Embracing the low waste life as a community, we continue our conversation on all things sustainable in this column, by discussing the how’s of handling our plastic waste.
The writing on the wall is clear – plastic (or more accurately, our rampant consumption and callous handling of plastic) is polluting our environment. But it is a necessary devil. Its use is endemic to urban existence.
Try as we must, bringing our plastic consumption to zero is a near impossible ask. The way to handle this situation is by making informed decisions about plastic.
The first step is, as always, Reduce. So, a source that does not use plastic, or uses less of it, is preferable. E.g. our neighbourhood Needs, that delivers in reusable bags (that are emptied and returned at your doorstep) is preferable to a BlinkIt or MilkBasket that necessitate more packaging.
It is also possible to influence these close-by sources to further adhere to your requirement of no plastic. Thus, I am able to get my dhania patta, curry pata, capsicum et al sans the cling foil from Needs, which would be an impossible ask from a BigBasket.
In situations where Needs has not kept stock of my plastic free veggies, I unpack the unwanted foil and leave it on the shelf. If enough of us do this, I am quite certain our neighbourhood store will cease this unnecessary packaging.
Also, did you know they pack your meats happily in reusable boxes that you can carry from home at Red Apron? Cleaners, the drycleaner, also accepts and reuses the hangers and plastic covers used in dry cleaning.
Of course, if at all you forget your bag and have to use theirs, you can return it at Alma.
Essentially, going local and embracing the neighbourhood stores instead of the big, centralised ones that might cost you a dime cheaper but a lot more to the environment, is the answer.
We will continue to address other aspects of the knotty plastic problem in the next issue.
