Plastic, plastic, and more plastic!

Among the many things that occupy my mind is the use of plastic. 

How can I reduce the amount in my house; should I bother; why does my local authority not supply more detailed information on which plastics it will recycle; why is all plastic not recyclable; when did we start using so much plastic and why do tea bags contain plastic?

The stuff is everywhere and in everything! Not only tea bags, but makeup and our food, particularly fish and seafood. If we are not killing them in our oceans, we are killing them to eat, so the plastic in them is doing unknown things to us.

While I was in Bruges last year I took this photo of a blue whale made out of plastic.

But it wasn't always like this. I guess my mother always went to a supermarket to get her weekly shop, though the scale would have nothing on today. There was also less variety and few supermarkets so shopping was an undertaking. You could go to your local town, but a major weekly shop required planning as you could not just pop into a smaller version of your favourite supermarket brand.

I remember going with my grandmother at weekends to her local indoor market, which sold everything. She took a string bag and bought all her meat, vegetables and fruit and bread. She cooked meals from scratch and certainly had less plastic in her house. Most of what she bought was given to her in paper bags. If not paper then she would try to reuse the packaging in some way. 

And yes there was less choice, so the food miles were shorter, and yes (for us today) the choice was basic and boring. We are so lucky in the variety of cuisines we get today, but the price is the increased food miles and use of plastic packaging. Not to forget intensive farming in other parts of the world where producers are not all paid a fair price and where intensive production is damaging local areas both environmental and in the availability of produce for local people.

I get my shopping delivered. It suits me being single and when I am working. I also do not drive and remember earlier times in my life when shopping was done at a weekend (losing a whole day) or after a tiring day at work. Back then I was also taken on public transport (usually a bus), later I had a taxi. So now I relax while I order and tend to get everything I pick delivered at a time to suit me. While they may take back their carrier bags, the amount of plastic is still astonishing - and remember much of it cannot be recycled. And anything vacuum packed is really difficult to get into.

So I do worry about the amount of plastic in my life. I have had leaf tea in the cupboard for ages since our trip to India, but I still buy plastic filled tea bags. I am researching solid toiletry bars for the bathroom, but will it make a difference? It is very unlikely I will have children so should I really be so concerned about plastic? Would it not be better to let it go and free up some space in my brain?