Plastic free Nachos 😊 The butcher was open this time and it felt great going to get my mince for dinner there in my own container. I am so glad I got these glass containers with my fly buys point! The butcher was very friendly and helpful, giving me positive reinforcement through social reward. I am more likely to be influenced to go to the butcher because of the positive customer experience I have received when I have gone there.
I discovered Greencane toilet paper today which comes in biodegradable packaging! I am pleased I found this because the last time I bought toilet paper for the flat, I stood in the aisle for a good 10 minutes trying to figure out a way to get toilet paper that isn’t wrapped in plastic. There is one brand that claims to have biodegradable plastic packaging, but without a compost bin, it will just end up in the landfill where it will remain, preserved, for a very long time. This gives me positive reinforcement that I am making a difference even with my small consumption decisions.
I am pleased to say I am now in the habit of using my beeswax wraps 😊 This came in handy when I flew up to Auckland for the weekend. When I realised that I wouldn’t be able to have the snack on the plane without plastic, I wrapped up a muffin in a beeswax wrap and took my reusable cup.
On the flight home, I really wanted the cookie, and because I didn’t bring anything with me this time, it took more of a conscious effort to reason with myself and say no. It’s hard when it could be so easy to have just taken the cookie or chips and no one would hold me accountable to that. But I would know.
It felt good when the flight attendance come around for rubbish because I said no, I don’t have anything. But it still doesn't sit right with me that they still hand out everyone else’s in plastic. I realised that I have developed a disdain for plastic wrapping from this project.
I realised that I have developed a disdain for plastic wrapping
This morning I read in the paper that New World are conducting a survey to see if they should put a charge of 5c or 10c or not charge. A win – win for New World and the customers perception, great marketing on their part. So anyway, I went to the website and voted 10c because when they introduced it to Pac n’ Save they saw a large reduction in the number of plastic bags used by consumers and they pledged the money to go to funding sustainable projects (New World, 2017). After voting it prompted me with the option to share via social media to spread the word. I don’t post often on Facebook, especially on topics like this. However, this time I decided I would.
Although it didn’t get a staggering amount of likes or shares, I didn’t really care because those that did like it, I knew would be the ones that would want to support me in this change and the fact that I got any support is awesome.
“First they ignore you; then they laugh at you; then they fight you; then you win...” Mahatma Ghandi
Catching up with my friend in Auckland, telling her about the project and she said I was an inspiration, and was impressed at the research I had put in to finding alternatives. This was again social reward providing validation for my actions.
Things to find replacements for:
Razor – Metal Safety razors are from the shaver’s shop at the mall, but I found a much cheaper version on Alliexpress, so that should arrive in about a month or so…
Toothbrush – Grin has bamboo toothbrushes which you can send back the bristles and, they have recyclable toothpaste tubes. They had these at the sustainability fair at University but I didn’t have cash and did have time to go and get cash out.
The thing is finding the time and money to buy this while being a student.
There are a lot of alternative you can make yourself. But sometimes it’s just not convenient to make every product yourself. Somethings I am willing to give a go, like the dry shampoo, as that is very basic and has a low opportunity cost.
My flatmates are now asking me for alternative ways to do things, sometimes this means Googling quickly to find an alternative. For example, when we ran out of toilet cleaner. I hadn’t considered an alternative for that, but now I see that you can use white vinegar instead. We are going to trial that and see if it works as well. Then another flatmate asked what an alternative for using paper towels at the bottom of a pancake stack is, as that is just killing trees – the earth has multiple ways that it needs to be preserved. I thought about it then suggested a cooling rack instead. This show the process of social diffusion, as my friends start becoming more mindful of the products they are using due to my mindfulness.