Plastic Free July is run by the Plastic Free foundation, which aims for a world without plastic waste. Plastic Free July is a time to consider alternatives to single use plastics in your life.
What is the problem with plastics?
Plastic isn’t biodegradable, it is photodegradable, which means it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces, but never goes away. These smaller pieces easily enter the food chain. Micro-plastic particles have even been found in drinking water, both bottled and tap water.
Can’t I just recycle plastics?
Recycling is not really the solution, either. Until recently, recyclable products were compressed into bales and sent to China, but since 2018 China has not been accepting the huge amounts of rubbish traditionally shipped to, and in a small way, recycled in China. Plastic is now sent to landfill.
The problem with recycling plastic is that it loses quality when it is broken down and this degraded material is then used in carpets or some fleece clothing textiles. One load of washing of textiles made from recycled plastics have been seen to shed up to 700,000 micro-plastic particles into our waterways. We don’t know what this is doing to our health, but we know it weakens sealife and they stop reproducing and are easy prey for other fish, so the contamination continues.
Plastic is a useful and cheap product, but there are so many ways to move away from single use plastics. Pick some changes which are easy to make and start with them. Later you can make other substitutions. Change can be gradual as your find alternatives which suit you.
Nine easy, everyday ways to use less plastics are
1. Reusable shopping bags instead of single use plastic bags. Just put them at the door or back into your car when you unpack your shopping and you wont forget to take them.
The large fabric bags have handles stitched right around them so can carry heavy goods without too much strain on the bag. I can also wash them.
These lightweight little pouches store big bags. Handy when you forget your shopping bags or make unplanned purchases. Keep one or two in your handbag, car or pocket.
2. Avoid cling film and instead cover bowls with silicone lids which are reusable. You can also use beeswax covers which are reusable for about 12 months then go in the compost. There’s so many tutorials online for making beeswax covers or buy them. You can put a saucer or plate over bowls in the fridge or, my new favourite, especially on bowls of bread dough I’ve left out to rise, a clear hotel style shower cap! They wipe clean, dry quickly and fit perfectly.
Re-using a hotel shower cap as a bowl cover, secure fit and strong enough to last for a long time.
These silicone covers stretch over so many containers.
3. Take you own cup in your bag for takeaway coffee. If you forget, consider drinking your coffee on site from the cafe’s ceramic mug.
4. If you’re buying taking away food, replace plastic cutlery with a bamboo set or even spare cutlery from home. These can be carried in a Cutlery Roll, a pencil case or even wrapped in a tea towel, secured with a rubber band.
Many shops will pack your order into your own containers, but ask first and not when they’re really, really busy. Luckily, you can compost a pizza box and the wrapping from fish and chips!
5. Use a metal drinking bottle instead of buying bottled water. Buy an aluminum straw. If you forget, look around and see if there’s a drinking fountain. If you need to buy a drink, buy something in a glass bottle you can wash and re-use. Glass is just sand, a mineral and infinitely recyclable without loss of quality.
6. Buy fruit and vegetables loose. Gather fabric bags of various sizes and keep them in your shopping bags. You can make the bags from old netting curtains, thin cotton or take pillowcases. Try asking for paper bags if you forget your bags. Buying loose fruit and veg also means you get select the pieces you prefer.
7. Look for online recipes for making yoghurt if this is something you frequently buy. I don’t think the bought tubs are easy to re-use and you can make your own yoghurt cheaply at home in a glass jar.
8. Buy what you can in glass, paper or cardboard. Jars are useful for storage, paper and cardboard can be recycled, put in the compost or in your worm farm. I re-use jars with a wide openings most often.
9. Look for bars of soap and toilet paper wrapped in paper or similar products. The wrappers can be shredded for compost, dug into the garden or recycled. Sometimes the wrappers smell pretty enough to put in your sock drawer.
I’d love to know if you have a clever idea for re-using the length of plastic the newspaper comes in. I like a dry newspaper, but the wrapper goes in the bin. Not good.
To get more ideas, channel your grandmother, especially if she is pre-plastic!
Yesterday was World Population Day, intended to focus on the ever growing world population and the adverse effect of this on the environment. The belief is that the world cannot sustain the social and logistical pressures that increasing population will create. There is also an emphasis on reproductive health, particularly in developing countries and how this impacts on population growth.