We’ve come to the end of our A Week Without Plastic Journey!
Danny is the last member of the EcoVibe team to undertake the challenge. So, in typical Plastic Free Week style, we asked Danny how he started and what initial changes he made for the week.
‘Most days I go to the shop to buy a drink as I always forget my water bottle, which I always feel guilty about, so this week was a chance to kick that habit. I went to purchase a plastic-free reusable bottle and an eco-friendly lunch box.’
The first hurdle
The first hurdle Danny had to face was changing his Weetabix to something less covered in plastic.
‘I usually have Weetabix every morning, which obviously comes in plastic, so this was the first hurdle I had not prepared for. I swapped my morning Weetabix for porridge oats which comes in a cardboard box, so I was back on track.’
A serial yoghurt eater meets his match
When the Week Without Plastic meets the serial yoghurt eater there’s only one winner. Danny usually enjoys at least one yoghurt a day, this all had to change:
‘One thing I had to give up entirely for a week was yoghurt! I would usually have at least one yogurt every day, but most (if not all) comes in plastic, I couldn’t seem to find any plastic-free pots.’
Plastic-free supermarkets? Well, not quite but Morrisons have recently made some promising strides in the right direction. Danny found to his surprise that…
‘My local Morrisons have now made all their loose fruit and veg bags paper, which was a big help as I didn’t have to change my routine in that aspect. But all meats from supermarkets come in plastic, so I went to the local butcher, and he was able to put some sausages in a paper bag for me.’
The first slip-up
It wouldn’t be a Week Without Plastic without a slip-up and Danny was no different!
'I did slip up, I realised a couple of days in that my toothbrush is plastic. Although it is an electric one so it’s not like I’m replacing it every couple of months, I’ve had it for years and only have to replace the top. Which admittedly, is still plastic. I did replace my razor with an eco-friendly metal razor, my shampoo bottles with shampoo bars, and shower gel for soap!’
To sum up
‘I learned that it is impossible to avoid all plastic to keep up with most people’s lifestyles, but with minimal effort, it is quite easy to cut down your use by about half. The experience was very eye-opening, as a designer, I enjoy drawing and use pens a lot in my line of work, so swapping these for pencils was something I should have done a while ago!’