Plastic free July

Plastic waste is clogging our oceans, millions of people are now trying to reduce their plastic waste.

Plastic Free July is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans, and beautiful communities.

Here are a few ideas on how to Live a Plastic-Free Life

·         Carry reusable shopping bags. Carry whatever works for you. Some people like reusable canvas totes. Others prefer to put their purchases into a backpack or messenger bag. If you have a car, keep your grocery bags in it and remember to bring them into the stop with you! And one more thing: reusable bags are not just for groceries! Carry them for all your purchases, from electronics to clothing.

·         Give up bottled water. Not only does it come in a plastic bottle, but tremendous resources are used to extract, bottle, and ship it. And many brands of bottled water are simply filtered tap water. Get a reusable bottle and fill it up with tap water before leaving the house, and refill it wherever you happen to be

·         Carry a stainless-steel travel mug for coffee besides the plastic lid and plastic straw, paper cups are lined with a plastic coating. Most coffee shops are actually now offering reductions if you bring your own mug.

·         Carry reusable utensils and glass drinking straws. There are nice bamboo utensil sets available and stainless-steel reusable drinking straws are now available. You don’t need to go out and buy the bamboo. You can just as easily use your own stainless-steel utensils.

·         Box tents When ordering pizza, say no to the little plastic “table” in the middle of the pizza box. It’s called a “package saver.” Think about it. A single-use plastic device meant to save a single-use cardboard box. When ordering, say, “Please don’t put that little white plastic thing in the middle of the pizza.” They’ll know what you mean.

·         Treat yourself to an ice cream cone. Instead of keeping containers of ice cream in the freezer, enjoy the occasional ice cream cone whilst out. It keeps your ice cream consumption down, which is better for your health, and it also does away with the plastic-lined containers as well. Ice cream cones require zero container or utensil waste.

·         Say no to plastic produce bags. They are generally unnecessary. What are we worried about? That our apples won’t get along with our broccoli during the trip home? Or is it that the produce will get dirty? Hey, it grew in the dirt, and we’re going to wash it anyway, right?

·         Shop at your local farmers shop Farmers markets are a great way to buy fresh, local produce without plastic, as long as you remember to bring your own bags. Normally, the fruits and vegetables at farmer’s shops don’t even have those little plastic stickers on them. And for small fruits like berries and cherry tomatoes, use your own container

·         Bring your own container for meat and prepared foods. Take your own containers to the butcher shop. The butcher can weigh the container and deduct the weight, just as is done with bulk foods. The assistants at the deli/prepared foods counter can do the same thing. Just ask.

·         Buy fresh bread that comes in either paper bags or no bags. Buy bread that comes in only paper. Most of the little bakeries in the high street supply their bread in paper bags. Bread keeps fresh when stored in the cloth bag inside an airtight tin.

·         Choose milk in returnable glass bottles. Many areas have local dairies that provide milk in returnable glass bottles rather than plastic or plastic-coated cardboard (yes, all cardboard milk containers are coated inside and out with plastic, not wax.)

·         Use natural cleaning cloths and scrubbers instead of plastic scrubbers and synthetic sponges. Compressed natural cellulose sponges are often sold without any plastic packaging because they don’t need to be kept moist; they expand when wet.
Natural fibre brushes are great for cleaning water bottles and scrubbing dirty dishes.
And of course, good old rags made from old clothing and towels are free and probably the greenest option of all.

·         Choose glass or stainless-steel food storage containers and reuse what you already have. Save your glass jars and bottles for purchasing bulk foods and for storing leftovers in the refrigerator or even the freezer. When we run out of jars, we store leftovers in bowls with saucers on top instead of plastic wrap. The key to freezing foods in glass is not to fill the jar too full since the food will expand inside the container. The other caveat is not to heat the glass too quickly. Let foods thaw at room temperature to avoid glass breakage.

·         Try natural beeswax coated cloth wraps instead of plastic cling film. There are various suppliers of this great product, the heat from your hands moulds the paper around the item you are wrapping, great for packing your sandwiches for work, just a wipe clean and reuse

·         Compost food waste to avoid plastic rubbish bags (and keep organics out of the landfill. buy compostable liners for your caddies or use newspaper to wrap your compostable waste in, so you don’t make a mess.

·         Choose natural cat litter. Some litters are made from wheat and comes in a paper bag. Unlike some of the granular ones in plastic bags,

·         Use a handkerchief instead of paper tissue. All tissue boxes have a small plastic window. More importantly, we can avoid all waste by opting for reusable hankies

·         Find DIY solutions for techno needs. For example, knit a cover for my iPod instead of buying a plastic one, and look for leather and natural cover not plastic

For more information on a plastic free life go to https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/