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Please help me reduce my plastic consumption.

42 replies

TeddyIsaHe · 20/12/2018 16:03

I’ve just checked my fridge and cupboards and I’d say 70% has some form of plastic. My make up, hair care, baby stuff etc etc is all plastic as well. I’ve recently been researching the damage to the planet and it’s stunned me a little that I’ve been so blasé about the whole thing.

What are your best ways of reducing waste?

OP posts:
EmpressJewel · 20/12/2018 16:09

Take your own bags when going shopping.

Buy loose fruit and veg

Invest in a water bottle/flask or travel mug for drinks.

Switch to bar soap for washing.

Jackshouse · 20/12/2018 16:12

Buy less it the easiest way.

The majority of baby products are unnecessaryz

KnittingSister · 20/12/2018 16:16

Loose leaf tea. Get a tea basket for your mug or pot instead.
A tiffin tin for your packed lunch not a plastic box
Brown paper and string or (proper) raffle not wrapping paper and sellotape.

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KnittingSister · 20/12/2018 16:17

raffle?? raffia

BendydickCuminsnatch · 20/12/2018 16:20

Splosh household products (that’s my next eco switch so can’t comment but has been recommended by friends)

Cloth nappies and wipes and pads/or use mooncup

Reusable straws if you use straws

Real razor rather than disposable/Venus types

Loose fruit and veg

Wash and dry your food packet recycling if All your recycling goes in together, so that the cardboard doesn’t get wet or dirty (not plastic reduction but you know, same vein)

Errrrrrm.... I’m sure I’ve made more changes than that this year but can’t think!

New year we’re getting those things so you can control each radiator individually (again not plastic related but eco)

BendydickCuminsnatch · 20/12/2018 16:20

Oh yes, no Xmas cards or recyclable at least, ditto wrapping paper!

BendydickCuminsnatch · 20/12/2018 16:21

Oh!!! A big one for us is I got a soda stream for my birthday!!! I loooooove sparkling water but always felt so guilty because of the plastic waste. Problem solved!

BendydickCuminsnatch · 20/12/2018 16:44

I’ve thought of more:

Ecoegg or at least powder laundry stuff instead of liquid or pods

Make your own bread (easy) or pasta to save on packaging (although you can recycle bread bags if you take them to the right place). Oh or just buy plastic free from bakers.

Look through your recycling and see if there are any easy obvious changes to make as a start.

isseywithcats · 20/12/2018 16:51

i take permanent shopping bags with me to food shop
i have a hand wash dispenser bottle in the bathroom i put a small amount of shower gel in it and then top up with water fine for hand washing
butter tubs i wash them out and use them as lunch boxes and for freezing leftovers can use them quite a few times before they fall apart and then they go in the recycling

isseywithcats · 20/12/2018 16:53

cardboard now send to recycling cereal packet food packets toilet roll centres surprising how much cardboard we were simply throwing away, leaflets that come through the door, newspapers etc all go to recycle

stayathomer · 20/12/2018 16:54

Watch out in terms of soaps, was reading recently that there's a lot of brands that aren't very ethical in content, people are jumping over but the way theyre made/tested aren't good.

userschmoozer · 20/12/2018 16:55

Its a bit more complicated than just using other things; raffia is imported and its not carbon neutral. Its not environmentally friendly to import string.
We could grow fibre for string right here in the UK if hemp were a legal crop. The leaves could also be used to make biodegradeable cellulose and paper wrapping, as well as thousands of other products.

Sitranced · 20/12/2018 16:57

Buy clothing using natural fibres not microfibre fleeces and acrylic.

thenewaveragebear1983 · 20/12/2018 17:05

Check out Ecobricks.org or visit the Facebook group.

Refuse (to bring it in, to use it etc) so carry your own cutlery and cup and straw.
Reduce the amount you use- (sounds so simple but it's hard work, but for example find a grocer that's plastic free so you don't have to buy everything wrapped in plastic)
Reuse any plastic you do accumulate
Rot /compost any degradable waste
Recycle- check the labels, learn what your local authority does recycle, wash it all, don't contaminate etc.

I got a big bag in the kitchen and filled it with all our non recycleable plastic for a week. It was shocking. Horrifying. Then we've just as a family tried to make small changes. So we've switched brands on lots of things, we've switched supermarket (to a grocer + Lidl), we've stopped using cling film, I've made a 'kit' which we take everywhere with reusable cups, cutlery, etc and bags,
We've changed our coffee and our cat food.

All these take time, and I won't lie, take ages and sometimes cost more money. But it's so important to me that I'm prepared to do it.

Our first ecobrick took two days to fill, our 5th (current one) has taken 2 weeks, and our landfill bin went out with just one bag in it this fortnight. I see that as a tremendous improvement in just 2 months.

KnittingSister · 20/12/2018 17:06

If we start buying more string/raffia then demand goes up so we might have a case for hemp? Would that help? At least it will decompose.

BendydickCuminsnatch · 20/12/2018 18:03

Oh also beeswax wraps.

I barely every use string, why would you need raffia? Instead of sellotape? I saw a paper tape the other day just scrolling so didn’t research but I should google it!

MotherWol · 20/12/2018 18:13

Looking around your home and at your recycling, which products are the biggest offenders? With some products it’s just a case of when you finish what you’re currently using, switch to non-plastic packaging (glass jars of mayo rather than plastic bottles, for example). Or don’t replace it at all! You don’t need multiple cleaning sprays or bottles of shower gel on the go at the same time. It’s pretty easy to make a start, you just have to work out what makes up the majority of your rubbish.

TeddyIsaHe · 20/12/2018 18:19

These are all brilliant, thank you. I’m finding where to start overwhelming! Like pp’s have said it takes time, so making one change and then another should make it less daunting.

Now I’ve started to look for plastic it’s absolutely bloody everywhere. It’s madness.

OP posts:
TroysMammy · 20/12/2018 18:26

I'm not going to buy any more cling film and I already use my own bags when shopping. I'm going to take reusable plastic boxes when buying fresh produce from the local market. I think all supermarkets should do this.

Avrannakern · 20/12/2018 18:29

www.savesomegreen.co.uk/product/safix-100-coconut-fibre-wash-pad/

Coconut husk scourers. Brilliant for cleaning dishes and countertops and once used up They can go in the compost bin. No more of those sponge and plastic scourers!

You can also get other alternative scrubbing brushes on that site too.

ec0home · 09/03/2019 14:40

This reply has been deleted

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Thelieswetelltoourselves · 09/03/2019 14:43

Mitzie advertising back reviving old zombie threads AGAIN. Reported.

AmIAWeed · 09/03/2019 14:46

We've swapped to milk and more to get our milk delivered in glass bottles. We also get wonky potatoes in a cardboard box from there and orange juice in glass bottles.
Clothes washing we've switched to smol
Stopped buying cleaning wipes and have more cloths we wash
Use muslin cloth instead of cotton pads
Ear buds with cardboard sticks not plastic

The only swap that didn't work was bamboo toothbrushes.

Next to trial is shampoo bars

BikeRunSki · 09/03/2019 15:41

Some changes we have made

Friendly Soap soap and shampoo - no plastic wrapping, no palm oil
Pet food in tins, not foily packets
Water bottle, travel mug whenever we go out
Make our own yoghurt and bread
Loose fruit, veg, food etc as much as possible
Organic cotton, bamboo or second hand clothes
Leather shoes, bags etc
Wax wraps instead of cling film
Get milk delivered in glass bottles
Butter in foil/paper wraps rather than plastic tubs
Cotton buds with paper sticks and card tub (Johnson and Johnson)
Home baked snacks rather than lots of things in cellophane wrapping.

BikeRunSki · 09/03/2019 15:43

Big box Bio-D washing powder

AmIAWeed - does Smol come in plastic boxes ?