My eco crusade began on Friday 1st January. My first visit to a shop was the same morning. I bought a couple of newspapers. Newspapers, I guess, aren’t really that environmentally friendly when you can read things online but we were at our beach house and didn’t have access to wi-fi. I did, however carry the newspapers home in a canvas bag (that I made myself from a left-over fabric sample from my former interior design office!).

The next big test was a trip to the grocery store on Sunday 3rd January. I tried to avoid any fruit and vegetables that had unnecessary packaging. I bought cheese, butter and milk and really couldn’t avoid the plastic packaging on those products. However, this month is more about reducing my use of single-use plastic bags. I’ll try to tackle all plastics in Plastic Free July.  I felt really good about my trip to the shops. A ‘date’ afternoon to the cinema later that day and it all came undone. It wasn’t until we’d paid an exorbenant amount for some salted popped corn and frozen flavoured water that I realised what an environmental mistake it was (not to mention damage to our wallet). Plastic cups and cardboard boxes. All single-use and disposable. We left it in the cinema and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have recycled it. AND then we had take-away burgers from Hungry Jacks. Since beginning this personal eco crusade, I have felt so much guilt. And Sunday was no different. I keep reminding myself that being aware of it is the first step to being more eco aware. Let’s hope these  non-eco-lapses become less and less.

This month, I’d also like to look into bulk buying some of my pantry staples including some dried legumes and seeds. They have a lot less salt in them and probably a lot less packaging. Did you know that 2016 is the International Year of the Pulses? Natural by Nature in Mackay stocks products like this. And they are usually organic too which is a bonus.