Monday 25 March 2013

New Zealand: Three successes! (one fail....ish)

*First off, apologies to anyone who is reading this blog and isn't able to see the photos. Something is off with the internet here and I can't fix it :(. When I get to Indonesia I will try again (and possibly won't be able to fix it till Canada....who knows). On to the update.*

Well I have been in NZ for just over a week now and it is about time for an update. 

Good news!!! New Zealand has a bulk section!!! Wahooo. Sad news, you can't bring your own containers....but still. On the right track! I have a photo but the internet here is so poor that it won't load :(. I will have to update that later.


I needed to get a do-dad for my camera strap so that it wouldn't fall off my wrist and my mom took me to this great store (knowing that I am plastic waste free this year). It is called David's Emporium and it is a bulk dollar store (ish)!!!! It's great! Here I am in front of this huge wall of buttons (again, I will have to update this later). You can buy as many as you need without any packaging!! Hurrah! The store really is good though.

Another exciting observation - I went out for ice cream and the product itself came in a big card board box (instead of a plastic tub). How great is that! Good work New Zealand.

The not quite success (and good thing I have a polite Canadian clause into my rules) is that I haven't quite got my family on board. If I am with them shopping (all the way to the cash register) then there is some better flexibility for not using plastic. However, if I am not part of the shopping crew then the plastic sneaks in... Since we are family I am making more of a fuss about it than I would at someone else's house (you can be less polite around family :P). They are pretty happy with reusing any plastic that comes into the house, but not as happy to eliminate buying it all together. As a "guest" I don't have a huge amount of say but I am creating a bit of a movement. I have also turned down a lot of things (chocolate and such) if it is coming in plastic. I'm not 1005 happy about it, but it is better than nothing.

Until next time...

1 comment:

  1. Be forgiving with your family - education and changing behavior does take time - work on the philosophical and environmental "buy in", then let others make their own choices = that's the best you can do - maybe see if there are also "economic" benefits to plastic-free, that's always a good argument!! Also, remember, while you are making a choice for yourself to be plastic-free, the world is not and the world is a huge place - I understand if you feel on occasion like you are just like a "drop in the ocean" with your contribution but at least your "drop in the ocean" is NOT plastic!! Chin up = your efforts are not going unnoticed!!

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