In this blog there are going to be 7 top tips on how to cut down or completely out pointless plastic, most people aren't aware of how much plastic they consume a day even to the things you shower with, brush your teeth with, drink and eat from so hopefully after reading through this you will be more informed and conscious of how to go about not using plastic.
7 Top Tips...
1. Bottles, bottles and more bottles 🚫
The main waste of plastic that people know and understand about is the waste of plastic bottles, with that being said it has become clear from studies that only 1 in five bottles are disposed of correctly. Over 38.5 million bottles are used every day in the UK alone and 16 million of those are to be found to be put into landfills or manage to work their way into our oceans, when 'recycling' a plastic bottle that you have used it is not always certain that it is going to be reused into something else so to cut back on the use of plastic bottles can help decrease the chances of this happening. The main way of cutting out using plastic bottles is to buy a reusable coffee cup or stainless steel bottle that can manage to keep cold drinks cold for up to 24 hours.
Fact: Plastic bottles can take up to 450 years to fully decompose
Reusable bottles and coffee cups: https://www.chillysbottles.com/
2. Foil < Cling Film 🗑
Although cling film is a form of plastic, not many people know this but it cannot be recycled. Due to the chemicals that it is made with it makes it extremely difficult to recycle and strip the chemicals for it to be used for something else, a replacement that is very easy to stick to instead of buying cling film, replacing it with tin foil. Aluminium foil (also known as tin foil) is the same for what is used for cans and can be recycled and used for something else, the main factor when cooking food or storing food in tin foil is to make sure that you thoroughly wash the foil before putting it in your recycling bin.
3. What happened to the Milk Man? 🍼
Another liquid used daily for most people is milk, it has been found that 5.5 billion litres of milk are sold each year in the UK alone. Only 3% of that 5.5 billion litres is milk that is being delivered to peoples doorsteps meaning that the other 97% is milk people are buying from the stores. When going to your supermarket and buying cows milk it is certain that it is going to be contained in a plastic bottle and this is due to keeping it fresh for as long as possible. So, what can be done if you prefer to have cows milk over any other milk? Get it delivered to your house! With the website 'Find me a milkman' you just type in your postcode and it will give you a list of all of your local milk deliveries, having milk delivered to your house will mean it will be contained in a glass bottle and can be sterilised and reused up to 25 times before being recycled so a huge way of cutting out another piece of pointless plastic.
http://findmeamilkman.net/
4. Smoking isn't the only killer 🚬
Smoking isn't the only thing that is bad for the environment, one that many people do not know about is plastic lighters. One way of making sure you're not just chucking away those cheap £1 lighters is by investing in a reusable lighter, one company that sells good quality reusable lighters is 'Zippo'. Prices start from £23 which does seem quite pricey for a lighter but if you count up how many throwaway £1 lighters you will buy in a lifetime you'll save yourself a lot of money in the long run and also help the environment too!
https://www.zippo.co.uk/164-lighters
5. Love to shop? Don't forget the bags 🛍
In 2015 the UK government introduced a law for any supermarkets or large stores to charge any customers 5p for a plastic carrier bag to decrease the use of plastic bags hoping that the customers will bring their own reusable bags to shop with instead. The main culprit for when customers use plastic bags is packaging fruit & veg, many larger stores provide free small plastic bags to hold the food in or already comes stored in so a good tip is to bring your own small reusable bags to put the loose food in. The government are still working towards decreasing plastic waste with the scheme 'A cleaner greener Britain' with a 25-year environmental strategy, not all retailers have to charge their customers 5p for a plastic bag so the main change is to make sure that every single store that offers bags charges their customers. Plastic-free aisles are looking at being introduced too so if you do like to store your fruit and veg in something make sure to take a small reusable bag with you!
The 25-year plan: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/25-year-environment-plan
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/73241/Carrinet-Veggio-Reusable-Fruit-and-Veg-Bags-Pack-of-5
6. Everyday essentials 🚿
Ever realised how much plastic you use on a daily basis? Most people have at least 2-3 plastic bottles in their showers or baths, usually a plastic toothbrush, mouthwash, deodorant and also make-up. That's a lot of plastic just for a daily routine! A shop I highly recommend shopping in that takes plastic free to an extreme (in a good way) is Lush, they sell most of what is listed above but in a way that doesn't involve any plastic. Shampoo bars, deodorant sticks, 'naked' shower gels, mouthwash tabs and also solid facial cleansers are all available online from the Lush website. Another thing mentioned was plastic toothbrushes, you are advised by your dentist to chuck away your toothbrush every 3-4 months, that is 4 toothbrushes every year that take up to 400 years to decompose EACH, that is 1,600 years just to get rid of 4 toothbrushes. An alternative for plastic toothbrushes are bamboo made toothbrushes, if decomposed in your own garden correctly it should take around 4-6 months to disintegrate, if it is just thrown away it will take around 5-10 years but then again that's still an incredibly small amount of time compared to a plastic brush.
https://uk.lush.com/products/naked-shop-exclusives
Bamboo toothbrush: https://www.pearlywhiteclub.co.uk/
7. Straws Suck 🍹
The final topic that has been acknowledged a lot within the past couple of years are plastic straws, they take around 200 years to decompose and are one of the main pieces of plastic that end up in the ocean stuck in our marine life. Many bars and restaurants have now converted to using paper straws but if you're like me and don't enjoy a soggy straw then you can buy reusable bamboo straws, many also come with a carrying case so if you do go out to a restaurant or a bar and want to drink your drink with a straw you don't have to worry about carrying around a sticky straw getting on all of your belongings.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reusable-Drinking-Biodegradable-Dishwasher-Bambaw/dp/B072FBHPVB
Hopefully, this post will make you re-evaluate the plastic you use and encourage you to make a few changes in your life to cut down on pointless plastic!
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