Either Plastic Wins or We Do

The title is taken from a quote in the brilliant book by Lucy Siegle, Turning the Tide on Plastic. Just when you think you have understood the problem this book just smacks you right in the face.
It’s not like these are massive revelations but they are stark, brutal reminders of what we now face. Forget the Iron Age we are now facing the ‘Plastic Age’ (I’m paraphrasing a little again now so hope Lucy doesn’t mind ).
My own background has been in food manufacturing, moving from buying to marketing to sales and category management, each role aimed at continually growing big business and seemingly offering ‘consumers’ what they need. Each and every product enrobed in plastic. Plastic is the very skin of consumerism¹. Plastic has somehow colonised the supermarket shelves¹. This is not dramatic or apocalyptic this is the truth of the mammoth task ahead. Plastic is part of our everyday lives, its embedded in us just like it’s embedded in our coastlines and waterways.
The Refillery has been created because the very organisations that have got us into this mess are not going to get us out of it. Committing to targets in 2030 or even 2025 is just not good enough, or fast enough. We need a choice now and we’re certainly going to get that in Edinburgh. In Marchmont (New Leaf), in the West End (Eco Larder), in Newington (us) and now Leith Walk (Weigh To Go) we have the choice to decide who wins, plastic or us!