Was it a plastic–free Lent?
At the beginning of Lent, I put it out there that I was trying, so far as is possible, to live plastic– free. A couple of things had caught my imagination. First, like so many people, I watched the ‘Blue Planet’ series, and was saddened to see the devastation of plastic in our oceans. I also remembered being in Northern Argentina, and seeing plastic flying around in what were potentially beautiful villages. This plastic could take 450 years to biodegrade. And then, I heard a friend on the Tearfund theological committee say that his family were trying to live plastic–free. So, I set off on the forty days, with a goal in view, which I knew (like most lenten goals) was never perfectly achievable!
The first thing that struck me was the ubiquity of one–use plastic packaging, specially in supermarkets. They were everywhere! One supermarket sent me a birthday message to say that a bottle of wine was there for me to collect free. Off I went, not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth. When I got there, I thought I should buy some other things to take the bad look off getting the wine free! Well, all I could find in the whole supermarket was two bunches of daffodils for my wife (which proved in the end to have a plastic label), a pork pie, a bag of coffee beans, and a glass bottle of sparkling orange. I admit I gave a wee lecture to the person on the till on how they needed to up their game –and thanked them for the free wine!
And so it has gone on, from trying to buy bread and vegetables without packaging, to re–using those awful cups that are a mix of plastic and paper, to my most recent attempt to find Easter eggs without endless plastic packaging. Quite honestly, this Lent has been an amazing awareness–raising exercise, the like of which I haven’t known since we all spotted that smoking was a bad idea!
This is all gathering steam. Supermarkets are beginning to realise that they need to find biodegradable packaging, and to simplify packaging in general, which we are all paying for anyway.
I plan to go on with my slightly grumpy but liberating campaign. And in doing so, I remember that the Lord has entrusted the creation to humans, not to use selfishly, and certainly not to waste. Maybe others would like to join me!
Bishop Harold