Brill Climate Action Group : committed to change

What’s the problem with plastics?

We all have a part to play in tackling the effects of the Climate Emergency. Just One Thing is a monthly list of small, positive actions you and your family could take that will, little by little, make a big difference. Choose just one thing and join us in making Brill a more sustainable and greener place in which to live. This month: the plastic crisis.

What’s the problem with plastic?

Basically; there’s too much! Every year, 11 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans, blown from beaches, discarded from ships, carried by rivers - causing devastating harm to wildlife. Chemicals from plastic breakdown pollute our water and microplastics infect our food chain. Plastic waste affects all of us.

So what can we do?

We can’t recycle our way out of the plastic crisis (although recycling is, of course, crucial); we have to tackle this at source. We have to end our love affair with single-use plastic. We use plastics for just about everything, from cleaning our teeth to buying and storing food. It’s a useful, sometimes necessary material - but we must break our plastic habit and reject our throw-away culture.

Try Just One Thing …

Ditch the plastic packaging. Stock up on dried fruit and nuts from Wholefoods Pantry in Thame ; order online and have it delivered for free in minimal packaging. Visit Waterperry Farm Shop with your basket, or order groceries online from Good Club - and don’t forget Brill Stores sells loose pasta and rice.
Have your milk delivered in glass bottles. Contact Chris James 01442 822275, or Milk & More
Buy loose fruit and vegetables; supermarkets, village shops, Bucksum Foods outside Long Crendon, Little Annie Acre’s on Saturday mornings, other farm shops (there’s lots of excellent ones nearby) and, of course, Thame market.
Take your own container to the Pointer Butchers, the meat counter at Waitrose - and when you buy from Darran’s fish van.
Pledge to never - ever! - buy bottled water.
Take homemade sandwiches to work (cheaper too).
Refill containers of cleaning and laundry products. Try Aylesbury Eco Stores in the High Street, and Planet Health and Organics in Greyhound Walk, Thame and the outlets mentioned above.
Choose one personal care product - toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, toilet tissue, hairbrush - and buy plastic free. Browse Boots or Superdrug, or look on the Good Club (see above).
Replace liquid soaps with soap bars in cardboard packaging.
Plan a sustainable garden. Read the RHS’s 10 Tips for planet-friendly gardening

Breaking the plastic habit: a personal journey

My number one tip: be prepared. Don’t leave home without alternatives to plastic. Carry your own water bottle and reusable coffee cup - and lots of reusable bags.

Download the World Wildlife Fund ‘My Footprint’ app. This was where my own journey really began, when I took up the challenge of Plastic Free July. The app is full of tips to cut-back plastic use, plus lots of other ideas to reduce our carbon footprint.

Start with easy wins. The first change I made was to buy milk in glass bottles rather than plastic. Then I decided not to replace the clingfilm when it ran out and use reusable containers, silicone lids and aluminium foil as alternatives.

Make gradual changes. I choose plastic-free non-food items, if I can - but, if there is no choice (I can’t stop using liquid fabric conditioner, for example) I choose products packaged in recycled rather than virgin plastic, or sold in containers that can be refilled.

I think my family’s favourite change was getting a bread maker (second-hand on Marketplace) so I don’t have to buy bread packaged in plastic bags. This works for us but I appreciate it may not be possible for everyone.

I’m definitely not perfect - I sometimes forget my own advice to ‘be prepared’ - but I’m well on my way now and my plastic use has definitely reduced. Let’s work together to break our plastic habit and stop the plastic crisis.

Jayne and Kathy, for BCAG, December 2021