Commercial's 16th Change Champions team have been taking part in a single-use plastic challenge. For two weeks they saved all their plastic waste, to highlight how much is generated at an individual level. Then they spent two weeks trying to live without single-use plastic. How did they get on?

Jude's story, part 1:

As a keen mountaineer, skier, climber and sailor I spend much of my free, leisure time outside. I have seen for myself the negative impact waste plastic has on our landscape, wildlife, seas and boat engines. More recently I was horrified to watch ‘A Plastic Voyage’ and ‘A Plastic Whale’ – both of which should be compulsory viewing.

I’ve always tried hard to reduce waste at home. In particular, I’m passionate that the food we buy should be locally sourced and seasonal. My milk is delivered to the door by Len in glass bottles. Pasta is freshly made at my local Italian deli run by father and son, Toni and Marco. I’m a veggie myself, but when I buy meat for my husband, it always comes from Barry The Butcher in Stratford-Upon-Avon. I’m a loyal, regular customer at my local farmers market. In fact, I’ve come to know one stall holder so well she’s become a family friend and came to my wedding last year.

This protocol of buying local food offers me many benefits – and notably, my regular food shop is totally plastic free. However I still need to buy other basics which despite my best efforts are still sold in a plastic container of some sort – wrapped, containerised, bottled or a combination of all three. I’m going to do my best to avoid all single-use plastic for the next two weeks – but I don’t think it’s going to be easy.