The #plasticfree 100 days challenge
After reading an inspirational article last January 2020, where the author went through an exercise of trying to live without plastic for 100 days straight, I decided to immerse deep into it and try the exercise myself.
Challenge was simple: for a period of 100 consecutive days, I would have to try to live without plastic as much as I could. I later found out that framing the challenge is simple but practicing it has its hurdles.
I started my day 1 on February 3rd 2020. On the day before I was thinking about the subject, writing some notes, when I realised that across the exercise, I could face 3 different scenarios:
moments that I could go full #plasticfree with accessible alternatives
moments that I would not be able to go full #plasticfree but it would be possible reuse existing ones and, thus, avoid bringing more plastic into the world
moments that I would be forced to add new plastic into the world and environment
So let’s divide this story in those 3 types of scenarios, while I go deep in each one, describing what I went through.
In what can I go full #plasticfree and which alternatives I can go with?
To my surprise, on good alternatives I was able to opt for, some were eventually too simple to apply and I could have done it way before immersing into this challenge. I guess I was not focused enough. I will go through it in detail now.
Fruit and veggies at supermarkets
At local supermarkets I usually go to, and as a trademark across similar retail facilities, at fresh fruit and veggies loose stations, there are plastic bags for people to put in desire produces and carry them on; I now carry a cotton bag with me, which I had at home without being used, where I put all fresh fruit and veggies I want, mixed all together, instead of using a plastic bag for each produce; at pay station when finishing shopping, I join all fresh items in groups together, cashier weighs and price them, and they turn back inside the cotton bag. This way I avoid plastic bags from fruit and veggies stations.
Supermarkets Vs local farmers and shops
At supermarkets in general, a big slice of produce at fruit and veggies station comes in plastic bags or containers, washed and ready to eat, such as carrots or broccolis for example. I did some research about local shops of farmers that sell biological products and others. I was lucky to find one just 2kms away from my place. One plus of this place is that they sell all types of fruit and veggies through a loose option; they are not packaged in plastic containers and scaled for massive industry. Some products, instead of buying at the supermarket, I now purchase at this local place and carry them inside my cotton bag. No plastic is getting into the loop.
Bottles of water
I personally drink a lot of water per day. So I need a big bottle of water always next to me. At work, I used to have a 1,5 litre plastic bottle that I would refill with water every time needed. I used to replace it once a month for a new one as they get stained and smelly with time. This way I was putting more plastic into the world. I now replaced it with a glass bottle of water. I must say I was astonished not only by the difficulty I had to find a store that sells water glass bottles (had to go to 4 stores to get this one) but also by its market prices. The ones I found I paid 2,25 euros for 0,75 litres of water. More expensive than petrol!
Thongs, shampoo and shoes at the gym
At the gym I used to keep my flip-flops, shampoo and tennis shoes inside plastic bags, not only for convenience but it is common after shower things get pretty wet sometimes; I now use a towel to cover thongs after shower, shoes I just keep them inside gym bag in a separate big pocket and shampoo in another smaller side pocket; if I need to dry shampoo bottle after shower I do it with a small towel I usually bring with me; when I get home I put both thongs and shoes at the terrace to dry and get fresh air. I replace the towel that I cover thongs with regularly. No more plastic being carried to gym besides shampoo bottles (which I am still trying to find an alternative for).
Lunch at work
At work, I used to carry a container with my lunch in a plastic bag (one more!). I decided to reuse a cardboard bag I had at home and got rid of the plastic (dumped in the recycle bin). I still carry a rigid plastic container for food though, but I will replace it with a sort of glass container with a top cover of natural rubber/silicone closing system; I know they are out there, I am just still on the hunt.
Drinking water at restaurants
At restaurants, when eating out, I now ask for a glass bottle of water instead of plastic; I must say, when you do not have the option of free tap water (traditionally, some countries do not offer this option in restaurants), it is hard to find places that have glass as alternative; if they do not, I guess I will just go with wine instead :)
Shopping at butcher shop
I realised butcher shops are a very easy way to promote more plastic into the economy. Each piece of something goes into a plastic bag and, at the very end, there is a main plastic bag that carries everything inside. I had to find a way to avoid this. As an alternative, I started bringing with me aluminium foil and asked the butcher professional to wrap the meat with it. I then put all the aluminium wraps inside my cotton bag and carry them home. Today, they already know my strategy and love it. And I do not need to bring my aluminium foil anymore. Some butcher shops have aluminium foil already as they use it a lot and often, just ask them to wrap your products with it. When you get home, you can transfer the meat to any other item in case you prefer. Easy :)
Body washing soap
At home, I replaced liquid soap for shower and body washing in a plastic container with dry soap that comes in a cardboard package. No more plastic into the loop. And it seems the dry soap I got is more skin friendly than the liquid one.
Plastic containers Vs recycled paper bags
At local groceries or shops, some products may be for sale in plastic packages or containers. Though, at a smaller and familiar environment it is not hard to swap this in some cases. These shops usually have recycled paper bags for loose and light products such as nuts or powders. At a local shop close to home, where I now purchase some loose and biological produces I used to at the supermarket, strawberries and raspberries are sold in small plastic containers. I always ask the owner to take them out of plastic container and put them inside recycled paper bags they usually use for cocoa powder. This works great :) and more plastic avoided into the loop.
Fleur de sel (flower of salt)
Instead of buying fleur de sel in plastic bags at the supermarket, I started buying it in glass containers with metal lids. No more plastic into the environment.
Groceries bags
I replaced my x2 reusable polyester groceries bags for x2 jute and cotton shopping bags. This way I joined the cotton bag for loose fruit and veggies and fully eradicated plastic while carrying products at supermarkets and local shops. I will reuse those polyester bags for something else that might be useful. This way, I am not adding more plastic into nature.
2. In what I am not able to go full #plasticfree but I am able to reuse?
This scenario did not bring much to observe and practice. I only found 2 situations where I was able to reuse existing plastic and, consequently, avoid putting more in the loop.
The first was mentioned in the previous scenario and is related to my lunch for work carried inside a rigid plastic container. As I am still on the hunt for a substitute, I will keep making use of it. I have found some pretty glass ones with a top lid in silicone, though, a bit expensive. I will keep my research on potential suppliers and I am sure I will find what I want soon.
Second example has to do with a sport I practice regularly and I am passionate about for a long time, bodyboarding. As any aquatic sport in cooler waters, practitioners wear wetsuits and accessories to protect themselves from getting colder. After practice in salted water, these wetsuits and accessories are heavy as they still carry a lot of water soaked within. It is common practice to have a large type of plastic container to carry all this stuff. Best option I found until today is a round large plastic container where all the stuff can fit inside, it is easy and light to hand carry, it fits well inside the car booth and all the stuff can be washed inside with tap water after surfing. It is, indeed, very useful. Nevertheless, I am on the hunt of a similar container but in a different type of material other than plastic. I will keep chasing.
3. In what I am not able to go full #plasticfree and I am forced to add new plastic into the world and environment?
By the picture above, most of the products that force me to keep adding plastic into the loop are bought at supermarkets or similar retail shops. For another way, I could not find alternatives to, at least, try a plastic substitute in order to test if it works or may not work for me. Products identified above are just key ones across the 100 days challenge period. There are others that could be included in this post-it canvas, in the same range of the ones described, that have no replacement under a #plasticfree solution. As an example, similar to sunflower oil we can find a bunch of other liquids to apply when cooking where its production only provides plastic bottles at the end of the chain. Or bin bags for example, where everyone uses plastic bags for the purpose. This is extremely frustrating and a big disappointment. How might we overtake this? How might we find ways to disrupt the industrial process of these products, follow scalability into the real world and consequent delivery into households’ environment?
As a conclusion and wrap-up, I have to share this challenge was a positive surprise from one perspective and a deep frustration for another way. I can select 7 key insights from overall experience that I believe will change my days from this point onwards. Not only as to how I perceive certain players in the market but also on my position and will to question always and often, every time I can possibly practice a #plasticfree alternative:
Biggest positive slice of the exercise is that I realised a lot of changes depend only on myself. I just have to question first and then think and look for alternatives. That’s it! Easy.
Supermarkets and large retail groceries shops are the toxic element to anyone that wants to be part of a sustainable and meaningful change, for the good of society and nature. The advanced stage of industrialisation and scale makes it too hard to, suddenly, change processes and procedures. There is the need of a deep involvement of important and official entities on this matter so things can take a different route for the better.
We must be willing to research and hunt for different ways to act. If we stay comfortable on the couch waiting for someone to do the job for us, nothing will change. We shall spend some petrol going back and forth to try new places and products or hours researching for them. At the very end, it is all rewarded.
Discipline to change is key. During these 100 days, for several times, I had the temptation to keep practicing old habits. Because it was quicker, handy or even cheaper. And because we have been doing it for years and years, without even stopping to think. We must win and overtake this resistance to change by practicing and sustaining a discipline to act differently, so we can keep looking to improve and be better to ourselves, others and the planet.
I did not realise how good it can be to set up relationships with local farmers or small shops until now. The familiar environment that can be built provides a more flexible scenario in case we need, as the example of asking for recycled paper bags to carry my berries. For another way, fruit and veggies as loose offerings are great. The fact that products are biological and natural is paramount for our health. Lastly, the complicity and empathy we are able to co-create with local shops and farmers is socially more attractive than at a supermarket or a large retail grocery shop.
There seems to be a “plastic bag fever” everywhere. Anything seems to need a plastic bag to be carried. It looks like a plastic bag is a solution for everything, no matter where you are and what you are doing. This needs to change deeply and rapidly. Looks like a wise solution would be to completely eradicate plastic from this world. If this happens, people would have to think about different solutions to carry or keep their stuff, whatever the case may be.
Finally, and this is not a great new, it is definitely more expensive to go #plasticfree than to keep old habits and keep bringing new plastic into the world and environment. At the end of the day, the challenge cannot be analysed only by financial variables. It is true that it is more expensive to buy a glass water bottle than a plastic one. Around 7 or 8 times more. Though we need to frame the real problem here, and the real problem now is this: is it more expensive to pay 7 or 8 times more for a bottle of water to foster sustainability into our lives and planet or is it more expensive to keep bringing plastic into the loop and watch nature raves herself with destruction and uncontrolled phenomenons, or our relatives suffering from health critical problems caused by pollution or chemicals resulted by society’s behaviour?
Note that the period of circa 3 months coincided exactly with COVID-19 pandemic and quarantines. This had big influence in how I conducted substitutes, replacements and experimentations as a lot of retail suppliers closed doors in March leaving some of my strategies on hold, until today. I am now waiting for some restrictions to be released so I can get into the field again and try new and possible solutions.
Bear in mind the insights and sharing above are related to my personal experience and only to what I went through for 100 days. Obviously, if you try yourself to immerse and empathise with a similar exercise, you will probably end up with different insights and experiences as we are all different, with different habits and behaviours. Nevertheless, I am confident some common insights may arise and you will definitely feel positive emotions as frustrations and disappointments.
Some of you may be thinking what this article’s subject has to do with Design Thinking, the main theme and focus around DOQUESTION’s website. Well… let me tell you that has everything to do with it. Four of Design Thinking mindsets are usually known by “make it”, “empathy”, “iterate, iterate, iterate” and “optimism”. Those 4 were critical to what I just described in detail with this message. By immersing deeply into the challenge I created empathy with those out there trying to do the same, by finding wiser and healthier options in life. With discipline I was able to make it by trying substitutes to plastic and discover new ways of completing my tasks. I did iterate a few times in some occasions but I ended up with a solution that fits my needs. And optimism is what allows me to keep driving forward in this matter, hunting new ways to replace the plastic that still survives within my personal daily loops.
Give it a try, immerse and build empathy for the topic and experience. If you do not go for it, you will never understand it deeply. Do not be “one more”, that complain and whinge about but refuses to do the job to be done. And the job to be done here is to contribute to a better world, a better nature and better health to all of us. And we all are responsible for a tiny slice of that job.