Ashaab

Goodbye plastic (for now)

I am starting an experiment to see if it's possible to give up plastic for a month. By "give up" I mean not buying anything containing plastic or wrapped in plastic.

So no more water bottles, take-away coffees or pre-packed sandwiches. No quick trips to the corner shop for a pack of chicken and some yoghurts for dinner. And I'll be switching to reusable nappies for my toddler.

I will, however, be able to keep the plastic I already own but even so it is going to be very difficult.

Synthetic plastics have been around for a century and widely used for just 50 years but in that time they have become integral to our modern lifestyles.

But despite plastic's usefulness, we also throw it away in huge amounts. Most of the UK's plastic waste ends up in landfill where it will take hundreds of years to break down.

Environmentalists and cash-conscious councils who have to pay for landfill are calling for consumers to reduce their use of plastic where possible.

I will be seeing what happens if I try to take that to the extreme.