8 Easy ways to reduce your plastic
- Ruth Walsh
- Dec 22, 2018
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 30, 2019
Reducing your plastic consumption / waste can seem like a mammoth task. Here is a list of 8 easy changes you can make almost straight away that will reduce your plastic consumption / waste.
1. Carry a reusable water bottle
When so many people in the world struggle to find clean water, we should consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have access to cold clean tap water. Instead of buying bottles of water, carry a reusable BPA-free water bottle around with you filled with your own water, whether straight from the tap or filtered at home.
I have a lovely pink aluminium Corkcicle water bottle that my good friend Marita bought for my birthday. I love it!! I am terrible for drinking water as I only like it when it is super cold and this bottle is insulated so keeps the water good and cold. It can also be used for hot drinks, or, I have been reliably informed, wine ;)
But you don’t need to run out and buy a new fancy water bottle. Whatever you have already will do just fine, even if it is plastic (so long as it is not a single use plastic bottle as these are harmful to your health longterm). As a matter of fact, it is BETTER for the environment for you to continue to use your existing bottle rather than bin it and buy a new one.
2. Get your coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate) in a reusable cup
While a lot of coffee shops are now using compostable or recycle-able take away cups, most shops are not and those take away cups that can be composted or recycled are not always disposed of properly. If you are heading out and you know you will be going for a coffee / tea / hot chocolate, bring a reusable cup with you. You may even get a discount on your drink for using your own cup.
I always like to have a hot drink with me (because I am always cold), so whenever I am leaving the house I bring a cuppa I made at home with me in my reusable cup. That way I always have the cup with me if I do want to buy one.
3. Ditch the cling film / aluminium foil
Use lunchboxes! But you don’t need to go out and buy an aluminium lunchbox. Use whatever you already have. Of course, if you are bringing your sandwiches to work in foil or clingfilm because you don’t have a lunchbox, get yourself an aluminium or wooden one rather than a plastic one.
Another great option are beeswax wraps! Not only do they keep your sandwich fresh, they can be used as a plate when eating your sandwich.
If you are storing leftovers in the fridge, rather than using clingfilm to cover the bowl they are in, cover with a beeswax wrap or with a small plate on top.
I keep the plastic containers that we get on the rare occasion we get a take away, and use them for freezing food. I also use them when purchasing loose fruit and veg that need a container such as mushrooms or cherry tomato’s.
4. Swap liquid soaps for bars of soap
Liquid soap is full of chemicals, comes in a plastic bottle and is not good for either the environment or our skin. There has been a huge increase in contact dermatitis as a direct result of the antibacterial agents that are being added into liquid hand soap to extend the life of the soap, so it makes sense to swap the liquid soap for a gentler bar of soap.
There are a lot of lovely bars of soap out there that are made from natural ingredients, come in paper or cardboard, and are inexpensive. Its easy to replace your liquid soaps, as they run out, with bars of soap. You might think it will be more messy but I have found that it is actually less messy as my kids are always over pumping the liquid hand soap, wasting soap and destroying the sink.
You don’t need to go out an buy a soap holder either. Have a look around the house and see what can be repurposed. I am using some beautiful stone coasters that we received as a wedding favour.
5. Use a cloth instead of paper towels / antibac wipes
We used to use paper towels with antibacterial spray every time we wiped down the kitchen counter. We have now switched to using a fabric cloth and hot soapy water to clean down the kitchen.
Nowadays, we tend to over sanitise our homes with loads of harsh antibacterial products. There is a lot of research out there on how this is impacting on our health with increases in allergies and diseases like asthma and psoriasis. Regardless of what you think about that, it cannot be good to be inhaling all those chemical sprays, and if hot soapy water is good enough to clean our dishes surely it is good enough to clean our counters too!!
6. Sort the bins in your bathroom
Bathrooms produce a lot of waste and if you are like us, you have one bin in your bathroom which you then empty into your black bin. No one wants to go through a bathroom bin to pull out the recycle-ables 🤢 So, we decided to put an ecobrick in our en-suite and put any single use plastic that comes with bathroom products into it.
We then noticed the empty toilet rolls and shampoo bottles in the bin and thought to ourselves, we should be recycling those. So, we repurposed a small IKEA SKUBB box to use for items that can be recycled. My daughter thought this was a great idea and asked for an ecobrick and SKUBB box in their bathroom. The result is that we are now separating the waste in all our bathrooms :)
7. Switch to environmentally friendly cleaning products
This one can be more tricky to do as environmentally friendly cleaning products can be quite expensive. Even if you don’t want to buy these products, there are some easy switches you can make that will at least reduce the amount of plastic you use - switch to boxes washing powder instead of plastic wrapped washing tabs, buy larger boxes / bottles of washing powder, fabric softener, washing up liquid etc, switch to boxes of limescale powder and dishwasher powder rather than individually wrapped tablets etc.
Another option is to make your own cleaning products. I haven’t done this myself but there is a wealth of information online on how to do this with ingredients like vinegar, baking soda and lemon juice. I am planning at some stage to keep the empty bottles of spray cleaner we currently use and either fill these with a homemade version or use a company that sells eco friendly kitchen spray and will allow you to refill your own bottle.
8. Switch to environmentally friendly beauty / personal hygiene products
As your bottled shampoo and shower gels run out, switch to a shampoo bar for your hair and to a regular bar of soap for your body. I have bought a shampoo bar but as I still have shampoo left in a bottle, I have yet to try it out. I have been reliably informed by my friend Cormac that they are great!
*** UPDATE: So, the shampoo bar just didn’t work for my hair unfortunately. But its not a complete waste as it worked fine in my sons hair. I have yet to try it out in my daughters hair. In the meantime, the Glass Dispensary launched their business selling shampoo, conditioner, body lotion etc in refillable glass bottles. I bought all three of the above and was delighted with the results!! ***
As your toothbrush comes to the end of its life, switch to a compostable toothbrush such as a bamboo toothbrush.
If you shave, when your disposable razor or razor head is blunt, invest in a safety razor (I bought the hubby one as a gift for Christmas). When your shaving foam runs out, replace it with a shaving soap bar.
If you are a lady, and if you are brave, you could switch to a menstural cup and / or washable sanitary wear. The bonus is that you will save a lot of money while reducing your waste.
For removing make up, switch to muslin cloths or washable make up remover pads.
Nearly everything that is plastic or comes in a bottle in your bathroom can be replaced by something that is compostable or comes on its own or in paper / cardboard. Replace things slowly as they run out and you won’t feel the pain of changing too many things at once.
TIP: Replacing beauty products with environmentally friendly alternatives can mean a lot of soaps about the place. Keep an eye out for items that can be repurposed for storing the soaps that you use in the shower. I am planning on repurposing the glass jar I got some pate in for my shampoo soap - after it has been washed in the dishwasher of course - as it has a sealable lid!
Reources:
I am not affiliated in any way with any of the businesses listed on my site. These are just businesses I have come across in my journey and I am providing the links below purely for information only.
Corkcicle - https://corkcicle.com
Beeswax Wraps - www.alternativeendings.net
Eco Hygiene Products - https://www.facebook.com/keepitgreenecoshop
The Glass Dispensary - https://theglassdispensary.com
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