By composting your organic waste, you’re already substantially reducing what you send to landfill – and you benefit from a steady supply of compost too.
Plastics are a huge problem that I’ve been consciously working around for a few years. I’ve established re-usable waterbottle (plastic and metal) and fabric shopping bags as routine and in 2018 I added a few new good habits.
1. Ecobricking plastic packaging. I’m probably filling one a month.
2. Using a shampoo bar and conditioner bar from Lush instead of these products in plastic bottles.
3. Using a bar of soap (handmade by a friend) instead of shower gels, which I do love, but which come in plastic bottles.
4. I bought a pack of reusuable silicone lids to seal bowls (to replace clingwrap)
5. I sewed some muslin bags to use when shopping for loose fruit and vegetable items like bananas; these replace those thin barrier bags. You can buy these (and other goodies) from Single USE Plastic Alternatives.
6. I bought myself a fabulous glass straw from Restraw. A straw isn’t a necessity in life but for some things, like milkshakes, they’re more fun. It lives in my handbag.
7. I adopted a sodastream machine from my uncle for my mom so that she can made sodawater instead of buying it.
I need to be better about buying milk more regularly from a local farm stall where they fill my 1l glass bottles. I also should go to a butchery with my own containers instead of buying from the supermarket; I must get to the new deli where I’ve heard they sell ‘loose’ eggs that I can put into old egg trays; and I really do need to keep a plastic container or three in my car for those rare occasions when I get takeaways.
Even with these measures, there is still just so much single-use plastic around and I’ll look at more ways this year to reduce what comes into my home.
Read this article on the DailyMail – “My plastic-free crusade”.
“You don’t have to be a full-on eco-warrior to make a difference. I’ve discovered there is a less contentious route to plastic vigilance that allows you to trim excess plastic in many areas of your life, without much sacrifice in comfort or style.”
