Plastic Free July 2017 is underway. With week one done and dusted, I thought it was time for a blog update on our progress so far.

For comparison, here is my picture from week one of Plastic Free July 2016:

This is week one’s plastic consumption for Plastic Free July 2017:

That’s quite an improvement in a year! The three items on the right can be recycled, the rest will need to go to landfill. In the landfill pile you can see some lolly wrappers, a cucumber wrapper, the outer wrapper from a charity bag, a couple of plastic corks, an empty bag of coffee and a few other bits and pieces.

Positives from this week include:

• I treated my husband and myself to new double-walled stainless steel bottles.
• I managed to convince one of my local supermarkets to let me have meat from their butcher counter in my own containers. We don’t eat a huge amount of meat these days and I prefer to buy it from an independent butcher in Barnard Castle. Peat’s lists the provenance of all its meat on the counter, so I know the meat we eat is locally reared. However, it’s always nice to have a back-up plan and convincing the supermarket to let me use my own containers is a big step.
• I made my own yoghurt and cream cheese from surplus milk.
• I found ice cream sold in a block, wrapped in cardboard. No more lolly wrappers!

So, all in all, I’m quite pleased with our plastic consumption in Plastic Free July Week One, especially comparing it to last year’s. Some of our plastic consumption is unavoidable. Our son needs regular injections for a medical condition. I feel no guilt whatsoever about the waste that results from this. We recycle packaging where we can and always take our reusable cups and bottles on hospital visits. We can only do our best.

It’s not too late to join millions of others around the world taking part in Plastic Free July. You can sign up here. How has your first week gone? What are your positives? Have there been any challenging moments? Let me know in the comments.