PURGE PLASTIC WHEN YOU SHOP

4-PAGE PULLOUT

TEN years ago it was rare to see anyone using their own reusable bags to pack their shopping at the supermarket checkout. Now it is just as rare to hear anyone whisper ‘yes’ when the cashier asks if you want to buy a 5p bag.

It took some time, but the habit of saying No to a plastic bag and always having reusable bags to hand really has taken hold. What was once perceived as normal behaviour has been reversed.

This small lifestyle change has become habitual for the majority of us and the impact on the environment has been significant.

all this week in the Daily Mail we are serialising a new book, life Without plastic, by Canadian husband and wife Chantal plamondon and Jay Sinha, who are experts in finding ingenious ways we can all cut back on plastic. The couple passionately believe that we can turn the tide on the mountains of plastic that is threatening our planet simply by making a few small, seemingly inconsequential changes.

This is never more necessary than in the battle to reduce some of the plastic that has become such an endemic part of food shopping. Unfortunately, there seems to be no let up in the amount of plastic packaging used to cover food. In fact, it appears to be increasing.

It is estimated that UK super- markets generate one million tons of plastic packaging every year, which amounts to more than a quarter of the country’s entire plastic usage.

Foods once sold in easy-torecycle glass jars or tin cans now come more ‘conveniently’ housed in tough-to-recycle plastic-lined Tetra paks.

Fruit and vegetables, which might once have been sold singly, are now armoured in layer upon layer of plastic. They sit on a plastic tray and are sealed in plastic wrapping, which may even be slipped into an extra bag for good measure.

The end result is groceries swathed in wasteful singleuse plastic that is difficult to recycle.

But things may be looking up. Theresa May has announced a 25-year strategy to eliminate all unnecessary plastic packaging, and has suggested to supermarkets that they create plastic-free sections in their stores.

Iceland responded immediately with a pledge to end all plastic packaging from its own-brand foods within five years.

and earlier this week asda announced that not only will it drop plastic packaging from its own-label frozen food, it will also change polystyrene pizza bases to cardboard. It is also going to switch coloured plastic drink bottles to clear so they are easier to recycle.

The changes won’t happen overnight, however, so in the meantime, short of taking your hand-woven wicker basket to your local farmers’ market (also an option worth considering), is there anything you can do to make a difference?

The answer is yes. But while slashing your plastic usage in your kitchen and bathroom is relatively easy, just as it is when ordering takeaways or visiting restaurants — as we have shown in this week’s ground-breaking series — cutting back when you’re food shopping requires