Caring for God’s Earth – Not So Fantastic Plastic

Our oceans and waterways are choked with plastic waste, visibly, or invisibly as broken down plastic pellets.

Marine mammals and birds are dying entangled in this rubbish, or from starvation due to stomachs full of indigestible plastic. This is something we can all do something about in our own small way.

Plastic bags are no longer given out free from shops but we still tend to rely on plastic. I have recently gone from using cling film to cover my bread dough, to a damp tea towel and amazingly, the bread rises more quickly with the tea towel! Plastic milk bottles are recyclable but did you know that it is possible to get milk delivered to your doorstep in reusable glass bottles, in Reepham at least. You do need to be on the internet to be able to access this, but as glass bottles can be reused dozens of times it seems more sustainable. Some shops are now providing a ‘bring your own container’ service to reduce packaging, and buying fruit and vegetables from a greengrocer or farm shop means that you avoid items wrapped in plastic. A greater challenge would be to only wear wool or cotton, rather than acrylic, which is made of fine plastic fibres which shed into the water every time a garment is washed. Every little helps.