Ideas for dealing with food and plastic waste

When shopping in store, leave as much extra packaging as possible behind. Take containers, i.e. bags and sandwich boxes with you to empty things like fruit, veg, mushrooms, potatoes etc. out of plastic throwaways.

Unnecessary wrapping, the like of plastic film from salad, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuces, peppers, to name but a few. Leave all this ‘shop waste’ in a tidy pile, or ask the store to provide a box for all to use.

Only buy the amount of food you believe you can consume over the week/month.

Three-for-two offers are great, only if it is something you can use within the ‘consume by’ date or freeze for future use.

If you do have waste food and have the room, i.e. garden space, a compost bin is great. Over a short time, all you put in magically turns to earth and it never seems to fill up. Wonderful lesson for kids.

Become a ‘use again and again’ family rather than a ‘buy and throw away’ family.

It is amazing the uses that can be found for yoghurt pots – kids’ paint pots, flower pots and projects. The list is endless.

When plastic is of no more use at all, recycle, don’t just bin it, never throw it out onto beaches or car parks.

Lastly, I think everyone should, whatever else they do, watch a documentary on plastic danger to wildlife.

Then imagine yourself or your child with a gutful of plastic. Guaranteed to make you think.

CHRISSIE BAINES (Mrs),

Asilah Cottage, Victoria Avenue,

St Sampson’s, GY2 4AY.