Life without Single Use

[Chris]

Slightly corresponding to my Eat (only) British thread.

How feasible would it be to exist without ‘single use’ items such as plastic packaging?

Without having one of those very sparsely placed ‘packaging free’ shops nearby, of which I think there about 3 in the UK.

I was thinking about this today and as a meat eater who does not have their own game, is this even possible?

 

[Broch]

Meat is surely one of the easiest foods to buy without single-use packaging - just buy from a butcher and get them to put it in whatever container you see fit. The same with fresh veg. and cheese. The problem comes with things like milk, yoghurt, pickles, jams, coffee .... the list goes on.

 

[Chris]

Meat is surely one of the easiest foods to buy without single-use packaging - just buy from a butcher and get them to put it in whatever container you see fit. The same with fresh veg. and cheese. The problem comes with things like milk, yoghurt, pickles, jams, coffee .... the list goes on.

All the local butchers I have used use single use plastic to pick the meat up, then place it on the scale with a sheet of single use plastic, then put it in a separate single use bag (with the sheet they weighed it on).

Fresh veg is easy, even in big supermarkets.

Cheese? Again, not seen it without at least one sheet of thin plastic for the weighing.

 

[TeeDee]

You may want to check out BookFace for the group , and its been a while so I may have forgotten exactly what its called ' " Free game for UK " - Its an opportunity to get connected to local people whom are hunters and have Venison, Pheasant , Rabbits etc that they need to get rid of - whilst its not all free it is low cost for an undressed deer carcass - if you make a good connection in your area , don't mess them around and become a known name I'm sure that could go a long way to field to plate style consumption.


Good luck - like the idea of limiting unnecessary packing and paper/trash - difficult to do. Can only think moving to a more 'source' based almost Paleo diet is the step to do so.

 

[Broch]

All the local butchers I have used use single use plastic to pick the meat up, then place it on the scale with a sheet of single use plastic, then put it in a separate single use bag (with the sheet they weighed it on).

Fresh veg is easy, even in big supermarkets.

Cheese? Again, not seen it without at least one sheet of thin plastic for the weighing.

Good points, but, at least, you've left the plastic bag behind and if you refuse the piece of plastic they weighed it on they will have to think about it. Our local butcher still uses paper at least. There are plenty of 'compostable' materials vendors could use.

I confess, although I support the whole idea, and do minimize my use, I don't get stressed about it. I suppose that's easy to say living in the depths of rural Wales where we are probably as close as you can get to the 'field', both reared and wild.

 

[Chris]

You may want to check out BookFace for the group , and its been a while so I may have forgotten exactly what its called ' " Free game for UK " - Its an opportunity to get connected to local people whom are hunters and have Venison, Pheasant , Rabbits etc that they need to get rid of - whilst its not all free it is low cost for an undressed deer carcass - if you make a good connection in your area , don't mess them around and become a known name I'm sure that could go a long way to field to plate style consumption.


Good luck - like the idea of limiting unnecessary packing and paper/trash - difficult to do. Can only think moving to a more 'source' based almost Paleo diet is the step to do so.

You’re the second person who has recommended I go to that infernal place this week!

Maybe I need to remember my login info.

Thanks for the idea, I’ll give that a look.

 

[Chris]

Good points, but, at least, you've left the plastic bag behind and if you refuse the piece of plastic they weighed it on they will have to think about it. Our local butcher still uses paper at least. There are plenty of 'compostable' materials vendors could use.

I confess, although I support the whole idea, and do minimize my use, I don't get stressed about it. I suppose that's easy to say living in the depths of rural Wales where we are probably as close as you can get to the 'field', both reared and wild.

Honestly I think plastic has a place and generally I am not too fussed about it. In fact, I actively oppose those idiotic paper straws that are now the fashion. Plastic is used for good reason in some circumstances.

This is more a thought exercise at this stage, just a wondering if it’d be even viable in the modern world.

 

[TeeDee]

You’re the second person who has recommended I go to that infernal place this week!

Maybe I need to remember my login info.

Thanks for the idea, I’ll give that a look.

Get on it , get the required info and contact details of people in your area then bin it off.

 

[Broch]

Honestly I think plastic has a place and generally I am not too fussed about it. In fact, I actively oppose those idiotic paper straws that are now the fashion. Plastic is used for good reason in some circumstances.

This is more a thought exercise at this stage, just a wondering if it’d be even viable in the modern world.

I think, on a local basis, and with a reasonably limited (but not unhealthy) diet it is doable. However, if there isn't enough local 'buy-in' I suspect one would have to travel to find vendors that supported the idea. Around here you can buy eggs, meat, milk, vegetables, soft fruits, and cheese directly from the producer. No pasta, rice, wine, or prawns though

 

[Chris]

I think, on a local basis, and with a reasonably limited (but not unhealthy) diet it is doable. However, if there isn't enough local 'buy-in' I suspect one would have to travel to find vendors that supported the idea. Around here you can buy eggs, meat, milk, vegetables, soft fruits, and cheese directly from the producer. No pasta, rice, wine, or prawns though

No pasta, rice or prawns? I can do that, got it!

 

[Broch]

No pasta, rice or prawns? I can do that, got it!

You're a better man than me

 

[Chris]

You're a better man than me

I didn’t say for how long…

 

[Paul_B]

Most independent butchers will weigh your meat into your own container. I think you can get waxed paper sheets for this too. Take it with you and they'll use it. Don't and you get plastic.

Same with cheese shops if be there's one near you. Where I once lived in Southport there used to be a very nice old style cheese shop that supplied in paper. Perhaps that's only in posher areas down south these days.

 

[Stew]

All the local butchers I have used use single use plastic to pick the meat up, then place it on the scale with a sheet of single use plastic, then put it in a separate single use bag (with the sheet they weighed it on).

Fresh veg is easy, even in big supermarkets.

Cheese? Again, not seen it without at least one sheet of thin plastic for the weighing.

That plastic is there for convenience, not need. It would be an easy shift change where packaged stuff wouldn’t be an easy swap.

 

[Chris]

That plastic is there for convenience, not need. It would be an easy shift change where packaged stuff wouldn’t be an easy swap.

I agree, but that would only really matter if it was for *my* convenience. Most butchers here use a piece of plastic to pick up the meat not for my benefit. If I took in my own tub or something to put the meat in, I bet they’d still pick it up using some kind of single use plastic.

 

[Toddy]

All the local butchers I have used use single use plastic to pick the meat up, then place it on the scale with a sheet of single use plastic, then put it in a separate single use bag (with the sheet they weighed it on).

Fresh veg is easy, even in big supermarkets.

Cheese? Again, not seen it without at least one sheet of thin plastic for the weighing.

Butchers used to use just sheets of grease proof paper, then they wrapped the meat up again in Butcher's Paper.
All biodegradable.
I think nowadays the greaseproof paper is siliconised, but in the past it was just paper that had been chemically treated, "In 1847, Poumarède and Figuier devised a method that involved dipping unsized paper into a mixture of concentrated sulfuric acid and water. This treatment modified the cellulose fibres in the paper, creating a parchment-like finish that was both durable and resistant to grease."

Thing is though, most folks now buy meat at Supermarkets and the Butcher no longer serves every single customer. Meat needs to be protected from all the handling by heaven knows how many folks, dirty hands, coughs and sneezes, etc.,

We need to put more effort into biodegradable packaging.

 

[Stew]

I agree, but that would only really matter if it was for *my* convenience. Most butchers here use a piece of plastic to pick up the meat not for my benefit. If I took in my own tub or something to put the meat in, I bet they’d still pick it up using some kind of single use plastic.

Yep. I’m seeing it from a perspective of if there’s was a ban. That part would be an easy swap but the cover Ona meat tray, not so much.

 

[Paul_B]

Biodegradable plastics? It's there such a thing really? I saw a UN funded research report on biodegradable plastics once. Made me doubt all claims.

That research took some of the most common types of biodegradable plastics at the time and made shopping bags of them. They put samples in soil, in fresh water, in seawater and just in air for over a year.

Then they tested them with a set, representative shopping load and every single sample bag was still intact and strong enough to allow the shopping load to be carried.

That was about 5 years ago I think so perhaps they've got better options. However, with micro plastics and the slow biodegrading of these plastics I think avoiding plastic packaging is the better option than using such plastics. Certainly for food use. If we can't find a way to sell foods without single use then there's no hope for us. Surely it's not beyond our wit and imagination?

 

[Watch-keeper]

I have seen a shop in Europe where you must bring your own containers for absolutely everything, they even sold liquid dish soap loose. Most of the customers were using large glass jam jar type containers which they weighed on the way in.
This shop had a very wide selection of mostly dry goods from pasta to gummy bears to shampoo and things i didn't even recognize. They didn't have much fresh stuff like milk but apparently you could preorder it.
The shop was located on the bottom floor of a housing estate block and was being used like a local shop.

A lot of shops in Europe have this system where you weigh your fruit and veg and get a price tag before you take it to the counter. During the weighing process they have three options, no bag, plastic bag and reusable bag, I assume it adjusts the weight/price according to your selection.

 

[Paul_B]

Booths supermarkets over here had ecover dispensers at one point. You bought your first bottle of whatever ecover product you used then paid less to refill it in store. They stopped doing it and only did it in certain stores when they did. A trial that didn't work for the company.