BBC journalist unable to live plastic-free

Jane Ellis, packagingnews.co.uk, 01 September 2008

 

The BBC journalist who said she was going to give up buying or accepting plastic for the whole of August has not been able to lead a life free of plastic.

 

Before her month of abstinence, Christine Jeavans kept a month's worth of plastic waste, which totalled 603 items, of which 120 were disposable nappies and most of the rest were food and drink packaging.

 

Her challenge was to find out whether it was possible to lead a normal life without adding to her own plastic waste pile at all.

 

"The short answer was no," she said.

 

She did not manage to eliminate plastic waste, but she did cut it by 80% to 116 items.

 

Of these, 63 were nappies, with the other 53 pieces of plastic ranging from a "couple of milk bottles to some beer widgets to a stick for a balloon".

 

Although Packaging Federation chief executive Dick Searle warned Jeavans that she was likely to throw away more food, this proved not to be the case.

 

But Jeavans said this was probably because food shopping became "such a tricky task" that she was keen to ensure every last scrap of food was used up before venturing out to buy some more.

 

Jeavans and her family had to forego yoghurt, biscuits, crisps, celery and soft fruits such as strawberries and raspberries. Cheese was also out unless wrapped in wax or paper, as were takeaway meals.

 

"Living for a month without plastic has changed the way that I think about disposable items, no matter what material they are made from," she said.

 

"I have got into the habit of taking a reusable water bottle with me wherever I go and I now keep a mug at work – both were easy changes to make and I'm sure I'll keep them up."

 

The big pile of plastic collected in the previous month will be recycled as far as Jeavans is able to.

 

This is something that should become easier in the next few years as Britain's first mixed plastics recycling plants start up.