22nd July 2019

Today I received a number of emails from the various groups I signed up to for Plastic Free July talking about how we just have one more week of the challenge to go. It's true I guess, there is only just over a week of July remaining but this lifestyle change can't just be for a month. I can't do all I'm doing in July and then on 1st August go back to my previous habits. Making such a profound change to the way I shop and how I live took real effort at the start and in a way felt a bit like eating olives. I love olives but lots of people don't. They are pretty much the only food that people who like try to convince people who don't like them that they should. The only way to get them to like olive is repetition. Changing the way I shop has been the same. I've had to keep making small changes regularly so that they gradually become habit.

The one place that has really helped me with many of the small changes I've made is Zéro 

.

This lovely zero waste store opened a few short months ago in Merton Abbey Mills. It's such a game changer when you're trying to cut down on your plastic waste. You take your own tubs with you, get them weighed, fill them with whatever goodies you need, weigh them again and just pay for what you buy. Anyone just popping in without tubs, they have kilner or jam jars that you can buy or paper bags to put your purchases in. They're only new but their range is growing by the week and they list everything on the website so you can see if they have what you need before you go. It's extended what I eat as I can just have a small amount of something to see if I like it before I buy a large quantity and most of the products I find way more delicious than the supermarket equivalents.I'm lucky as there's also a zero waste shop in Tooting Broadway market too. They stock many similar things to Zéro but also have white wine vinegar which I needed to make a descaler for my bathroom. Turns out the squash bottle came in handy after all!

The idea for the shop came when Alicia and Josh tried to do Plastic Free July in 2018 and realised just how hard reducing their waste was. Having lived in Italy and France they were also used to shopping in specialist shops such as bakers and butchers (where waste is minimal to non-existent) rather than supermarkets (where convenience results in quite the opposite) and so they decided to set up Zéro.

I remember when I was young, my Nan used to shop in the 'weigh and save' shops regularly. We had them in both Nuneaton and Bedworth and it used to be quite exciting going there as a child. For many years though I've loved the convenience of a supermarket, as so many of us have, and now we're paying for that. Luckily, the zero waste shops are popping up all over the place. The following link lists a whole load of them that may be close to you:
Zero waste shops in the UK
I'm also fortunate that I work on Tottenham Court Road and have two Planet Organic shops close by. They also have a weigh and pay section and I got some delicious pecan nuts from there recently. Plus I get a student discount so it makes it reasonable.

My next step will be to try to change my supermarket to one less convenient locally but with a greater range of loose fruit and veg so that I can extend my diet again. Apparently Morrisons are going to start introducing many more loose fruit and veg lines and we have one in Wimbledon, so I might have to start shopping there. It's not my favourite supermarket but I miss cherry tomatoes... and cucumbers... and cauliflower... and potatoes that aren't baking potatoes...etc. etc. etc.

I saw a placard on Facebook today that was 'it's just one straw (said 76 billion people)' and it's so true. We might not think that our actions have much of an impact, but when everyone is having the same impact it's huge. Just don't forget, that can be for the bad or the good...