Sharon’s family avoid pesky plastic with some DIY creativity

How a mum of three was stirred to take action

Sharon had always tried to make the right choices when shopping for her family. However after each week she noticed her recycling bin filling up with plastic packaging. After hearing about the low recycling rates and environmental pollution problems with plastics, Sharon was really keen to final an alternative and felt she owed it to her children. Friends had told her about Plastic Free July two years ago and she decided now was the time for her family to take action.

Make it yourself and skip the plastic packaging

Sharon decided to start making food and household items herself as a way to avoid single-use plastic. Some of the products she now makes herself include yoghurt, ricotta cheese, baked goods and home cleaning supplies.

“It took a bit of practice and organisation but now it is so much easier and cheaper than going and buying it from the shops,” Sharon said. “The items I make last longer and I know what ingredients are going into them! I also don’t have a pile of plastic to sort out at the end of each week.”

Sharon has also seen how interested her kids have become in living plastic free.

“They understand why we need to remove plastic from our lives and have really embraced the challenge,” she said.

Sharon’s plastic free household

Sharon’s commitment to living plastic free has seen her household say no to single-use plastic! In fact, her resourcefulness has shown her kids that avoiding plastic waste is not a challenge anymore, but a way of life. Sharon and her family always plan ahead before they buy, are better organised and are getting pretty savvy in the kitchen too!