond from a large plastic cake box which she sank into the ground and surrounded with plants. It\u2019s still going strong in her tiny urban garden and looks lovely. In larger gardens you can use them to make “watering holes” for birds and small mammals. Just make sure they can get out safely if they fall in by adding piled up stones or pieces of wood they can use to get themselves out of the water.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also reuse <\/span>takeaway containers and lids<\/b> for food I make for the freezer. Once again they already exist, though now I collect my takeaways in my own containers on the rare occasions we have one. My indian cooking skills have vastly improved so the need is much less great nowadays.<\/span><\/p>\n

Or you can use <\/span>reusable wax wraps. <\/b>You can buy them easily, or better still you can <\/span>make your own<\/b> if you\u2019re \u201ccrafty\u201d- here\u2019s how<\/a>. <\/span>Wax wraps are biodegradable ultimately, though you can rewax them yourself to extend their life. Help with maintaining wax wraps is here<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a>At SI Lichfield & District our Planet sub group is asking all members to do \u201cjust one thing\u201d to help the environment…we\u2019ll be asking members to \u201ctake the pledge\u201d (stolen with pride from another local Sorops Club) and ditching the cling film would be a great first step!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to know more about what SI Lichfield & District is doing to help the environment – take a look at our Planet page, and if you\u2019d like to join in – just get in touch<\/a>, we\u2019d love to hear from you!<\/span><\/p>\n

P.S. If you’d like an online presentation on Waste Savvy Staffs from Nichola – you can contact her here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SI Lichfield & District member Nichola Balmer, leads the Club’s Planet sub group. She’s also…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":735,"featured_media":5380,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[35,47,78],"class_list":["post-5374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-environment","tag-planet-sub-group","tag-waste-savvy-staffs"],"yoast_head":"\nHow can I possibly live without cling film? | News | Blog | Events | SI Lichfield and District<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SI Lichfield and District : Blog & News : How can I possibly live without cling film? : Keep up to date with the latest news, articles and events from the Soroptimists of SI Lichfield and District . 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