How to make 2018 the year of cleaner eating

Clean eating means thinking about your impact on the environment too, says Samuel Fishwick
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We're living in a waste land. Your coffee cups are killing the planet, say MPs who have called for a “latte levy” of 25p in bid to cut cup waste.

“The UK throws away 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups every year — that’s enough to circle the planet five-and-a-half times,” MP Mary Creagh said yesterday in her capacity as chair of the Environmental Audit Committee. The committee called for both the tax and a “revolution in recycling”. The quoted statistic breaks down to 5,000 cups every minute, enough to build a small house, or at least a little fort in your bedroom.

Moreover, it being a new year and therefore inevitably a new you, you’ve likely been incubating your own environmental conscience for 2018. Maybe you watched Blue Planet II last year and woke up to the plight of the planet’s oceans. Maybe you just haven’t become a hardened global-warming cynic who thinks winter is “too cold anyway”. The question is, how can you join the revolution? The fight back is on.

B.Y.O.C.

Bring your own cups. Some chains now actively encourage this: Pret A Manger customers can now get a 50p discount on the price of hot drinks if they bring their own mug as the sandwich chain bids to reduce waste. Pret has also replaced its disposable cups used in store with real beakers that can be reused. Alternatively, buy your own reusable coffee cup and take it with you at all times. Ecoffee’s are made from sustainable bamboo fibre.

Drink green tea

The nation’s favourite beverage might land us in hot water. Almost 160 million teabags are thrown away every day in the UK, and almost all are made with plastic. Britain’s biggest tea brands, including PG Tips and Tetley, use plastic polymers to make their standard bags. Instead, use paper or silk bags, or loose leaves to reduce the use of single-use plastics. Teapigs says its “soilon” “tea temples” are biodegradable.

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Get forked

According to the Marine Conservation Society, there’s been a 25 per cent increase in the amount of plastic washing up on British beaches in the past 10 years. Much of this is made up by plastic utensils. London Bio Packaging offers

an alternative in affordable, compostable, single-use utensils and food packaging — or, alternatively, buy a metal fork.

Espresso yourself

Nespresso’s aluminium capsules are one of a number of increasingly popular single-serve instant coffee pods, many of which end up in landfill. Last May they began piloting a scheme in Kensington to allow Nespresso Club members to recycle their used capsules through their council household recycling service, using special purple bags provided by the company. Kru Cafe is eco-conscious.

Know your nuts

Dairy-free milk is good for you, but apparently not so good for the planet. Like quinoa, intensive farming of the hip health staple of almond milk has been linked to droughts, with five litres of water needed to grow one almond. Try soy, flax or rice milks as non-dairy alternatives that won’t cost the Earth.

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Be an avo-warrior

The inconvenient truth about the health aficionado’s favourite fruit is that it’s fuelling environmental degradation. As a 21st-century cash crop, Instagram’s naturally occurring green filter goes on and in everything: toast, brownies, smoothies — it’s even being baked and used to make crisp alternatives.

But demand is also encouraging large amounts of deforestation in Mexico, where farmers grow them, and putting pressure on local water reserves. Seek out a Fairtrade label or switch to kale, another superfood ethically and easily grown in the UK.

Don’t be a waster

We throw away seven million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year in the UK, according to the Food Standards Agency, the majority of which could have been eaten. Don’t over-buy. The Waste & Resources Action Programme suggests taking a “shelfie” — a photo of your fridge and cupboards to remind you of what’s there.

You can follow Samuel Fishwick on Twitter @fish_o_wick.

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