Plastic free mind

I wandered down to the Merri Creek this morning – no matter how long it’s been the creek always welcomes me back from whatever digital diversion that has kept me away.

“Where’ve you been,” the muddy water, the yellow wattle flowers and wattlebirds ask.

The winter flood had left its usual trove of rubbish on the banks and in the low branches.

Since I can remember my old man has been a compulsive litter picker-upper. It appears to be a genetic condition.

Pre-programmed I gather random bits of polystyrene, muddy shopping bags, a crushed Jack Daniels UDL can, two lighters (one working), a laminated respectful behaviour poster from Coburg Primary School and a used plastic dog poo bag.

The poo bag, half buried in the mud, says so much about our human condition.

We pick up after our dogs for fear of a public poo-shaming but once our pride is preserved and we’re out of view we slyly dump the plastic bag, tragically preserving a cavoodle turd for a thousand years

My arms are full of flotsam but there’s still an easy dozen wheelie bins of litter left over.

I don’t get it.  Where does it all come from?

Sometimes I suspect that the zombie apocalypse is actually happening right now.

Park yourself for a while at your local shopping centre and observe – hoards of us are stumbling about, heads down lost in smartphones, food wrappers and drink containers unconsciously falling from our hands.

And is the convenience of rocking up to a supermarket, cafe, footy game, school fete, doctors waiting room, children’s party and thoughtlessly demanding a plastic bag, cup, container for our shopping, food and beverages also turning us into the walking dead?

Getting away from single-use plastics are a challenge at Fair Food.

We’re always getting better but there’s no one solution – even the eco-cellophane home-compostable bags we pack your bulk items in are still single use items.

This is what Fair Food is doing;

– we don’t put your produce in plastic if it doesn’t need to be
– we don’t stock products we feel are over-packaged
– we are a founding retailer for Schulz milk in glass bottles (more stock coming)
– and most of all we encourage you to send back boxes, eskies and bottles to be reused (no box left behind, no box left behind….)