Pledge for the Planet- week 1

Pledge for the Planet Lent 2022 Lent 2022

Lent 2022 Pledge for the Planet
The members of the Circuit Eco Group will share some of their thoughts over the next 6 weeks. Many of them have made a 'pledge for the planet'; taking a particular area of their lives and make it more sustainable. They will share their highs and lows and hopefully encourage you to make a few simple changes in your household too. Maybe you could make one change this Lent..?

Pledge for the Planet week 1 – a more eco-friendly bathroom

Changing my bathroom to a more eco-friendly bathroom was easier than I thought, and I think the key for me was not to put pressure on myself to be perfect! The first thing I learnt was not to bin all of the plastic already residing in my bathroom. That plastic bin and toilet brush – keep it and reuse it for every inch of its life! Reuse! Reuse! Reuse! Plastic toothbrushes – use them to clean your bathroom before they are finally binned. Only when it's broken do you need to replace your bin or toilet brush with an eco friendly version. Some of my easier swaps for me were bottles of shower gel for soap bars and bottles of hand wash for antibacterial soap bars. I love LUSH!

Soap did however bring me my next dilemma! You know that feeling you sometimes get when you just can't do right for doing wrong? That was me... – locally sourced or vegan soaps? I soon learnt that not all soap bars are made equal. Dove, for example aren't made in the UK and not all soaps are vegan friendly. I confess after a lot of research and dithering on this the jury is still out for me. If I can buy one that is both it's a winner, if not, I look for one that ticks one of those criteria. I'm working towards improvement not perfection. I had a similar dilemma with toilet paper! There are many eco brands you can order that are made literally on the other side of the world – they offer carbon neutral delivery through offsetting over a certain value spend. An alternative is a brand made from recycled paper right here in the UK that isn't offset but carries far less air miles. Improvement not perfection. I went for the UK based option that is made from recycled paper.

I swapped out disposable sanitary towels (each plastic one is the equivalent in plastic to 6 carrier bags) and now use the bamboo ones. Bath bombs and salts in a glass bottle replaced my bubble bath and I use wheat straw disposable razors which, apart from the metal strip, are biodegradable, much like my bamboo toothbrush once the bristles have been removed. Natural sponges and wash cloths replaced synthetic sponges. Finally, to clean the bathroom I use Ocean Saver with washable rags that can be washed and reused. I'm not 100% plastic free and I'm not perfect but I do think about everything I buy before I buy it. I have saved 52 empty bottles of shower gel, 12 empty bottles of hand wash and 26 empty bottles of bubble bath heading into my recycling every year. I'm happy and it feels good to be doing my bit.

Anna

Prayer
God of endless patience and compassion, help us to see through your eyes when we expect too much of ourselves. In a world where both climate problems and solutions are complex, help us to work towards 'improvement not perfection'.
Amen