As a child, I remember my maternal grandmother Gwendolyn packaging up home-cooked foods and treats in cleaned margarine tubs for anyone who wanted to take food ‘to go’. She was also very particular about cleanliness, so even packaged Zero candy bars would be wrapped in napkins and then placed in one of these containers, which would have been scalded and dried. I recall the extra servings of moist prune cake with thick white icing being stored in them too, and me being so happy to “hef'” (lift and weigh) the tub which was heavy with multiple servings!
Hardly anything went to waste then, it seemed (remember when you could return glass bottles of soda in Cayman?), as there was always another purpose for the items. Old rubbing alcohol bottles had balled up fishin’ line, Pringles and Cheetos pans were cleaned for one cents and other change money, and large pigtail “cyags” (buckets) had many uses – from storing “so’dja” crabs to serving as nighttime potties (chamber pots). Simple and economical solutions were the norm because we had no choice but to be resourceful!
Over the years I’ve found myself saving containers from different purchases to return to this way of life but please understand – I’m attracted to pretty things,g so it is a real challenge at times. What I tell myself is: “I’ve paid for these items so I might as well use them to the fullest” and this seems to help me…going back to my budget.
I happily transfer cream from tins into glass jars, use the ‘fancy’ jam jars for drinking glasses (plus, you can cover your drink if you’re taking them to go), and fill up others of varying sizes with a mix of dried fruit and nuts, herbs, and homemade salad dressings. On a recent trip to visit my paternal grandmother, “Pepita”, I also inherited a pretty glass jar that once housed a fruit juice, but it had been painted with colourful, painted polka dots. It took it up a notch and I smile inside whenever I cross it in my kitchen, now home to dried thyme. There is something comforting about looking at my humble, glass containers; I feel we have become ashamed of some of the very things that would save us from the environmental catastrophe we find ourselves facing these days because we have been raised to think that it might point to poverty, lack of class, taste, or style, or because it seems cheap or miserly.
For me, it is wastefulness that we might confront, and really assess our reasons for tossing things out without a thought. In my own life, it’s because I don’t have enough space to keep it all, and sometimes, I can just be too busy to bother. And let’s not forget that I like pretty things. But I think of my grandparents in these moments. And that helps me find the honesty, beauty, and simplicity in washing out a glass condiment jar and adding fresh flowers to it. No need to impulse-buy that gorgeous, shiny vase. Really.
Sometimes I don’t have enough space in my cupboards to keep all the glass, aluminum, and plastic containers I hoard, so I find myself using some of these containers in other ways – as small toy holders (hot chocolate containers work well for this and look ‘appropriate’ with their bright colours). These are small things, I know, but once you raise your own awareness and change your thinking, the path becomes easier to follow, and you end up with less “stuff” or at least, the stuff you end up with, you can choose to reuse. I try to remind myself that glass is always the better option, as it can be recycled over and over, whereas we know that most – around 90% – of plastic doesn’t get recycled.*
And I do try to support companies who use less packaging altogether (i.e. wrapped butter instead of a plastic tub) which I’ll share more about in my next entry.
For now, I would say, have a look around and see what you might do with what you already have. You might also set the tone for those around you this Christmas by getting creative with your packaging, reusing old boxes, containers, newspaper, or other items already in your home, perhaps with little twist to breathe new life into them. We already have everything we need; and raising our awareness helps us to see it.
Greenpeace UK site
What really happens to your plastic recycling? | Greenpeace UK