The Eco Council find out how Mrs Honey has gone almost plastic free in her home - can you?

Last year, one of the big issues we focused on in Earthwyz, our Festival of Sustainability, was plastic waste. As an Eco-Council, we heard recently that Mrs Honey, one of our violin teachers at Hazlegrove, now has a plastic-free house. We interviewed her to find out more…

Mrs Honey started going plastic-free in January when she realised that every week, she would have 3 bags of un-recyclable rubbish and that was only from her and her husband: two people. She told us that “It's quite time-consuming at first but as you get used to it, it just becomes a way of life."  She added: “I only work part-time and it can prove to be difficult to go plastic free with full-time jobs because you can’t simply order a Tesco delivery; you have to source everything properly. Maybe you could try reducing your use of plastic by half instead.”

Some of the struggles Mrs Honey faced were finding suitable replacements for toiletries that came in plastic bottles. She does not use conditioner anymore and uses a bar of shampoo, which works just as well. She also makes her own cleaning spray out of bicarbonate of soda, white wine vinegar, lemon juice and essential oils and she cleans with e-cloths. Many people don’t think about packaging when shopping but for Mrs Honey, this is one of the main priorities as most products are covered in plastic. 

Mrs Honey has been plastic-free for several months now and she only puts one bin bag of non-recyclable rubbish in her bin every 5 weeks. She said it felt really good knowing that she’s helping to save the environment: "The lack of waste is fantastic", she said.  Her friends have been inspired by this as well and we hope that you will be inspired to reduce your plastic in your home, too. “But,” she said, "I'm very glad that wine comes in a glass bottle!"

So as an Eco Council, we have a plastic challenge for you: can you reduce your use of plastic at home by half over the summer holidays?! 

Please take photos of ideas you have used to reduce plastic waste and email them to Mr Farquhar.

Here are Mrs Honey’s top ten tips as to how to go plastic-free:

1. Always buy loose fruit and veg and just wash or peel before eating.
2. Make your own ! E.g. I make cakes, biscuits, oat cakes, granola and hummus as I couldn't find any that were not packaged in plastic.
3. Get your milk and juice delivered by a milkman.
4. Take your own Tupperware containers to the shops and ask them to put meat, fish, cheese etc directly into them. You can do this in both independent retailers and the deli, fishmonger and butcher's counters in the supermarkets.
5. Use compostable bin bags
6. Try shampoo and conditioner soap bars.
7. Try making your own cleaning products. All you need is water, white vinegar, lemon juice and e- cloths.
8. Try doing without some things. I've stopped using fabric conditioner and kitchen roll and don't miss them at all now!
9. Invest in a yoghurt maker, (ours only cost £24.99) and make your own delicious yoghurt.
10. Don't buy water in plastic bottles. Use tap water and get a soda syphon or buy mineral water in glass bottles.

Written by The Eco Council with the assistance of Mr Farquhar.