How to Reduce Your Plastic Usage

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(Newswire.net — February 22, 2019) — Recently, it has been highlighted just how much plastic us humans are using and consequently wasting. According to the guardian, a British news publication, humanity now produces roughly its own weight in plastic every year. If we do not even begin to cut down on our plastic use, we will cause serious damage to our earth.

Here are some great examples of ways to reduce your usage of single-usage plastics:

Carry a re-useable bag

According to Greenpeace, since the UK introduced a plastic bag charge there’s been a massive 85% drop in their use. Carrying a small foldable bag around can help you reduce your every day plastic use. It is only a small change, but could make a huge difference. According to Ocean Crusaders, 13,000-15,000 pieces of plastic are dumped into the ocean every day. Every year, 6.4 million tonnes are dumped into the ocean. By simply changing from a plastic bag to a reusable one, you could be helping to reduce our negative impact on the environment.

Buy a re-usable coffee cup

Many of us grab a coffee before or in-between work, but so many of the paper cups with plastic lids we drink from get thrown away needlessly without being recycled. In fact, 2.5 billion paper cups are thrown away unnecessarily in the UK alone. Bringing a reusable cup to work will help you reduce your plastic usage in the day. Not only this, many coffee shops all over the world are beginning to offer discounts if you bring your own cup, and some even refuse to serve coffee in paper cups. By bringing your own cup, you are not only being environmentally friendly but you could also save financially.

Shop plastic-free

Although going to a big chain supermarket is easy and cheap for all of us, the amount of unnecessary packaging they use on their items is unbelievable. Despite supermarkets trying to reduce their plastic waste, there is still a long way to go. One way to combat this is to try and shop in shops that specialize in plastic-free produce. These markets focus on providing products you would usually find at any convenience store, but without the wasteful packaging. These shops can be a great alternative to your local supermarket without the plastic.

Say no to Saran-Wrap

Cling film is something we use multiple times a day- it is really useful in saving leftovers and certain types of food. However, it cannot be recycled, and can leave harmful chemicals in the Earth after it biodegrades. Some great alternatives to saran-wrap is aluminium foil, which is recyclable. There has also been a lot of research into plastic-free alternatives to saran-wrap, such as beeswax wrap, which are re-suable and compost friendly. Finally, using Tupperware instead of cling-film can be an eco-friendly way to store food.

As plastic is becoming a massive issue all over the world, it is important that we all play are part in reducing how much we depend on it.