The 12 correct answers
1. Regular toilet roll was swapped for toilet roll made from recycled paper.
2. Soap made from palm oil was swapped for a soap made from natural ingredients.
3. Soap in plastic packaging was swapped for hard soap wrapped in paper.
4. Meatballs made from beef were swapped for vegan spiced amazeballs.
5. Regular oats were swapped for organic oats.
6. Oats in plastic packaging were swapped for oats in paper packaging.
7. Oranges packaged in plastic netting were swapped for loose fruit.
8. Imported fruit – oranges, were swapped for locally grown fruit – apples.
9. Flavoured water was swapped for a bottle of concentrated cordial. The cordial makes 10 times its volume in a drink which saves buying lots of plastic bottles of flavoured water and the cordial is made from natural ingredients.
10. Packaged mushrooms were swapped for loose.
11. Swapped a plastic tub of butter for paper wrapped butter.
12. Refused the bought cakes (we have the ingredients in the trolly to make homemade flapjacks!)
Red Herrings:
We made 3 additional swaps based on choosing alternatives to plastic.
- Swapped plastic bottle of syrup for tinned syrup.
- Swapped sugar in a plastic bag for a box of sugar.
- Swapped plastic bottle of mayonnaise for a glass jar of mayonnaise
Whilst the box of sugar looked like a better choice of packaging, the sugar was still contained in a plastic bag inside the box so in fact the overall packaging was greater than just buying the plastic bag of sugar.
Glass bottles and tins weigh more than plastic packaging. This results in a higher carbon footprint from transporting the extra weight. Sometimes opting for the plastic packaging is the more eco-friendly choice. Instead you could use our recipe to make your own mayonnaise!