Want to know how to say no to plastic? Here are 8 simple ways you can avoid plastic in your day to day life, and help the environment.
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Plastic free July was started over 11 years ago by people who wanted to help raise global awareness of the issues and damage plastic can and is doing to our planet. Throughout these 11 years, over 300 million people have now signed up to help do their bit in reducing plastic waste. If you want to sign up, you can do so here. It might sound like a huge task and that one person can’t really do that much to help. One plastic free tea bag at a time! However, just think if everyone thought that way. If everyone does what they can to be plastic free, that’s a start at least!
What Can You Do For Plastic Free July?
There are actually many ways you can do your bit to help this plastic free July. Instead of getting overwhelmed with everything. Maybe pick just one or two simple things to start with.
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Look around your home. Are there things you could be doing, or doing better when it comes to plastic waste? No one is thinking you should go from 0 to 100 overnight. It takes time to change your outlook on being eco-friendly and implement it in to your daily life.
Here are a few ideas to get you started…
Re-useable Bottles, Straws, Cups & Mugs
Swap your one use water bottle for a re-useable one. These days there are so many varieties of re-useable water bottle you can choose from. So do a little research and find one that’s suitable for you.
You could even continue to use your one use water bottle for something else. Give it a new lease of life. Perhaps to plant seeds in to start growing your own fruits and veggies. Simply chop the top off and there you have a little plant pot! Or, if you’re creative, you could use it to water your house plants.
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If you like a mug of tea or coffee while you’re out and about. Remember to take your re-useable, sustainable coffee mug, or get yourself one. If you think about it, you might get one cup of coffee a day while you’re at work. So just from not opting for a throw away plastic coffee cup, you’re saving the planet 260 cups a year! Just think if we all started doing this.
Another very simple swap to make would be to get yourself a re-useable straw, or choose not to use one use straws. If you’re at a bar and they offer you a plastic straw, simply decline. No one really needs a straw to enjoy a beverage anyway!
Zero Waste Groceries
These days, there are more and more companies offering zero waste when it comes to your groceries and pantry staples. Companies send you your shopping in glass jars, which they then come and collect once you’ve decanted your goods in to your own jars and containers.
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OK, so you might not YET be able to do your entire food shop this way but again, it’s a great place to start. Things like bags of pasta, rice, grains, pulses, sugar, flour…etc. All items you can buy in bulk and store in a garage or pantry. All items that normally come in plastic packaging when it really doesn’t have to. The company we have been using it Good Club. They offer a wide rage of zero waste products that they deliver to your door, and collect. You can also try them for 30 days FREE to see if you like their products/service before committing to anything.
Also, we have a £15 off voucher for you if you do give it a try – goodclub.co.uk/j/beckydim76b – Simply add it at the checkout.
Zero Waste Shop – Shop Local
By saying shop local, we don’t mean go to your nearest corner shop. Instead try doing as much of your food shop at a local farmer’s market, or organic food shop where you can take your own jars to refill. Again, more and more of these are popping up all over the place so hopefully you should be able to find a plastic free shop near you. Try searching on the internet – plastic free shop near me – and see what comes up. I think’ll be surprised at how many there are these days. OK, so a farmer’s market might not be a plastic free shop, but you can opt not to take anything in plastic.
A very simple swap to make would be with the milk you drink. Instead of buying the plastic milk cartons from a supermarket. You could sign up to get milk delivered to your door via your local milkman. Most will either deliver on a specific day of the week, or you can pick which days you’d like them to come. They drop off the milk in a glass milk bottle, which you then place out to be collected the next time they come to drop off your next delivery.
The great thing about this is that you don’t even have to leave the house to get your milk anymore, and you’re doing your bit for the environment by cutting down on your plastic. The company we have been using to do this is Milk & More who also deliver baked goods, fresh fruits and vegetables and even drinks and pantry items. They even offer dairy free milks too!
Do Your Research
When it comes to how to say no to plastic, research should be your best friend. You might be surprise to know how many items have plastic in that you’d never think to check. Even items such as tea bags can have plastic in them. A lot of the bags are heat sealed, so using plastic in the bags makes them easier to seal. However, there are more companies offering plastic free tea bags now so double check before you buy! Opting for plastic free tea bags would be such a simple one to start with as you likely wouldn’t even notice the difference.
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There are even quite a few companies that offer to re-use their plastic packaging if they aren’t able to swap it out for something more environmentally friendly. You simply send back your empty, clean packaging to them and they re-use it, and turn it in to something new. If you’re not sure, just ask the brand you’re enquiring about.
Change Your Diet
Did you know that by changing your diet to a Vegan diet is a HUGE step in reducing your carbon footprint. Plus, if you aren’t buying meats and dairy products anymore, it’s likely you’ll automatically reduce your plastic footprint as well.
Monitor Your Plastic Recycling
I bet if you were to look at how much plastic you used in your home each month you would be shocked. Our plastic recycling bag would once be filled to the top. And although that’s great that we were recycling so much. Actually less than 50% of the plastic that’s sent to recycling centres actually gets recycled. If ANY of your plastic is contaminated with other liquids, food substances…etc, they will be rejected and sent to landfill.
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Grocery Bags
Buying a plastic bag from a supermarket is one of the most wasteful things you can do. OK, so sometimes we might forget to bring our bags from home but ask yourself. Do i really need a bag for this shop or could i carry the bits to the car instead just this once?
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Ideally, you’ll have your own re-useable bags to take with you when you go shopping so you don’t have to buy any plastic bags. Even when the cashier asks if you want a bag, or goes to put your items in a bag. You can always refuse and let them know you have your own.
You can even get produce bags to put your loose apples, carrots…etc in to if you do go to a supermarket. They are little mesh type bags you can use again and again. You simply weigh out your items and place them in to your little produce bags, as you would do with the little plastic bags they provide. You can get all shapes and sizes to fit all your fruits and veggies.
Make Your Own
Another great way to reduce your plastic footprint is to make it yourself. Instead of buying fruits and vegetables, could you create your own little veggie garden instead? Homegrown taste so much better than store bought! Or, perhaps you could make your own gifts for friends and family. Bake your own treats instead of buying them pre-packaged in plastic. Make your own crisps in your oven or air fryer instead of buying big bags of them in plastic and foil.
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How would you say no to plastic? What will you do to help the environment? No to plastic!
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