You see the accounts on Instagram. The perfect ones, who are entirely ‘zero waste’ or who post about being able to fit their entire year’s waste in a jar. Whilst inspiring, these accounts and posts can be damaging. I’ve been there and played the ‘comparing-myself-to-this-person’s-amazing-life-and-now-everything-is-horrible’ game several times over. In fact, I still do. Nearly every single day. I have to remind myself that someone’s social media account is only a slither of their life. Just one tiny slice of pizza, when there’s a whole lot more with extra toppings remaining in the takeaway box. But it’s an enticing slice. And if you compare it to your own boring frozen pizza, it can start to affect your self-worth. Or the self-worth of the pizza. Or something.
Over the past year, I’ve really made an effort to become a little more eco-friendly by ditching as many single-use plastics as possible and opening my mind to the ways in which we are slowly and steadily ruining our planet. The BBC’s ‘War on Plastic’ is a fab place to start. After watching it, I cut out all usage of wipes, quit using plastic water bottles, and started to look at the packaging my food came in. On the 1st July last year, without preparation, I spontaneously decided I was going to take part in plastic-free July, a whole month wherein I tried to cut out all single-use plastics. At the moment I decided this, I was in an airport on my way to France (and I’ve been in airports a lot, it is nigh-on impossible to find food without plastic packaging) and, while the month wasn’t totally plastic-free for me, it motivated me to cut out around 90% of single-use plastics. Which I’ve, amazingly, kept up.
And while 90% isn’t 100%, I have to remind myself that it’s pretty darn close. At some point last year I started to feel bad that I wasn’t doing enough and that I could cut out more plastics and waste in general. I was suffering from a bad case of eco-pressure. My boyfriend had to sit me down and tell me that, no you’re not perfect, but you’re doing the best you can. You’re doing more than a lot of people are doing for the planet. And he’s absolutely right. Well done, Tommo. As long as we are all doing something, anything, then at least we are doing.
For my lifestyle, one that is submerged in anxiety and depression a lot of the time, I am currently doing the best I can to be sustainable for the planet. Financially, mentally, and physically, what I’m doing now is all I can do. At the moment, it can be a little more expensive to cut out plastics and packaging. It can take a lot more time to be able to research zero waste and visit the right shops. It can be mentally draining to remember to take bags with you when you go shopping and to take a train somewhere instead of flying and to find an alternative to milk in a plastic carton…the list goes on.
But my main challenge is my constant battle with my brain. Does having mental health problems put you at a disadvantage to help our planet? Some days I don’t have the motivation to get out of bed and brush my teeth, let alone cook a meal from scratch with locally sourced organic products. It just isn’t doable. So yes, I take those days and do the best I can with them. It may mean eating a ready meal or ordering a takeaway, and I try not to feel bad while doing it, knowing that when I’m feeling well again I can do better. I suppose it doesn’t just stop at people struggling with their mental health…it stretches across to everyone. Disabilities. Chronic illnesses. Because these are not excuses – we are all just trying to get through the day.
I’m a dog sitter for a living, so I go and live in someone else’s house and take care of their dogs while they go on holiday. Some owners are kind enough to leave me food to eat (I don’t ask them to!) – it’s normally a lot of microwave or oven jobbies, and I haven’t the heart to turn it down just because of its colossal (and sometimes needless) packaging. Sometimes I take my own food, but I really struggle being in my own company for long periods of time and therefore find it difficult to motivate myself to cook while I’m away. My solution: bring as much food that I can throw together into meals quickly and easily. This is how I cope. So no Instagram account, no climate crisis pressure, no zero-waste hashtags are going to make me feel guilty about my lifestyle.
That said, I do like to try and inspire people to make a couple of small changes, or even just be conscious of the waste they’re throwing away and where it might end up. I wrote a song about it. I think we might be recording it soon.
As long as we are all doing something, anything, then at least we are doing.
My Less-Waste List
(to help anyone out there kickstart their ‘doing’)
- Bamboo toothbrushes – they’re everywhere now!
- Toothpaste tabs – https://nonplasticbeach.com/collections/bathroom/products/toothpaste-tablets (I choose the ones with fluoride, apparently they are best for healthy teeth)
- Shampoo bars – took a while to get used to but I love the Lush range.
- Reusable make-up remover pads – I just searched on Amazon!
- Food – we get most of our fruit and veg at a local farm shop where it all comes loose, but when in supermarkets we just choose the loose options rather than pre-packaged. Also choosing to refill your own jars at refill stations, or buying cardboard or glass packaging over plastic.
- Cleaning products – I use Splosh.com (use code 7EEPWTRI9O to get 15% off)
- I’m not an absolute eco hero by any means, but I’ve done a lot of research, so get in touch if you’d like to chat about alternative products. Or use Google, because that’s probably better.
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