A while back I visited the Kingsmead Book Fair. I won tickets on 702 to the value of approximately R160 and then proceeded to spend over R800 on books at the pop-up bookshop with Kamini. I digress (as usual)…

One of the books that caught my eye (and my wallet) was How to Live Plastic Free – A day in the life of a plastic detox which the lovely Marine Conservation Society UK put together. They are quite a fabulous organization but the thing they are most well-known for is their Great British Beach Cleans. Every year thousands of volunteers gather in the third weekend of September to pick up trash on Britain’s beaches. The MCS UK carefully logs how much trash is picked up over what distance and what types of trash are increasingly tipped into the ocean year-on-year.

Needless to say the book was an eye-opener. It’s packed full of frightening statistics on what our human litter is doing to our oceans which in turn have an impact on absolutely every aspect of our lives. The core message I took out of reading this book was that human beings are the makers of our own destiny and if we don’t consciously make an effort to limit our toxic impact on our environments then we are going to choke ourselves out of an existence. For the umpteenth time I was happy not to be a mother. The other part of that message however is that actually there is a lot that we can do individually (which is quite encouraging when you think of how little you can do individually in the world of politics or the economy) to turn the tide on plastic.

So I’m not saying that plastic is bad. We just overuse it. We’ve become addicted to its cheap availability and ease of use. It makes things so convenient and affordable and it saves lives…and leftovers! But it’s just too prolific. And we don’t really need it everywhere. There are other ways. Having read this book I’m going to detail the ways in which I’m trying to limit plastic use and dependency on plastic in my own life. Perhaps it will help others. Perhaps it will just make people more aware of how much plastic is all around us and inspire more plastic-free choices. Perhaps it will just give me the satisfaction of knowing that I’m better equipped and geared towards limiting the impact my life and the life of my family (husband and two fur children) has on the only planet we can call home. So thanks for reading and listening..

The Plastic Plague Series will offer my commitments to reducing plastic use in different areas of my daily life. I will provide hacks and tips I’ve discovered and trialled to reduce my plastic consumption. The Plastic Plague Series will take the following form over the next few weeks:

Part 1: Dining in and out

Part 2: Fast Fashion

Part 3: Keeping it clean

Part 4: Working out

Part 5: Shopping is my cardio

Part 6: Celebrations