Guest Blogger: Laura Nash, Zero Waste Countdown

It’s easy to look at online photos and videos of plastic trash crowding rivers and oceans around the world, and recognize we have a big problem, but it’s much harder to stop using these items that have become so commonplace in our modern lives. 

It took me a very long time, and a lot of trial and error, to eliminate unnecessary plastic from my life. To celebrate Plastic Free July, I want to share some of the easiest tips I’ve learned over the last few years that helped me lessen my plastic trash consumption while still living my best life. 

Every summer, I choose ice cream cones instead of garbage cups and spoons. Gelato is my favorite, zero waste, summertime treat! Kingston has some amazing gelato and ice cream places around town. I usually take the napkin, just in case, then put it in my pocket or purse until I get home and can compost it. I always skip the plastic tasting spoons and take a little risk if I want to try a new flavour, or I stick with the flavours i already love. Some gelato places offer washable tasting spoons and I definitely take advantage of those! 

I look for restaurants who serve washable plates, cutlery, and glasses instead of trash. 

Millions of meals are served all over the world, every day, wrapped in trash, for the sake of convenience. When I plan on meeting a friend somewhere for a drink or a meal, I choose places that don’t serve food in trash. Sometimes this takes trial and error to lockdown favorite, sustainable places, and sometimes it costs a little more than fast food. I usually choose appetizers or sides instead of big entrees so I can save money. Most places no longer serve plastic straws but it doesn’t hurt to ask for drinks without straws, just in case. 

When I  find a food service that has gone out of their way to be sustainable, I reward them! I’ve given 5 star reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and Trip Advisor, describing how much I appreciate their sustainable efforts. 

During the summers, I support local farm stands and bring my own containers and bags. A lot of our fruit here in Canada is imported from all over the world, with a large transportation carbon footprint, so it makes more sense environmentally to purchase local fruit and support our neighbours during the summer when we can. I wash and return plastic berry containers to my local farmstand so they can reuse them, and I don’t have to squish my berries by transferring them into my own containers. Apples are harvested in Canada in the fall, so be prepared for apple season coming up soon! When I have some extra time on my hands, I turn fresh, local fruit into jam, or freeze them for smoothies later on in the year. 

In grocery stores, I look for produce not wrapped in plastic. I often see produce wrapped in plastic containers right next to the same produce without any packaging at all, so I always choose produce without any garbage on it, or at least minimal garbage, like an elastic or twist tie. If everyone stopped buying those mushrooms in plastic containers, the grocery stores wouldn’t sell them anymore. 

I bring a clean glass container to my local deli and butcher. The server doesn’t have to touch my container, I place it on the scale myself, and the server presses the “tare” button that reduces the weight of my container back to zero, so I’m only paying for the weight of my food. Butcher paper is lined with plastic (otherwise it would leak!), and it’s not recyclable or compostable - it’s trash. 

Cloth produce bags and large glass containers were the most helpful purchases I made for produce like apples, oranges, etc., and for dry bulk goods like rice, beans, and pasta. 

Cloth bags can be tricky to remember. I keep them in my vehicle at all times, so once I empty my groceries in my kitchen, I place the cloth bags in front of my front door so I can’t leave my house again without moving those bags back to my vehicle. 

During the summer months it gets so hot in southern Ontario that I always leave my house with a soft little cooler bag and an ice pack, that way I can keep groceries cool and I’ll always have a nice cold water bottle to drink so I don’t get tempted to stop somewhere for a plastic bottled beverage. 

I keep a neat little kit in my vehicle with cutlery, containers, cloth bags, a coffee cup, etc., so if I end up eating at a food truck this summer, I can at least reduce plastic by using my own fork. Kingston’s own Boho and Hobo have bamboo cutlery sets for purchase, or you can use that random fork in your drawer that doesn’t match all the others. 

I remember to rinse and recycle my beverage containers. There’s often an increase in alcoholic beverages over the summer, so I always remember to take a little time to rinse and recycle. Rinsing keeps hornets and wasps away, so people are less likely to buy wasp traps. Wasps have an important role to play in the natural world because they prey on problematic insects that can devastate crops. Almost all cans come with a plastic BPA liner, a known endocrine disrupter, so I don’t recommend canned beverages for children. I enjoy making fizzy beverages with my SodaStream with fresh fruit for flavouring instead of buying cans, but sometimes I choose cans over other harder to recycle bottles like glass and plastic. 

Participating in Plastic Free July can be tricky, but very liberating! The Covid pandemic has made it even more difficult, but with a little bit of local research, trial and error, and a little effort, I significantly reduced my single use plastic consumption and this summer I’ll again be enjoying a healthy, fun, Plastic Free July - well, almost plastic free, it’s tough to get to zero. How close can you get this summer?