Can I handle a week without buying plastic?

Today marks the start of Zero Plastic Week – an interesting initiative I found on Facebook. The idea is to not buy any plastic for a week – and of course to use as little plastic as possible during the week.

Saturday, during my weekly grocery shopping trip, I was already thinking ahead to what the challenges would be shopping for groceries during Zero Plastic Week. I always bring my own reuseable bags when I go, so that won”t be too much of an issue, but signing up for this challenge did make me painfully aware of many products that increase the use of plastic unneccesarily:

• Fruits & vegetables: many are prepacked in plastic, and to pick out your own, the supermarket only offers plastic baggies
• Personal care items like bodywash: only a few brands offer refills (in plastic, but using a lot less), the rest are all offered in new plastic packaging only
• Tea: Plastic wrap around the box – and in some cases, even the tea bags are individually wrapped in plastic
• And the list goes on

My biggest worry is around buying protein for my vegetarian family next weekend. Some our favorite non-animal sources of protein (Tivall, tofu) come in plastic…. what will we eat besides eggs?

What unnecesary plastic ends up in your household regularly? And what vegetarian protein options can you share that do not require plastic to get it from the store to my house?

Written by: Marjolein Baghuis (@mbaghuis)