PLASTIC free

Who made 3d glasses out of the coloured sheets we used to wrap gifts in as a kid? This crunchy, crinkly sounding wrap was cellophane. Great to use as packaging and I use it in my Christmas biscuit baking.

Beeswax wraps are cotton sheets covered in beeswax that you warm with your hands and wrap over the top of jars. Cheese is also great wrapped this way. At the end of its useful life, it can go in a compost bin.

Aluminium foil. Endlessly recycleable. Make sure you make balls of aluminium the size of tennis balls before you put it into the recycling bin.

Glass jars. Another endlessly reusable packing resource. Hand wash and rinse and dry in the oven at 120C for 10 minutes for good sterilisation, if you wish to avoid the chemicals used in a dishwasher.

Silicone lids and covers are a step in the right direction as they reduce single use plastics.

Not a plastic alternative as we have been plastic shopping bag free here for years, but please consider reusing your paper bags for shopping instead of buy new each time. Not only it helps the environment but our pockets as well. Personally, I prefer a cloth bag. High initial environmental costs to manufacture the cotton material but can be used and washed endlessly. If you can sew, chop up a couple of old shirts or a dress to make your bags.