PORTFOLIO

Throughout Harvest I have personally changed my habits around single use plastics to see how easy or difficult these changes would be for people in their day to day lives. Turns out it’s quite easy to make a few small swaps, and there’s an added bonus of having  positive conversions with others about ways to reduce waste.

Some of the items I got include a reusable hot drinks flask from Starbucks, where they give 25% off if you bring in your own cup and there are three Starbucks around the high street and university in Preston. The other reusable cup I got is stainless steel and has a straw (this took a while to find), this has had impact at my work as I spoke about it, and my lunchbox, which is made from plant material, and more of my colleagues have now got reusable bottles which has caused a decrease in the amount of plastic water bottles we go through in the shop.

I have also switched to ‘Naked’ hair products and other Lush products to reduce on plastic and so I can take back ant plastic pots I have from there. When I went to buy these from the store I had a conversations with the person behind the till about other reusable items as I explained I didn’t need a bag as I had my own. She told me where she got her stainless steel straws from and I said how much I liked the Lush concept of naked products so it was a very positive conversation about waste reduction.

I also purchased a bamboo cutlery set from Amazon which did include a stainless steel straw and once again this created a positive conversation with a waitress who asked where I had got it as she wanted one herself.  I have had other conversations about the reusable bags I have and my compostable rubbish bags which we use for food waste to compost at my house.

The small changes I have made have reduced my waste slightly but it is a start that I think many people can make. It has also started conversations and had knock on effects to the people around me.

From this I have seen how small changes can make a bigger difference and how if it is shown as possible and easy then others will join in as well. For Harvest this has been successful as it shows that the concept of educating the public to make changes and giving shops the foundations to reduce waste it can make a difference and on a high street it could make a massive difference. The many conversations I have ad with people about reducing waste have also shown that it is a common interest and a community within a city could be established based on this interest in reducing waste. I think that people just need to be shown the options available for them to make changes rather than the convenience of plastic currently given to them which is where Harvest can make the difference.