Rachel Mash

There was no plastic in the garden of Eden! But now it is extremely difficult to find a naked cucumber or a green pepper that is not covered in plastic. This is damaging our planet and our health. We already know that microplastics are entering our food system so having veggies and food touching plastic sometimes in the heat is not good for our health Stopping food waste? The argument that the plastic producers use is that covering veggies in plastic is to save food waste. However the reality is that putting food in packaging forces you to buy more than you need which leads to more waste , both of the food and the plastic packaging – you end up buying a kilo of tomatoes when you only need 300 g. for example So our challenge today is – ask for naked veggies in your local supermarket. Most supermarkets have at least a few – apples etc that you can buy by weight. Ask to speak to the manager and ask if they can please extend the naked veggie section. If you have a community whatsapp group or facebook page, encourage others to do the same. Once the supermarket manager starts getting multiple requests they will quickly change – especially if you hint you will shop elsewhere in a shop with less plastic!! How to keep veggies for longerAnd while we are on the subject – how can we keep our fruit and veggies for longer before they go off?  Here are some tips from food24.com! Starting with : Take fruit and veggies out of the plastic packaging (they sweat!) In a cool, dry place: In the fridge: https://www.food24.com/throw-that-plastic-packaging-away-how-to-store-fruit-vegetables-and-herbs-properly/ https://www.foodbeverageinsider.com/sustainability/study-shows-single-use-plastic-packaging-increases-food-waste

 ” In the house of the wise are stores of choice food” Proverbs 21:20 Clingfilm protects food and destroys the environment. “In America, it’s called Saran wrap. Swap the “r” for a “t”, and that pretty much sums up its impact on the environment. Clingy by name and by nature, clingfilm can take hundreds of years to decompose. And when it does eventually break down, it turns into microplastics, which leach harmful chemicals into our groundwater, our oceans, and endangers the world’s wildlife. “ (the modern milkman) When you look at almost any food magazine you will see “wrap in clingfilm” but the problem is that it is almost impossible to recycle. It contains a plastic called PVC (polyvinyl chloride). So what are our options? The best is to just store your food in a container with a lid, such a Tupperware or ice cream container. Alternatively you can  put a plate on top of your bowl (high tech, right?). Instead of using clingfilm for sandwiches and other items, use wax paper which is bio-degradable. Next time you need a new dish for roasting, buy one with a lid! There are some other products on the market but they are not cheap, such as compostable cling film. And then there are mor eco friendly products like beeswax wraps which are re-usable. ( Bit pricey but these make a nice present for someone’s birthday as they are often quite pretty) Does clingfilm leach into food? Most plastic items leach a tiny amount of chemicals but the problem with clingfilm is that is actually touching the food, which can be a problem in particular if the food is still hot. Studies suggest that “most plastic items release a tiny amount of chemicals into the beverages or food they contain.” This is known as ‘leaching.’ Just like plastic bottles and takeaway containers, this happens with clingfilm, too. One study from the University of Arizona claims that plasticisers in clingfilm can be released from the material “with time, use, and under certain conditions.” What about foil? It is better than plastic, but the problem it uses an awful lot of energy to produce – so creating a huge amount of water pollution and greenhouse gases. What about silicon covers? Silicone isn’t the most environmentally friendly material on the market. Producing silicone uses hydrocarbons derived from petroleum, which isn’t sustainable. It’s difficult to recycle, and most facilities won’t accept it. With that said, silicone is a suitable alternative to plastic — it’s just not the best. But re-usable silicon covers are way preferable to single use clingfilm. And finally – try to buy less! Supermarkets have normalised bulk buying and plastic packaging.  Avoid food waste and plastic waste by buying only what you need. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/24/its-a-wrap-clingfilm-alternatives-to-help-you-ditch-the-plastic https://www.forkintheroad.co/wax-paper-environmentally-friendly/#:~:text=Wax%20paper%20is%20an%20environmentally,up%20and%20accumulate%20in%20landfills.

“the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas”.  Psalm 8 v 8 Globally, more than 1 billion single-use plastic straws are used and thrown out daily. They are lightweight and easily blown by the wind. They are not recyclable. Animals can mistake straws for food, which can lead to their deaths. And straws are wasteful. Plastic doesn’t break down, so it doesn’t become part of the natural cycle again. Plastic breaks up, into smaller and smaller pieces, which remain and then become part of the food chain.” Over one million birds are killed by plastic every year, many by straws. Paper straws were popular through the 1960s until plastic straws replaced them — and thus began the  fixation with plastic straws. In the present day, plastic straws make up 99% of the global drinking straw market, with paper, glass, and metal straws making up the other 1%. Why are plastic straws  not recyclable?. They  are made from polypropylene, which is a byproduct of petroleum, a fossil fuel that requires an incredible amount of energy and natural resources to extract and refine. Size is the biggest barrier to straw recycling. As plastic travels down conveyor belts while being sorted, small items like bottle caps and straws fall through the cracks and end up being sent to the landfill. What do to? First – just refuse it! Ask the waitron not bring you a straw Second – use an alternative. You can purchase a packet of paper straws to carry with you, or a re-usable straw made of bamboo, glass, or stainless steel . Third – ask the restaurant or shop to kindly stop using plastic straws. You can ask the waitron for the contact details of the manager and ask him or her. Fourth – share this video on social media. Believe me, you will NEVER use a straw again! #strawssuck #thelaststraw #beatplasticpollution #greenanglicans References https://livegreen.recyclebank.com/column/because-you-asked/what-s-so-bad-about-plastic-straws https://www.iol.co.za/capetimes/news/aquarium-makes-a-strong-case-against-deadly-straws-12762824

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Matthew 6:26 The problem with plastic bags Birds often mistake pieces of  plastic bags for food, filling their baby chicks  with toxic debris. They  start out as fossil fuels and end up as deadly waste in landfills and the sea. Turtles main food is jelly fish, so they see the floating plastic bag, swallow it and are unable to spit it out. Fish eat thousands of tons of plastic , which then goes up the food chain to bigger fish and marine mammals. Tiny particles called microplastics are also consumed by people through fish and other food . Globally, we are each eating  the equivalent of a credit card of plastic every week,1 and it’s expected that there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2050.2 This bad news is getting worse as the fossil fuel industry – seeing oil sales fall due to electric vehicles is planning to increase plastic production by 40% in the next decade, and are building petrochemical plants to boost production. Here are a few facts about single- use plastic bags The good news Over one hundred countries now have a total or partial ban on plastic shopping bags, which goes to show we can live without them! So, let’s take one little step this Lent and give up plastic bags for good! Get yourself a strong shopping bag and off we go!  Save a baby bird today! https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/04/05/really-encouraging-plastic-bag-bans-work-say-campaigners-where-is-europe-lagging-behind https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/plastic_bag_facts.html

Is plastic bad? Actually plastic itself is a very useful product and we find it everywhere , furniture, in cars, in clothing.  In many cases it can be re-used over and over even for decades. It’s disposal is a problem, but the major problem that we are facing globally is with single -use plastic What is single-use plastic? Single-use plastic, otherwise known as disposable plastic, is bad. Even if the plastic item is marked as recyclable, if it’s designed to be thrown away then it’s single-use as 90% of plastic is never recycled after it’s discarded. Single-use plastic, or disposable plastic, is any plastic item that is used once, and then thrown in the trash. The most common single use plastics that end up in our oceans are: plastic bottles; styrofoam takeaway containers; straws; plastic packaging materials; plastic cutlery and plastic shopping bags What is the big issue with single use plastic? In this fast paced, consumer culture that we live in, big companies have convinced us that single use plastic is necessary.  These items don’t biodegrade, they just break down into tiny micro particles that contaminate our environment. Is recycling the answer? Only 9% of plastic waste gets recycled. The rest is either burned or dumped. The single-use plastic trade and resulting plastic pollution disproportionately affects poorer and disadvantaged communities Unfortunately, the Covid 19 pandemic saw an unprecedented surge in single-use plastics entering production as consumers demanded that foodstuffs and other products be protected from the virus by plastic. Unfortunately many of those products continue to be unnecessarily covered in plastic. Single use plastic is a human rights issues Do not take advantage of a worker who is poor and needy Deut 24:14 Single use plastic ends up in at risk communities with poor waste services as corporates make a fortune. Developed nations export their waste to countries in the global south Vulnerable waste pickers try to use the  to make a meager living. Big business is aware of this but is taking very little real action to stem the tide of single-use plastic that they contribute to the problem. Imagine the profit in a bottle of coca cola? – which is basically selling flavoured water. A waste picker needs to collect 300 bottles to be able to buy a loaf of bread. Corporations making their profit with single use plastic  need to subsidize the work of waste pickers to create a decent wage

“May the God of hope fill you” Romans 15:13 There is no doubt that the situation we are facing is very dire, climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. This leads many people to suffer from eco -anxiety One of the things that we as Christians bring to the environmental movement is hope. We are not blindly optimists. In the words of Archbishop Tutu – we are not optimists – we know how bad things are , we face the reality – we are prisoners of hope.  We are prisoners of hope because we are resurrection people, we know that after death comes life. We believe in the renewal of this earth. Stories of doom and gloom do not inspire people to act and so today we encourage you to watch this inspirational video and share with us other stories of hope and inspiration from your context Today watch and share the story of two teenage girls in Bali who had a vision and did not give up! “We said when is someone going to do something about this problem- and then we realised that we are that someone”