Notes from a seaside town

I recently found myself in the delightful seaside town of Whitstable for my
friend Nicola's wedding. Completely by chance, it took on the dual purpose of
eco-friendly, plastic-free research trip. This was a town that was speaking my language. Or, should I say, a town that was already fluent in the language that I've been trying to get to grips with. Compared to Whitstable, I'm still at the "Hello, my name is Sophie" level. But Whitstable knows all the verb tables and probably understands what the past participle is. You get the analogy. So I tried to pick up some tips and tricks during my visit.

This is much prettier than a plastic bottle!
And can also be found in the sea.

Upon arrival, my airbnb host showed me into the kitchen where she gave me a glass bottle of water. She proclaimed that she is trying to go plastic-free and that water bottles are an easy place to start. Amen. I really must buy a reusable bottle. I've got my eye on a zingy number from Chilly's – there is a style of bottle on this website to suit every possible taste.

Two fun facts: on average, we each get through 150 plastic bottles per year, and 10 percent of the rubbish in the Thames is made up of plastic bottles. I tend to re-use bottles, so I think I get through about 10 each year. But that's still 10 plastic bottles sitting in the bin, as the popular song goes.

After dropping off my suitcase, I took to the sunny high street to have a mooch. The first shop I went into combined charming, second-hand items with modern products that were pretty much universally eco-friendly. There were soft bamboo face cloths claiming to be naturally antibacterial. There were bamboo straws in a range of sizes, complete with cleaning sticks reminiscent of mini Victorian chimney sweep brushes. There was a tiny, tiny jar of toothpaste that I couldn't resist.

Reader, I bought them all. 

This truthpaste cost £3.90. Honest.

The little bundle of bamboo cloths contained five for £6.50. The idea is that I'll never again need to buy cotton wool pads – which are wrapped in plastic. For almost twenty years (jeez) I've had a facial routine that is not to be messed with. I get through a minimum of six cotton wool pads each day. There are 100 pads in a packet so I use roughly two packets each month. These delightful cloths will stop me from throwing away 24 plastic packets each year. Result! 

After the first week of using the bamboo cloth I did actually break out in spots... which was not a highlight of my eco-friendly journey. But there is one simple way to avoid that: WASH the actual cloth. That week I also got a few bits of bamboo fluff in my eyes. My advice on how to avoid that is along similar lines: wash the cloth before you wash yourself. Whoever said this blog isn't full of incredibly useful information? You're welcome. 

It turns out you can get these little gems through Tabitha Eve
as well as in that cute shop in Whitstable.

The cloth removes make up nicely, but black mascara can turn it into something of a Dalmatian. My new method is to give the cloth a rinse after each use. It should be dry by the time you need it again. Throw it in the washing machine when it starts to look a bit mottled.

I do still need cotton wool pads for removing nail varnish. I don't fancy the bamboo cloth's chances against my glittery colour combinations. So this isn't quite the last cotton wool packet but at least it's a reduction for now. 

And the truthpaste? It tastes like the dentist, which I'm sure is a sign of its cleansing properties. It doesn't foam up but it does leave the mouth feeing refreshed. I'm heading to the dentist soon, so I might strike up a conversation about eco-friendly toothpaste. I will report back. 

My next scheduled activity was to chill out on the beach. I know, it's a hard life, but it's all in the name of research. This is where a book recommendation comes in. I took with me Lucy Siegle's Turning the Tide on Plastic, which I will now be quoting from forever more. Fun fact: in the UK we get through 5 million tonnes of packaging each year and we only have the capacity to recycle
7 percent of that. What happens to the other 93 percent? Well, in Colombo in April 2017, a 90-metre mountain of waste collapsed and killed 23 people. It seems that our rubbish doesn't even go in the ground any more. Remember when we used to get upset that rubbish went into landfill? Those were the days... 

Turning the Tide on Plastic proposes an eight-step plan
of how we can deal with plastic. Recycling is the final step.

I am pleased to report that I didn't see a single speck of litter during my time on this beach. A part of me did want to find something so that I could pick it up and put it in the bin – proudly marking the moment I joined the league of beach cleaners the world over. But there was nothing. Well done, Whitstable, bloody well done. I'll just have to start my beach cleaning crusade elsewhere.

Nicola and Joe's wedding was beautiful, and the sun shone, and we ate and danced, and all was well. And Nicola herself is extremely well-versed in saving the planet. She runs a sustainable illustration business from home, Howell Illustration. As well as beautiful prints and artworks, her website also includes lots of eco-friendly tips of her very own. As favours, guests were given the plants that had lined the aisle earlier in the day. Such a nice idea. I even ate all of my dinner. How's that for zero waste?

As fate would have it, the next day was also awash with entertainment. It was Harbour Day in Whitstable, so I ate my fair share of fresh seafood and listened to perhaps more than my fair share of sea shanties. I wandered aboard a cargo ship and a member of the crew told me that their next mission was to take broken glass to Antwerp for recycling. Cool. 

The Marine Conservation Society had filled a washing line with rubbish collected from the sea. So that's where it all was. And when I asked a lady if I could refill my bottle at her food stall, she pointed me towards the public water refill point. Is there anything this town can't do?

Apparently there are refill stations all over the country!
Download the Refill app to find a refill station near you. Nifty.

That evening the carnival marched into town. In amongst the majorettes and carnival queens were giant paper maché sea creatures waving placards encouraging us to save the ocean – the ocean that was a mere stone's throw away.

All in all, this was probably the most eco-friendly weekend of my life so far. Whitstable provided me with food for thought, food for the belly and a couple of good ideas for reducing my plastic footprint. In fact, perhaps I should rebrand this post A love letter to Whitstable.