Wide-spreading media coverage has made us all aware of the devastating impact on our environment caused by single-use plastics. In order to tackle this massive challenge, it’s not just the governments and big businesses that need to act. Each individual can contribute their part to cut down on plastic use. With a bit of planning and consciousness, it’s easy to make some small changes that can have a big impact.
Here are 5 tips that everyone can easily adapt
1. Carry a reusable bottle
According to Greenpeace, in the UK we use over 35 million plastic bottles every day and 12,775,000,000 each year. An unbelievable figure. The easiest solution to cut down on single-use plastic bottle is to use a reusable bottle. They are low in cost and make a real impact.
2. Take a reusable coffee cup
Another incredible shocking statistic contains the number of coffee cups thrown away each year in the UK. Up to 2.5 billion coffee cups end in the bin – and less than 1 in 400 are recycled. Similar to the reusable bottle, get yourself a reusable cup. Loads of cafes are now offering a small discount if you use your own cup
3. Avoid excessive food packaging
Cutting down on food packaging is another very effective way to cut down on plastic. Many supermarkets often offer pre-packaged fruit and veg and a loose alternative which is usually the cheaper alternative. Even better, a lot of the local fruit and veg shops, bakeries and butchers often avoid excessive packaging altogether.
4. Get your milk delivered
It’s still a bit mind-blown that despite the well know problem of single-use plastic, most shops don’t offer milk in an alternative packaging (glass or carton). One way to ditch the plastic bottles is to subscribe to a milk delivery service, which supplies milk in glass bottles. Afterwards, they collect and reuse them.
5. Carry a shopping bag
According to Greenpeace, the plastic bag charge has had a huge impact on and caused an 85% drop in usage, which is fantastic. However, from time to time, we tend to forget to take them with us when we do the shopping. Therefore it’s worth to always have a folded plastic bag in your carrier or back bag.
With a few changes, we can make a big impact on the amount of plastic we use in our everyday life.
