Growing up in Oz, the idea of recycling and being green is ingrained in your psyche. Besides being constantly told to turn the lights out when you're not there, turn off the power at the wall, turn the tap off because we're in a drought, there's also Clean Up Australia day, school education on the 1-5 ratings on the bottom of plastic containers, that you must sort your paper vs glass/plastic vs green waste ... not to mention documentaries about landfill and how harmful littering is to bird / land animal / ocean species. There's bins everywhere you go, and for the most part they aren't constantly overflowing. Besides, when you live near the coast, the last thing you want to see when you're at the beach is random trash that has been thrown around on the sand and while you're swimming right?! So quite frankly, I can't imagine NOT trying to minimise waste and maximise recycling.
Fast forward many years from childhood, and I move to London. I'll be the first to admit that the food packaging here is ultra convenient, BUT I am actually quite horrified at the fact that my recycling bin needs emptying twice a week instead of once. And that everytime I go to put something in the kitchen bin I always check for things that I can take out and chuck in the recycling bin (yes Miss L, that's because I see you as a recycling work in progress). Until I moved here, I never realised that supermarket fruit & veg could be so packaged ... we have packaging at home of course, but seriously guys - shrink wrapped cucumber portions? pears in cardboard trays with plastic lids? ginger in plastic bags? trimmed beans in plastic packets? Give me a break. Unfortunately, being in full time Monday to Friday employment in a work-through-lunch culture (as well as a Zone 1 resident) I'm not able to gain regular access to food markets during their opening hours. You could argue that I could do a full-on food shop on the weekend, but since Mr T & I never know whether we're going to be home at 5.30pm or 8pm or firing up the computers to do more work at 10pm, there's not a lot value in trying to buy food for the whole week if you don't know if you have time to cook it.
I was slightly worried on my way home that I wouldn't have a picture to post to demonstrate food packaging, but even with minimal food in the house (Mr T being away means the contents of the fridge have shrunk this week), I'm able to show a sample of items that I see as being unecessarily packaged. To make things worse, it is actually uncommon to have the option of buying things that are loose in a supermarket (note - you could also argue that Australian supermarkets are full of rolls of plastic bags in the fruit & veg section... however anyone who has ever shopped with me can vouch for the fact that I will only have one of these bags in my shopping once every 10 trips).
And here are the lunch bags that I've collected over the last week or two. I find it really odd here that every lunch place generally gives you a really good quality paper carry bag, good quality cutlery (its almost like luxury plastic cutlery - unlike the forks you get in packs of 100 from Coles) and a stack of serviettes. And sandwiches all come in neat triangular paper boxes. It is Just. So. Unnecessary. What's wrong with carrying lunch and a drink from shop to office / other eating location when you only have 2 things in your hand? The other thing that gets me is that all these places advertise themselves as making good food for you ... but what about the good for the environment? Granted some places do say the bags are made with recycled paper, but their staff still automatically give me a bag (unless I'm awake enough to stop them before their speedy hands have already put my lunch in a bag).
Rant aside, during my recycling conversation with the non-Australian I was accused of having a defeatist attitude despite getting all worked up about (lack of) recycling culture. So I'm throwing it out there, what can I do about this? Besides training Miss L to adopt my own personal recycling habits, making sure that Mr T adheres to my ridiculous recycling standard, and making donations to Landcare Australia, what can I do to improve the situation? Even as baby steps?
I will end this on a good note though by recycling my favourite recycling story. Mr D had spotted tourists in Egypt carefully sorting out their rubbish from their recycling at their hotel. No sooner than had they finished, a garbage truck comes along and tips the contents of both the rubbish and recycling into the truck. Yep, it was all a lie. What can I say - who ever knew that enviro friendly would just be set up as a tourist trap?
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