{"id":1594,"date":"2018-09-05T17:09:25","date_gmt":"2018-09-05T16:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/copyright.lboro.ac.uk\/life\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2018-09-05T17:09:25","modified_gmt":"2018-09-05T16:09:25","slug":"loughborough-sustainability-go-plastic-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lboro.ac.uk\/life\/campus\/loughborough-sustainability-go-plastic-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Loughborough Sustainability go plastic free"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Loughborough University Sustainability Team<\/a> ditched the disposables, cut the cartons and shunned the straw as they took on the Marine Conservation Society\u2019s #GoPlasticFree challenge.<\/em><\/p>\n

From making oat milk to leaving a shop hungry, the team faced highs, lows and a lot of challenges. Here\u2019s what they had to say of the experience\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Ever since David Attenborough highlighted the issue of plastic waste during Blue Planet II, it seems you can\u2019t escape the issue in the news.<\/p>\n

We use single-use plastics for just about everything, from cleaning our teeth and showering, to buying and storing our food and other products.<\/p>\n

It is durable and lightweight, but it\u2019s these properties that allow it to persist in the environment for hundreds of years. So, it\u2019s no surprise we see our beaches littered with plastic.<\/p>\n

At the start of July, we, the Sustainability Team, embarked on a journey to try and reduce our plastic consumption for a month.<\/p>\n

We hit the ground running with plenty of excitement and ideas for the challenge ahead.<\/p>\n

In the first week we had signed up to milk deliveries, found local butchers who would put the meat directly in a container, shopped at a local market and made our own bread and oat milk. Not a bad first week!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all smiles though; Jo (Shields, Sustainability Manager) was left hungry when she couldn\u2019t find any plastic free food from M & S on the way back from a course<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Tesco refused to put meat into a container, and your choices dramatically dropped when shopping for a plastic-free meal.<\/p>\n

Yes, supermarkets do sell loose vegetables and yoghurts in glass jars, but it\u2019s at a premium and when shopping on a budget for a family this isn\u2019t always viable.<\/p>\n

As the month developed and our drive to succeed waned, we found ourselves asking several questions:<\/p>\n