Thanks to a recipe from the Zero Waste Chef, I’ve saved a heap of money and packaging by using leftover buttermilk to make more buttermilk. It’s very useful if, like me, you’re a fan of making brown soda bread.
I can only buy buttermilk in tetra pak, and while I could bring the packaging to Wastebusters for our crew to recycle (its multi-material make-up means it can’t be recycled at kerbside), I much prefer making it myself.
It started as a "what will I do this Plastic Free July" project, and like 86% of people who pick up a habit during PFJ, it has become standard practice for me.
The global movement is so good at motivating individual action and spotlighting plastic-free solutions that July is when lots of policy changes are announced too.
The Plastic Free July Foundation reported its impact influencing policy change across cities such as Toronto, Lisbon and Delaware, which have introduced new bans and reusable systems, and governments, including Australia, Oman and the United States, tightening regulations. It highlights the power individual actions have in influencing systemic change.
Closer to home, we’ve seen that same July effect reflected in waste minimising regulations. In 2019, years of dedicated campaigning by grassroots organisations built the momentum for legislative change to ban single-use plastic bags in Aotearoa. Four years later, plastic produce bags were banned. It was a hard road to get there, but looking around today nobody misses them or the pollution. People just adapt and remember their reusable bags (or, as I sometimes do, leave the supermarket arms laden with items). And while plastic bags are not the biggest environmental problems we face, they are rungs on the metaphorical ladder to a plastic-free future.
So what’s the next rung on this ladder? Maybe it’s take-away coffee cups. Aotearoa’s very first Single-Use Cup Free hui was hosted by Plastic Free Wānaka last month, bringing together more than 30 organisations all facing the same pressures, challenges and glimmers of joy, such as the 11 totally SUC-free cafes in Wānaka. The ubiquitous takeaway coffee cup is another small step, but a mighty one considering the recent findings from a Griffith University meta-analysis that disposable hot drink cups can shed anywhere from hundreds to millions of microplastic particles per cup, depending on the polymer, quality and type of cup. It makes sense then for us humans, quite apart from the environmental impact, to opt for a nice reusable plastic-free cup.
Or maybe the next step is a container return scheme (CRS). Recently lodged as a Member’s Bill, CRS is now in the ballot system and could go to Parliament for first reading if it is drawn from the "biscuit tin". If you’ve ever felt that particular frustration of seeing cans or bottles on the side of the road or at your favourite picnic spot, this is the bill you didn’t know you needed. Container return schemes increase recycling rates and decrease pollution by making cans and bottles valuable again. It’s good news for households too. A recent analysis commissioned by Zero Waste Aotearoa found the economic, social and environmental case for the introduction of a CRS in New Zealand still holds, despite the current cost-of-living pressures. If your Plastic Free July action this year includes advocacy, letting your MP know you support CRS can help paint a picture for them of what their constituents want, and can influence how they vote when the bill comes before the House.
If you want to know more, we’re delving into CRS, rethinking consumption and exploring zero-waste lifestyles at Wastebusters’ Plastic Free Film Night on July 22 with insights and discussion from our expert panel of Sue Coutts, Ben Elms, Sophie Ward and Emma Brockie.
Our panellists have more than 50 years of expertise in community-led, circular economy initiatives.
Sue is the director of external affairs at Zero Waste Aotearoa, working across the country to build awareness and support for community-led zero waste initiatives and policy.
Ben, better known locally as Dr Compost, helps people and organisations grow good food and make the most of valuable resources.
As Wastebusters’ impact development manager, Sophie has led behaviour change projects for 15 years, helping communities embrace circular economy solutions.
Emma, Queenstown Lakes District Council’s waste minimisation and sustainability adviser, works with our communities to support waste minimisation practices, drive behaviour change initiatives and foster engagement towards a circular economy and zero waste district.
If you can’t join us on the night, you can still be part of our month-long celebration. Sign up for a PFJ challenge, follow Wastebusters’ socials for easy plastic free activities, head into Wastebusters for one of our pop-up events in the shop, or go along to our libraries in Wānaka, Hāwea, Queenstown and Frankton to make a beeswax wrap. Whatever you do, do it your way.
Ruth Blunt is communications manager at Wastebusters. Each week in this column writers address issues of sustainability.
