My Personal Fight Against Plastic by Author Sue Fortin

Something slightly different this week – I’m joined by Sue Fortin, author of The Dead Wife published by Harper Collins, as she tells us about her personal fight against plastic. This is particularly interesting to me as I’m also trying to reduce the plastic in my life – see my own post here. Over to Sue …

Today we’re all very aware of the terrible effect of single use plastic and how much waste is produced as a result. It used to be a case of throw it in the recycling bin and pat yourself on the back because you’re helping save the planet.

In recent years various reports have shown that a vast amount of the plastic isn’t recycled into more plastic or something useful but is, in fact, just shipped somewhere else in the world and it was a case of out of sigh out of mind. Since seeing those reports, I’ve really questioned my consumption of plastic.

At home I’ve tried and tested various different ways to cut down on single use plastic – in some respects it sounds a very easy thing to do but in a modern fast living environment where convenience is queen, it’s proved more challenging.

Below are some of the ways we’ve experimented to cut down on our use of plastic.

Milk Bottles

Switched to home delivery, glass bottles which are recycled many, many times.

Pros: early delivery. Milk on the doorstep. Bottles recycled

Cons: Expensive – roughly twice the price per pint. Increase in carbon footprint due to single journey made by milkman/woman to deliver to your door.

Bathroom Products

Pros: Soap and shampoo bars are easy to get hold of and relatively practical to use.

Cons: They are not that cheap so if you are part of a large household, it can work out quite expensive.

I’ve dabbled with making my own but again it is not cost effective, it takes up quite a lot of time and the results are OK, rather than great. Also, the ingredients needed all come in plastic bottles so you’re buying at least three or four other plastic bottles to save one bottle of shop bought body wash/shampoo/etc.

(I’m hooked with making my own soap and shampoo – haven’t perfected conditioner yet. Had to weigh up the packaging issue, but the fact I get so much product out of the ingredients and I enjoy making the products so much won. Mx)

Laundry Products

I bought some soda crystals and added the ingredients to make some nice smelling washing powder.

Pros: Cheap to source. Easy to make.

Cons: Doesn’t smell as strong.

Washing powder usually comes in a cardboard box which can be recycled so it worked out more convenient and cheaper to buy it already made.

Food Wraps

Have switched to wax papers recently and this has been one of the more enduring and useful changes.

Pros: Wax paper can last up to 2 years. Easy to use. Easy to clean. Easy to store.

Cons: Initial cost is a bit pricy. Can’t be used in the oven.

Fruit & Veg

I try to buy as much as I can loose rather than in the plastic wrappers. I’ve found this to be quite easy where the vegetables are concerned, but not so easy to buy soft fruit as these are in punnets to protect them. I’m sure supermarkets could switch the cardboard punnets if they really wanted to.

I’m always on the lookout for ways to cut down on single use plastic but have to admit, at times, I still do buy for convenience, practicality and cost.

About Sue Fortin

Sue Fortin is an award-winning USA Today and an Amazon best-selling author, an international bestseller and has reached #1 in the Amazon UK Kindle chart. Sue writes mystery, suspense and romance, sometimes combining all three.

Sue was born in Hertfordshire but had a nomadic childhood, moving often with her family, before eventually settling in West Sussex where she now lives with her husband and family.

To keep in touch with Sue, you can use the following links:-

Twitter www.twitter.com/suefortin1

Facebook www.facebook.com/suefortinauthor

Instagram www.instagram.com/sue_fortin

About The Dead Wife

SINCLAIR WIFE DEAD! HUSBAND CLEARED!

Police have ruled out suspicious circumstances in the investigation into the death of Elizabeth Sinclair, wife of charismatic entrepreneur Harry Sinclair, found drowned in the lake of the family’s holiday park.

It’s been two years since the Sinclair case closed but when reporter Steph Durham receives a tipoff that could give her the scoop of the year, she’s drawn deeper and deeper into the secretive Sinclair family.

Elizabeth’s death wasn’t a tragic accident. And the truth will come at a deadly price…

Buying Link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sue-Fortin/e/B00ATEEEB8

 

Thank you for joining me, Sue, very thought provoking. I would love it if readers of this blog include their own tips for reducing plastic in the comments…

I hope everyone is safe in these strange times. I’ve been over on Eleanor Harkstead‘s blog, so if you’d like to read more about me, you can read the article here.

See you next week…

 

Thank you for visiting my blog – Morton S. Gray – Author. I hope you enjoyed this post. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Christmas at Borteen Bay is available now as both an eBook and audio download – Amazon Kindle, Audio, Apple iBooks, Kobo and Choc Lit for other buying options.

The Truth Lies Buried is available now from all eBook platforms – Choc Lit, Amazon Kindle, Kobo, Apple iBooks. This will be available as a paperback and audiobook.

The Girl on the Beach published by Choc Lit is available as a paperback and from all eBook platforms – Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and Google Play.