Colm O'Regan: If you have the money, try to refill and reuse

Plastic is miraculous. It’s transformed the world. Isn’t it a shame to only use it once?

Sat, 05 Nov, 2022 - 02:00

Columnist with the Irish Examiner.

Warning: this may contain traces of advice that doesn’t apply to you now/yet/any more. Ignore if not applicable rather than get REALLY ANGRY about it.

I say this because I know what I’m like. I get cross when columns have tips that don’t apply to me. I saw an energy saving tips list recently that said: Get an Electric Car. Which is like: “Tips on flying: #6 Get wings.” But the tip was not incorrect. It just didn’t apply to me right now. So I shoved the crossness deep down where I keep all the other emotion.

This one is about packaging. Apparently, Ireland is the worst in Europe per capita for using plastic packaging. I’m not saying let’s be the best, but could we at least try to be better than worst?

I had inertia about reducing packaging. Because I’m a weak miserable person, when I saw those who had gone home plastic-free, I felt discouraged and cross. “That’s too hard. Those people are smug. Leave me alone.“

There is even a Refills and Reduce Packaging-type shop near me! I knew I should go in but didn’t. I was shy about trying. Making excuses. “It’s too dear. Won’t make a difference. I can’t go in without buying something and I’ll probably panic-buy an atom of sustainable chocolate wrapped in beeswax for 100 euro.” But then I saw the eggs. You need something to get you in the door. The free range eggs in the big trays turned out to be Not That Much Dearer than a Big Shop and the same price as a Something Like a Spar. And it scratched an itch that had been bothering me. Eggboxes are officially single use. Coming from a farm where our eggboxes were actual hens, it stuck in my craw.

A CLIMATE FRIENDLY WAY TO...

Cook

Use everything that you buy and reduce food waste. The average Irish household throws out 150kg a year, at a cost of approximately €700.

Reduce meat consumption - plant-based meat emits 30%-90% less greenhouse gas emission than conventional meat. Animal agriculture is responsible for the majority of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.

Shop local if possible, reducing the distance food has to travel to get to your table makes a difference.

But once I was in for the eggs, I started to look around. And gradually get a few bits. The stuff is dearer. It has to be. If a small shop is selling sustainable stuff cheaper than a squillionaire government-policy-influencing, shareholder-pleasing behemoth then it might be a charity shop or a front for organised crime.

But I identified a few things where the margins were ok or bought less frequently so that it felt more like a one-off. Gradually it became a shopping list. Now we’re at bananas, grapes, flour porridge flakes, sunflower seeds, desiccated coconut, olive oil, washing-up liquid, hand-soap, shampoo. It’s a few euro a week extra. To get me into the habit and not contemplate the appalling vista of purposely spending more, I’ve been scouring the house for swear-jar coins. Because I’m weird.

But I needed to narrow the gap so that time/money cost was small enough to be near the ‘Feeling Better’ benefit. Less plastic, less waste, less crude oil to make the plastic, shopping a bit more interesting, supporting local, feeling smug. It takes more time. But that time is enjoyable. We refilled a bottle of wine from A CASK! We need more casks in our lives.

There’s a strong chance there isn’t one of these shops near you. But slowly the Big Places are starting to take an interested in refilling. Ask them about it. Let them know you're up for it. And if one of these smaller refilly shops does open up near you go in and buy one thing for a look. An egg or some cask-action.

WHAT IS...

The Circular Economy

The circular economy is an alternative to the current linear model of “take-make-waste” in which natural resources are manufactured into products, which are used and then discarded.

The circular approach minimises waste by reusing or recycling products or parts of products.

In this model, products are designed from the beginning to be repaired more easily, reused, or recycled.

The EU has introduced limited “right to repair” rules whereby manufacturers must make spare parts available for repair purposes.

In July 2022, the Circular Economy Act became law. It includes measures to phase out single-use plastic packaging, greater detection of illegal dumping, and increased segregation of commercial waste.

But the money, the MONEY. If you don’t have it to spare then this isn’t on you. You’ve enough to be thinking about. But there’s enough evidence in the Exchequer tax receipts that there's a few bob out there. Enough to make a difference. Plastic is miraculous. It’s transformed the world. Isn’t it a shame to only use it once?