disclosure: this is a paid post in partnership with The Midcounties Co-operative
Taking responsibility for our environment and the world, in general, is something we all need to get behind. We need to act now to make changes to our buying habits and do our bit to reduce the number of single-use plastics being thrown away every day. We can all do something to help the cause and the Co-op Midcounties Society 1Change in 1Minute challenge shows you how a quick change can have instant results.
You may recall my post from earlier in the year highlighting the work that The Midcounties Co-operative has undertaken to reduce single-use plastic usage in their stores.
We’ve been so much more aware of the plastics that have been coming into our household over the subsequent months and my nine-year-old son and I have made some quick changes which we know have already made a big difference to the number of plastics we are recycling on a weekly basis. We use bags for life whenever we go shopping, and I have one that folds up inside my handbag for any unexpected shopping trips we might make. Our current 1Change in 1Minute challenge has been to ditch shop-bought bottles of water.
Every morning we fill up our reusable water bottles, one for my handbag and one to go into my son’s school backpack.
It literally takes seconds to fill our bottles up from the tap and put them in our bags. We have a competition to see who has drunk the most water by the end of the day. I’m ashamed to say that my son normally wins that particular challenge hands down. But not only are we hydrating ourselves but we are making a conscious contribution to the reduction of single-use plastics leaving our household.
We are committed to investing time to make changes and my son has suggested that we could pick up the litter that careless shoppers leave along the alleyways between our house and school. We could then make sure that it gets recycled properly, whilst improving the environment for the wildlife on our doorstep. I’m really keen to foster these ideas in my son and am proud that he’s so environmentally aware from a young age. The 1Change in 1Minute challenge is something we will be working on together. We already buy pretty much all of our fruit and veg loose and I’m keen to reduce other food packaging too.
The Midcounties Co-operative is also committed to making changes in the long term with regards to single-use plastics. Its 1Change campaign will see it reduce its overall waste production by 20% by 2022, whilst it also wants to maintain an impressive 99% recycling rate. It will have completely removed all single-use plastic straws and cutlery from its food stores by next year. Single-use plastic bags are being replaced with compostable bags across their food stores and it will provide compostable carrier bags as alternatives.
Will you be joining us in the 1Change in 1Minute challenge? Pop over to the challenge
page to make your pledge of what you can do to make #1Changein1Minute and join us in making
a difference in the fight against single-use plastics.
We haven’t really been able to afford single use bottled water or pop in individual bottles for a few years now, plus I’ve always been disgusted by the waste, so my kids are really used to taking their water bottles out with them.
Ironic that 5 years ago that made them feel a bit ‘cheap’ and now it’s turned into responsible and sensible 😀
Yes that’s so true
Definitely we will join in. We have been doing it for ages!
It’s such a good thing to do
We stopped buying single use plastic bottles a while ago for our every day drinking. I’m more conscious of making sure we have filled water bottles from home to stop us buying the emergency drink when we’re out and about.
Yes same here
Same here
My children have joined a local kids environmental club and they regularly go on group litter picks. Our local libraries give out litter pickers and bags so we have one each at-home too. It’s amazing how much they enjoy it!
that’s such a good idea
My children always have a reusable water bottle with them when we are out and about, we only really buy bottled drinks if in a cafe or such like but then you have little choice if you want a cold drink! We do reuse bags as much as possible and I’m surprised how much we don’t miss them being given out in all the shops nowadays, we must have gone though so many in a year beforehand. I try to keep a stash in my car boot so I’m never without!
Yes I do too, we don’t miss plastic bags at all.