Plastic Free July Day 25 – 5 Plastic products that are easy to ditch


We’re approaching the finish line of Plastic Free July. In 34 degrees heat at 9.30pm I’ll try to break down the plastic we’ve found pretty easy to get rid of so far. Or at least, I will do if I don’t melt first.

5 plastic products that are easy to ditch

1. Squash bottles

We were approaching something of a squash addiction in our house pre-July. Orange, blackcurrant, the enigmatic fruits of the forest, it didn’t matter, if it was sugary and fruity, we’d be all over it.

In July though we’ve gone cold-turkey and ditched the juice. At first I tried to justify that buying a bigger bottle was using less plastic. However, it’s such a pointless, extremely non-vital item that no amount of justification would do.

Not buying juice has probably saved us about £4 and about two large bottles worth of plastic this month.

2. Strawberries, blueberries and any other soft fruit

I don’t think I’ve seen a blueberry not wrapped in plastic for years, or ever in fact. It’s true that they’re pretty delicate but surely cardboard could hold up just as well? Too soggy, maybe?

We did used to get strawberries from Morrisons that are packed in a giant wooden crate. But they were also packaged in a plastic film and the tray really was huge, so there was no way to eat them all before they went off.

Joni is lamenting the lack of strawberries as she loves them. But she also loves non-plastic-wrapped melons, apples, bananas, pears and oranges, so I think she’ll be just fine.

3. Pre-made deli food

We used to buy Evan samosas that come in plastic packets. But Andrew discovered that the deli counter in Morrisons also do the same samosas at the same price as the pre-packed ones but they come in a brown paper bag instead.

This approach can be hit and miss as I blogged earlier in the month about Sainsbury’s ongoing love affair with plastic. But if the supermarket does it, it’s a great way to cut down. We’ve saved around two plastic containers this monh by buying from the deli.

Samosas and pakoras in brown paper bag
The photo is supposed to depict samosas and pakoras in a brown paper bag, but it looks like an image you might see when getting an endoscopy

4. Kids toys

Having kids brings with it a whole new world of plastic to avoid. We do treat our kids more than we should, but not in July. This month has turned into a barren wasteland on the toy buying front. Usually in any given month I’d probably buy them both a little toy, or a magazine with a toy on the front.

But those days are over. For good. Instead we’ve been (wait for it…) playing with the toys they already have! And they’ve not been bothered about not getting new ones at all. In fact, Joni has been asking less about getting new toys and was super excited when I bought her some new pencils and a colouring book.

Not buying crappy plastic toys has meant we’ve saved about £15 this month and not filled the house up with further tat.

5. Bread

Cutting down on plastic waste from bread has been a major victory this month. So far we’ve only bought two bread loaves and we’ve made the rest at home.

Considering how much bread we eat, this has meant the bread maker has been on every other day so it’s potentially costing us more and using more energy. But we’ve definitely saved about 12 plastic bags worth of waste.

Full disclosure though, we have bought four packets of bagels. I know, I’m not proud but I’ve got to be honest, the kids love them, they’re easy to put in packed lunches and I have zero idea how to make one myself.

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