Plastic Free Hay

There's a new group in town, dedicated to the reduction of single-use plastic in our lives. They've been going round the shops with leaflets, suggesting ways that we can reduce the use of plastic in our lives.

For instance, so many people carry bottled water around now - when it would be just as easy to carry a refillable bottle. Tap water is just as good as bottled water.

Or use a shopping bag that is not made of plastic - this idea has been around for years. The Co-op had an initiative a few years ago in which they gave every household in Hay a cotton bag - I still have mine.

Refuse takeaway cups, cutlery and straws unless they are compostable (when I was away for the weekend, I always refused the little plastic lids that they want to put on coffee cups these days). A little while ago, there was a visitor to town who wandered round with her own enamel coffee mug.

Avoid unnecessary packaging - I usually buy loose fruit and vegetables which can go straight into my cotton shopping bag, which can be washed easily. If it's something like mushrooms, I put them in a paper bag at the greengrocers. And I can choose exactly how much of anything that I want, instead of having a pre-packed amount - I might not be able to use it all, and wasting food is another global problem. And the local butchers keep the plastic they have to use to a minimum - no unnecessary plastic trays, for instance.
Shops that support the initiative will be getting stickers for their windows (and yes, I suppose they are plastic, but they're not single use - they'll last for ages).

I looked in the bag for my rubbish just now, and I have put 4 items in it this week - a butter wrapper, the cellophane from a cake, the plastic wrapping from some Welsh Dragon sausages from Gibbons, and the plastic seal from a tub of ice cream (the rest of the tub is cardboard, so will be going in the compost).

Plastic Free Hay has a Facebook page.