Easy ways to reduce your plastic waste (students)
Single use plastics are forming such a huge part of our lives. They are convenient and cheap, and everywhere. Common single use plastics you may use day to day could include: plastic bags, water bottles, coffee cups, disposable cutlery, straws, clingfilm, food packaging, etc. so here are some items we can use to reduce the amount of single use plastics we are using in our day to day lives, which will also save money in the long run.
Reusable bag
Get yourself a reusable bag. Plastic bags aren’t recyclable and will most likely end up in landfill. Save yourself 5p for a bag each time you shop, you’ll make the money back for a reusable bag easily.I like to use my basic canvas tote bags, but you can also get string bags which are good for fruit and veg, and you also get reusable shopping bags that fold up into themselves. Good tip — watch out for free canvas bags at your university’s freshers fair.
Plastic produce bags can also be avoided by having reusable ones, which you can get here for £1.50:
Water bottle
Invest in a good reusable water bottle. Brands such as Chilly’s are good because they keep your drink chilled for 24 hours, saving you from having to refill, or just use a regular reusable plastic one. M&S also do a slightly cheaper version at £15 where it keeps your drinks cool for 12 hours.
Reusable coffee cup
If you’re a big coffee drinker and like to buy one while you’re on the go, it is handy to buy a reusable coffee cup. Make your own in the morning or companies like Starbucks will happily pour your drink order into your own cup.
Cutlery
Cutlery — bring your own in a bag and wash at the end of the day when you’re home to avoid using one a day — imagine the pile of them that you go through in a year. Purchase reusable bamboo ones, or you could just bring your own wrapped in a reusable napkin — saving buying more products when you already have them. This is a set I found on Amazon at £13.99 and it even comes with a reusable bamboo straw and a cleaning brush for it!
Straws
Straws again are plastic and can’t be recycled. They often end up in the ocean where they endanger animals. This was brought to light a few years ago when a video of a turtle with a straw stuck in its nose went viral. Some reusable alternatives to plastic straws are: stainless steel straws, paper straws, glass straws or bamboo straws. Or just avoid straws altogether — we don’t need them to drink. Here are some you can purchase online (most come with a cleaning brush too):
Stainless steel 10 pack from Amazon at £2.67
Bamboo pack of 4 from Trouva at £9.95:
Paper pack of 30 from Berties Direct at £1.16:
Glass pack of 4 from Amara at £13:
Food covering
Clingfilm is heavily used and can’t be recycled. A good alternative is beeswax wraps. They are super useful and easy to clean, works just the same as clingfilm and will be cheaper in the long run. I bought these from eBay:
Menstrual cup
Menstrual cups are the newest trend. Tampons and pads are not biodegradable and don’t break down until at least 450 years as they are not 100% cotton, they are made with plastics. Tampon applicators use plastics as well. This is also going in your body which is very dangerous as its full of toxins from the plastics. Menstrual cups are a good idea as they are completely reusable and zero waste. They do cost around £20 but you end up making your money back. Menstrual cups are also good to the body as they are made of medical grade silicone and will only need to be replaced every 10 years — think about all the tampons you’d be sending to landfill in that time! Some good brands of menstrual cups are the Lunette and the Mooncup and they also sell sanitary wipes and cleaning products for the cups on their websites.
Shampoo/ soap bars
Shampoo and soap bottles are recyclable, but to cut down on the amount of plastics you use, it is a good idea to use bars of shampoo and soap as they are completely waste free. Brands like Lush supply these and they are completely waste free.
Most of these are around £7.50 but it is worth the investment and they smell great.
Toothbrush
Toothbrushes are also non recyclable and will sit in landfill for around 450 years before they decompose. That is why a bamboo toothbrush is an eco friendly alternative as they are biodegradable. This one is from Indigo Herbs and is £2.95
With these tips, I intend to start my own blog on Instagram of my progress of switching to a plastic-free, and eventually zero waste lifestyle. Follow my Instagram account to see how I’m starting off.
