Are you planning to give up something for Lent this year?

Have you ever given up something for Lent? It can be a good way to reflect on your daily habits and the difference between what we genuinely need and what we simply desire. It’s traditional to give up things like chocolate or biscuits, but what about choosing to give up something like clingfilm or plastic bags? Soft plastics like these are not easy to recycle and therefore usually end up in landfill. What other, more sustainable storage solutions are there? What about storing food items in washed out jam jars, or covering bowls with waxed wraps?

My plan this year is to stop every time I reach for the clingfilm, ask myself how my Granny would have stored this item.

Maybe at the very least, we can say a prayer for all those most badly affected by our overuse of plastics, including those in the poorest countries trying to sort out our plastic waste and all the creatures of the oceans poisoned by plastic.