Shopping Centres. They are like hungry beasts luring us with their convenience, catchy tunes, appealing consumer goods and a sanctuary from the elements (i.e. rainy days).
When we stop in a town I loathe entering the nearest shopping centre. It is so convenient because they are always easy to find and have everything you need. But this is what happens to us - we enter and undergo processing.
Caffeine – I smell coffee beans. Ahhhhh….I need a nice brewed coffee to get me started (in a single use cup because they still won’t let me use mine…...our cup count climbs).
Consumerism - On the way to the supermarket, I pick up a few extras – that scarf I did not need (it was on a rack calling my name! and it has really gotten cold lately) and a pretty gift card I can send home to someone. I've already walked out of the shop before I've realised what I've done. I've been lured again - it's like a trance that I still get pulled into.
Excess - I do not seem to have enough reusable grocery bags. I only had a few things on my list but now I don’t need to shop for a month! Too much food!
Plastic - On my way out I grab some lunch. Before I can say ‘just in a bag (paper) please’ the sushi is placed in a plastic container and the shopkeeper is about to put that also in a ‘plastic’ bag. I politely say ‘I don’t need the bag now thanks’ even though I feel like explaining what I really meant when I asked for just a paper bag. Sigh!
So what do we do about it?
Single-use cups - We now resist a take-away coffee unless we can use our own cup. We have had two bizarre experiences; We visited a Café in Yamba to sit down for a coffee. They were delivered in single-use cups! By the look on my face, she must have thought she had served me turd juice. She said they must have run out of mugs. Weird. The next day we visited the Yamba Saturday morning markets and ordered from a coffee van. They called out my order and proceeded to hand me two coffees in single-use cups. I informed the barista that I had given the cashier my reusable cups – they were still sitting next to the till! OMG why is this happening? We are trying our hardest and saying no every time they will not accept our cups, but we still get given single-use cups. I could not believe it! Deep breath.
Consumerism & Excess - We also resist consumerism and excess at the shops because we simply do not have the space so no more shopping until my clothes fall apart. I've realised now how easy it is to fall into the trap and keep a wide berth from shopping centres where I can. I'm looking forward to shopping at all the Farmer's Markets I can find and roadside stalls. The only trouble is, sometimes it is hard to stop on some roads when towing the van. I'm going to keep my eagle eyes open when travelling in rural areas and look out for food being sold on the side of the road. If I see it ahead of me we can slow down in preparation for pulling over.
Plastic - The plastic is a parasite that is so difficult to avoid. We recycle all our soft plastics and put these in the recycle bins at Coles and Woolworths when we next visit these supermarkets. I reuse as many of the plastics as I can (e.g. bread bags, wrap bags are used to store other food in and we use our beeswax wraps and Tupperware all the time to store food in the fridge. My glad wrap roll has lasted me close to a year.
I did a bulk shop at 'The Source' in Moorochydore so I haven't bought a lot of my staples in plastic. This will reduce how much plastic is wastefully used to store food. It isn't easy but each day I am trying to think of new ways to reduce the size of our soft plastic waste. It's amazing how much of what we buy has single-use plastic wrapped around it!
With the take-away food scenario the trick is to think about how the item will be transported to you. Before I order food, I ask for it to be put into a paper bag rather than plastic (Mali often tells them we only want a paper bag and they just smile). But you must get in quick. Most people serving food have put it in a plastic container, added plastic cutlery and napkins, placed it in a bag and rung it up on the till before you have even got your wallet out. If I am too slow, I pull the item out of the plastic and return it to them informing them that I don’t need it. They need to know that it is not okay. If we simply walk away grumpy it does not change a thing.
I now carry a metal straw in my bag. I don't know how many times we have bought Mali an orange juice and it comes out with a plastic straw. Now there is no excuse.
Then there is the shake cups (i.e. boost juice etc). We do like these occasionally. I have a reusable shake container but it is so bulky I don't carry it around with me everyday and never know when we might need it. We've been caught out here and I don't have a great solution - other than getting a larger handbag.
One thing I'm noticing is how much waste a conscious family of 3 still produces. We recycle soft plastics, paper, glass, plastic and cans. We compost all our food scraps and we have general waste (although this is minimal). It's still a lot of crap going out the door and it is so much more noticeable when living in a caravan.
I see bags and bags of waste at caravan parks. Most travellers only segregate standard recyclable materials and some don't even do that (even though most campsites have great recycling facilities. Perhaps when they are on holidays they really are on holiday from even caring about the rubbish they are creating. In some ways I don't blame them - the problem is enormous. However, I can't look away. So much of it is unnecessary and so much waste can be turned into energy, put back into the earth or made into other useful materials.
We can do it better and I'd rather be part of the solution than the problem. I'm not perfect but I'm working towards a goal we can all be a part of.
Corrine
Conscious Traveller
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