Sea Shepherd’s New Year’s plastic-free challenge

Facebook really has some gems. This one from Sea Shepherd Global: their New Year’s plastic-free challenge.

New Year’s Plastic-Free challenge!

Looking for your new year’s resolution? We have one for you that could have a huge impact, not just for you, but for the planet too!

Plastic is rampant in our oceans, and it seems to be only getting worse. That is why we advocate for cutting down plastic use as much as possible. We have a couple of tips for this below:

1. Get reusable produce bags and use them instead of plastic bags.

2. Give up gum! Gum is made of synthetic rubber, which is also plastic.

3. Stop using single-use straws. Get a re-usable one.

4. Purchase food from bulk bins as much as possible, using your own reusable containers.

5. And speaking of re-using containers. If you do have to buy containers for food, re-use those containers for storing left-overs or buying bulk.

6. Reusable containers can also be used when getting take-out from a restaurant. Many restaurants package their food in styrofoam which is extremely harmful to the environment. Restaurants also often pack take-out with plastic cutlery, which you can easily avoid.

7. Get a reusable bottle or mug when getting a beverage. All major beverage companies will happily fill your own cup.

8. Avoid buying frozen foods. They are almost always wrapped in plastic.

9. It is estimated that about 3.4 Million metric tons of diapers are disposed of in the US alone every year. These diapers contain a lot of plastics, and can easily be replaced with cloth diapers.

10. Use sustainable and nature-friendly soaps and cleaning products. Often you can also buy these products in bulk with your own containers.

11. Avoid cleaning-products with micro-beads. These micro-beads are often made of plastics.

12. Make your own fresh squeezed juice instead of buying the bottles or cartons from the store. Yes, even the cartons include plastic.

13. Use a normal razor with replaceable blades instead of a disposable one.

None of these are too hard to do, and some are even cheaper and support our ocean conservation efforts in the process! Are you going to take up our challenge? Let us know what environmental new-years resolutions you have, or anything you would add to ours!

And don’t forget to like, comment and share!

Illustration by PatrickGeorge

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