16 ways to save the planet by reducing your plastic use:

A Plastic Ocean — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zrn4-FfbXw

Plastic is vile. Plastic is a parasite destroying our planet. It’s multiplying faster than bacteria and we must act now to prevent further destruction.

“Fewer than half of the bottles bought in 2016 were collected for recycling and just 7% of those collected were turned into new bottles.

Instead most plastic bottles produced end up in landfill or in the ocean.” – stats from The Guardian.

After watching the documentary A Plastic Ocean (trailer in the image caption above), I first cried, then got angry, then got myself together… I did some research and made this list.

This list was made to keep me on track, to give me structure and rules to follow. I could no longer live with myself idly making unsustainable choices. I could no longer comfortably participate in humanity’s global plastic binge.

It’s amazing how empowered we feel when we make small changes that are part of a bigger movement towards a cleaner and greener planet. Every choice we make has an impact on the planet, so if you could make wiser, more enlightened choices, wouldn’t you?

It’s selfish to ignore this problem. As as matter of fact, it’s selfish to act now purely because of guilt that we, as humans, let the plastic situation get this bad. We must act because we owe it to future generations, to our children and grandchildren (if we have a planet sustainable for them to live on).

You don’t have to punish yourself if you vow to stick with 1 or 10 or all of these changes but you forget and slide back into old habits.

Mistakes happen… I have vowed to never use plastic straws again and then I’ve accepted cocktails with 5 or so straws in. (ugh I know, I saw that video with the straw stuck in the turtles nose and I hated it too). No more straws for me.

The point is to consciously do your best to make any of the following changes. Start from there and keep trying.

Without further adieu, here are my rules to avoiding plastic:

1. Carry a reusable shopping bag with you — in the car, in your bag, in the boot, at all times — a big canvas bag is useful
2. Use reusable sandwich bags and food containers — just wash the sandwich bags instead of throwing them after one use
3. Use bar soap instead of liquid washing up soap
4. Use refillable glass water bottles — stop buying plastic water bottles!!!
5. Don’t use plastic straws! Ask the bartender not to serve you a drink with them when you order (if you take it out once they serve it to you they will just bin it anyway, the point is for it not to be put in your drink in the first place)
6. Buy and eat fresh whole food from a market — not plastic wrapped
7. Buy wood toys instead of plastic toys for kids — lego is the worst
8. Try hemp products! E.g. hemp phone cases — just as protective as plastic
9. Don’t use plastic cutlery, and don’t buy products that contain them (it’s a plastic boycott, remember)
10. Bring your own thermos to the coffee shop
11. Don’t use disposable razors!
12. Choose cardboard over plastic where there are alternative products, it’s much easier to recycle
13. GET PLASTIC OFF YOUR FACE — say no to microbeads! — look at toothpaste and face wash and avoid items with “polypropylene” or “polyethylene” on the ingredients list
14. Don’t buy convenient food wrapped in plastic — you are capable of chopping your own mango/melon/pomegranate/butternut squash etc
15. Stop using air fresheners — light a candle or incense instead
16. Buy food products in bulk — buy a big bag of oats instead of those small convenient porridge pots, etc. Look at everything and think, is this necessary packaging? If the answer is no, then don’t buy it.

I hope these tips help you on your journey to cutting plastic and making changes to help save the environment. This planet is the only one we’ve got and it’s beautiful. I’d like it to stay beautiful.