2018 seems to be the year for many people to consider how they dispose of their plastic waste and be savvier about the waste that they are bringing into their homes.
It's safe to say that after watching David Attenborough's Blue Planet 2 at the end of 2017, that I am determined to up my recycling game and bring down my plastic waste this year...and hopefully create some habits that will keep my waste low for many years to come.
Over the past few weeks, we have been inundated with many well known companies stating that they will do their bit for the greater good when it comes to plastic waste and hopefully by 2025 our plastic waste levels will have decreased dramatically.
But what can you as the consumer do? Here are my top tips for reducing your plastic waste.
- Reusable cups and bottles are the biggest plastic issue in my household. Costa, Starbucks and many other cafes are very welcoming of people requesting to use their own cup when ordering a drink; some even have ideas in the pipelines to discount the price of their drinks for those who bring their own reusable cups and a single use cup. A 25p levy known as the 'latte levy' is on its way. Cheaper coffee is my kind of incentive to use my own cup! If you buy one each working day for a year, this 25p* 'latte levy' could save you £65 a year!
If you buy or take out bottled drinks regularly, consider buying a reusable plastic drinks bottle that will have much more wear out of it before it finds itself in the bin. I went and bought myself a reusable plastic drinks bottle for work. I would get through a minimum of 5, 1 litre bottles of flavoured water a week!! My drink bottle cost me just 3.50 from Primark and will last much longer than a single use bottle. There will soon be an influx of apps for your phone/tablet which enable you to find new 'water refill stations' so you'll never have to worry about dehydration; get your reusable bottle ready! - Shopping plastic free may seem impossible but to do this, you simply need to let go of the frozen and 'convenience foods'. Ready meals come in plastic tubs, frozen veg comes in plastic bags and pizzas come in plastic film covers. By purchasing the ingredients for the meals you buy for convenience and putting them together yourself, you could cut out a huge amount of plastic being brought into your home; it really doesn't take too much longer and making something yourself brings so much satisfaction.
This is also applicable to other items you pick up at the shops. Forget your bottled water; here in the UK we are lucky enough to not need to buy water in bottles. Switch your squash for a powder form and eliminate those giant plastic bottles. Buy your juices and milk in cartons (or reusable glass bottles from your local milkman), purchase your laundry/washing detergents in cardboard boxes and pick out things like bars of soap instead of bottled soap to avoid yet another plastic bottle. - Straws and disposable cutlery/crockery is preventable and is also going to find itself with a levy. Users will be charged for the use of these items in the same way we're now charged a levy for our plastic bags. I personally don't use these items and have now banned my other half from having plastic straws in the house. There are many alternatives to these items. Obviously your everyday cutlery can be reused (yes it means that you'll have to carry it around and wash it yourself) and there are now many glass or aluminium straws on the market which can be reused again and again. Paper straws are a good alternative for those who cant live without them, and paper plates, cups and other crockery is a better choice over plastic.
- Bathrooms are a plastic heaven with all the different bottles, tubes and tubs of lotions and potions. Lush now do a range of "bottle free/naked" products. I've tried out a shower gel, shampoo and conditioner from this range and the reviews will be coming soon. Hopefully enough people opt for the packaging free options and Lush and many other companies continue to add more to the plastic free range. Baby/Cotton buds (and lollipops) are now available in paper stick form. Gone are the days of wasteful plastic sticks that end up in our oceans.
- Use refill stations and bulk bins. This is something I have never personally done or have really heard about up until a few months ago. Apparently there are tonnes of places dotted around the country that will allow you to refill your own packaging with various products or sell a variety of good that come packaging free. Don't know where these gems are hiding? Visit The Zero Waster for details on how you can find your local refill/packaging free stores and google your local farmers market which is brimming with fresh, packaging free produce.
- Switch your contact lenses for glasses or 30 day lenses. Each contact lens comes in a single plastic pouch of saline; switch to 30 day lenses if possible and eliminate 58 pieces of plastic a month!! For most, this will also save you a nice sum of money over the year. If you wanted to eliminate even more of your plastic waste, opt for glasses which will again save you money and are made with plastic that lasts.
- Ditch the disposal sanitary products!! Girls, if you use tampons and pads but disappointed that most come with a large amount of plastic and non-biodegradable waste, switching to a Mooncup might be the move you need to make. Not only will you dramatically reduce your plastic waste, you'll also have a healthier looking purse!
This single piece of silicone can be used time and time again for around 10 years! Think of all the plastic packaging, that won't be floating about, endangering our marine creatures' lives. Click here to see what I thought of the Mooncup. - Bags for life are everywhere these days. There is no excuse for using single use plastic bags anymore. Opt for a bag for life that will get a lot more use within it's lifetime or better still, use paper or fabric bags. Its also a good idea to switch your doggy doo bags for a biodegradable option as I don't recommend cleaning and reusing those!! I use Earth Rated's Doggy Bags which are slightly more expensive but are lavender scented, made from biodegradable materials and come in a 100% recycled material box.
- Stop using beauty products that contain microbeads. These microbeads are made of plastic, they spend 2 seconds on your skin and then are washed away down our drains into our water systems which leads them straight to our oceans. Any product that has “polypropylene” or “polyethylene” on the ingredients list are ones to avoid.
- Give up the gum. Not only does it come in plastic packaging, did you know that gum actually contains plastic? Gross right!! Switch to mints if you cant live without a minty fresh breath... paper packaged of course.
- Switch your disposable razors to one where you can replace the blades every so often. These are better quality so will give you better results, last longer and save you money; you'll also be doing our planet a favour!
- Lunch like an anti-plastic pro. Go and buy yourself a lunchbox that is air tight. Now, I know that most lunch boxes are made from plastic but you can get years out of them if you treat them well. This investment will mean no more clingfilm/plastic wrap, freezer/food bags which in turn reduces your plastic waste massively.
In your everyday life, you can be more mindful of what plastic you are bringing into your homes and later disposing of. Get to know your council's recycling scheme. Many of us are throwing out many types of plastic and other recyclable materials because we haven't taken a few minutes to see whether there is a better option for them than the land fill waste sites...and our oceans!!
I will be the first to admit that I will no doubt make 'plastic mistakes' and use plastic products that are frowned upon, but by being more mindful whilst the plastic options are still there, I can do my tiny bit to make a change.
Maybe next time you nip to the supermarket, choose your fruit and veg to be unwrapped or buy cartooned milk instead of plastic bottles. Treat yourself to a handful of Lush 'naked' products, carry your own cuttlery and buy yourself a reusable water bottle.
Are you cutting back on your plastic waste? Let me know your tips and tricks in the comments below.
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