Living plastic-free can seem rather daunting when you stand back and take stock of just how much plastic we are surrounded by.
One small step at a time we can all do our bit towards living without plastic … Doing something is always better than doing nothing!
Below are 10 simple examples of where we can all make a difference with minimal effort to reduce our reliance on unnecessary plastic
Table of Contents
1. Ditch the plastic bags
This still needs to be top of anyone’s list. With so many alternative options available to us, we truly believe its only a matter of time before we can ditch the supermarket plastic bag altogether.
Recent reports show a 90% drop in sales of single-use supermarket plastic bags since the 5p Tax levy was introduced. This has clearly been a phenomenal success and demonstration of just what we are all capable of.
Now isn’t the time to relax those efforts though. We must push on and keep up the good work. It is clearly quite conceivable that in the very near future we will be living without Plastic bags altogether
Carry a reusable, biodegradable bag for ALL your shopping, not just at the supermarket and preferably a woven hessian style carrier. Do be mindful though as some types are plastic lined in order to offer some water-proofing. There are plenty that
Do you forget your bags? Keep a storage container in your car, then you can always take the trolley to the car and off-load your shopping straight into the container. Then carry the container into your house.
2. Bottled Water
“bottled water companies do not produce water, they produce plastic bottles”
Give up the bottled water. You may think it’s better for you or it taste nicer. Whatever your reason for buying bottled water, the water is not the issue here, the plastic bottle is! With more and more outlets making it possible to refill a reusable water bottle free of charge, buying a bottle is madness! Just think of the resources that have to go into producing and shipping a bottle of water, which is often just filtered tap water anyway.
A BPA free reusable plastic bottle is an improvement however a reusable stainless steel bottle is the best recommendation for living without plastic bottles
3. Plastic Free Straws
Just stop it! We are all capable of lifting a drink to our mouths, tilting and taking a sip. We never really need a straw! Even with your favourite fast food beverage. Take off the lid and drink it like a regular drink.
But if for some reason you just have to have a straw, then opt for something reusable and even 100% natural too. Take a look Here
4. Buy loose Supermarket produce
Everything seems to come wrapped and packaged for our convenience. The three-pack of peppers is the classic example here, but if you look a little closer more often than not the same items are available to buy loose. Currently, the supermarkets haven’t entirely got to grips with this concept and you may find those individual loose items are a little more expensive than that pre-packaged option. But if enough of us buy loose then they’ll soon come around to meeting that demand and pricing accordingly. Whatever you do, don’t opt for loose and then use one of the thin plastic bags provided. That defeats the point entirely! KEEP IT LOOSE! Try your local Farm Shop or Market for the widest selection of loose produce.
5. Shampoo, Conditioners & Soap
You possibly didn’t even realise that there is an alternative to your bottled products. Well, there is. Shampoos and Conditioners both come in the form of bars. Very cost-effective and entirely plastic-free, including its packaging. They really are fantastic!
6. Plastic-Free Tea bags
Yes, that’s right! Even tea bags contain derivatives of plastic, Polypropylene is used to help hold the tea bag together, which is neither recyclable nor biodegradable. There are plastic-free alternatives and with us Brits getting through in excess of 60 billion cups of tea a year, that’s a lot of tea bags!
7. Take a Packed Lunch
Not only is it expensive buying lunch every day but just look at how the options available to us are surrounded by plastics.
The sandwich remains the UK’s most popular option for lunch. However, the vast majority of pre-packaged sandwiches for sale come in a rather complex packaging. Predominantly the packaging appears to be cardboard, this cardboard can often be plastic coated for durability. Then there is the little plastic presentation window. This should certainly be removed before attempting to recycle. As you can see buying your lunch is off to a bad start.
Crisps with that sandwich? Crisp packets may appear to be metallic foil and therefore recyclable, they are however a plastic-coated material and not easily recycled. There are plastic-free crisp packets out there but not widely available however Walkers have recently launched a recycling scheme, which is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. One option is to buy large quantity bags and take a handful in your pack-up each day, thus reducing the overall use of plastic as opposed to individual bags each day.
Lunch is thirsty work but don’t you dare buy a bottle of water. We’ve covered this already! Take your reusable stainless steel bottle with you.
Make a sandwich at home. Buy your bread fresh, in the paper wrapped packaging. Keep your sandwich fresh in a reusable and biodegradable Beeswax food wrap. Take some fruit, that comes already packaged by nature. Then transport your pack-up in a stainless steel, plastic-free lunch box.
8. Toilet Roll – Do you give a crap?
Recycled paper toilet roll is nothing new, and heavily promoted on its green credentials. We can applaud the effort but why then wrap your “eco” product in plastic packaging? Fortunately, there are plastic-free packaging options. There are also Zero tree options. Bamboo toilet roll is highly sustainable, growing up to 30 times faster, producing 30 times more oxygen and removing up to 35% more Carbon Dioxide than the average tree.
9. Tupperware Everywhere
Effective Food storage solutions are a game-changer. Make the switch from plastic Tupperware and learn how to use glass and stainless steel containers effectively. Reduce your reliance on plastic and reduce your food waste. That stainless steel container could be your lunch box for work the next day.
10. Plastic-free and Zero Waste shopping
More and more businesses are jumping on board and promoting a plastic-free and zero-waste shopping experience. It may be as simple as your local market or farm shop where all the produce is loose and package free. Just take a little time to find where your shopping options are and you’ll soon see how easy it can be to incorporate them into your routine and make them part of your lifestyle.