Please help me reduce my plastic consumption.

[TeddyIsaHe]

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?

I've given up bubble bath except the very occasional glass bottled one. Just use a few drops of essential oil in the bath instead.

Bar soap

Have switched to porridge in a box instead of a bag

Just put sandwiches into a tub, without wrapping them - they're fine at lunch time

Trying hard to switch to sauces in glass jars, but can't give up HP!

Have cut down on cereal bars etc and buy one big malt loaf, which I slice - so it's still packaged, but there's less packaging

It's so difficult for food though - pasta/rice only come in plastic bags in Sainsbury's, as far as I can see.

Yes to Johnson and Johnson cotton buds, but I do wish they'd get rid of the plastic lid.

I'm afraid I tried a bamboo toothbrush but have just gone back to plastic, because it was tearing my gums to pieces.

I've bought a yoghurt maker to cut down on all those small plastic tubs. We could get through 4 a day in our house.
Lush shampoo bars are great.
Beeswax wraps instead of cling film.
Ocean Savers do concentrated cleaning products that come in small pods. Put them in a spray bottle (saved from your last cleaning product) add warm water and the pod will dissolve.
Bread maker to make all my bread now

OP there’s lots you can do but it is overwhelming at the start . I recommend picking one thing (e.g buying a ‘keep cup’ for takeaway coffees) to start with, then switching something else when it’s part of your routine.

Recycle what you can of what you already have - lots of plastic packaging can be recycled with carrier bags at the supermarket now (check the packaging).

When buying new, think about how you can reduce the plastic then e.g buying loose veg (you can get string bags to take to the supermarket with you.)

Does anyone have any ideas of what to do with those calpol syringes when you don’t need them anymore? Can I recycle them?

I tried 2 types of bamboo toothbrush, But they just weren’t very scrubby

@LittenKitten, if you ask the pharmacist for genetic children’s liquid paracetemol, it’s 1/3 the price of Calpol and it doesn’t come with a syringe.

Lidl's own brand cotton buds are also 100% paper, although they do have a plastic box. I keep the boxes though, they are useful drawer dividers for nail polishes, small kitchen 'bits', batteries etc, screws.

Take your own (pre-existing) tupperware to the butcher's/cheese counter.

Get some mesh produce bags, or make your own from old pillowcases etc.

Look out for places where you can refill liquids like shampoo/washing up liquid.

thezerowaster.com/zero-waste-near-you/

Get washing powder that comes in a cardboard box

Always carry reusable shopping bags with you... keep a foldable one in your handbag and the jute ones in your car boot.

Carry round with you a cutlery set wrapped up in a cloth napkin.

If you have take away coffee, get a reusable cup/flask like a Keep cup or contigo.

Bar soap instead of shower gel/hand wash. Shampoo bar instead of plastic bottles.

Remember the waste hierarchy... REDUCE as the priority. Then REUSE things as you can. Only then RECYCLE. Just because something's not plastic, doesn't mean it's more eco... aluminium still requires mining and smelting, very energy intensive. There's a huge hydro plant proposed in the Icelandic pristine wilderness for aluminium smelting. Paper requires forests to be clearcut, energy intensive, very chemically polluting to rivers etc. Limited recyclability, as the fibres become shorter with each repulp.

The best thing you can do is be a squeaky wheel. Complain to the supermarkets/retailers on SM or email about the most egregious examples of plastic ridiculousness and ask for refill stations and bulk bins.

@bikerunski yes to smol in plastic boxes, although I believe it's recycled plastic which is also recyclable. Comes through the post as a set subscription with only the box as packaging. The tablets themselves don't have individual packaging

I use jam jars to store leftovers in the fridge or a teacup covered with a saucer, the way DHs grandmother always did.

I love plastic straws but my daughter sent me a video with all sort sof hideous things happening to turtles by plastic straws ending up in the sea.

I tried paper straws and they made my teeth itch, awful things.

So I bought a set of stainless steel straws and they are lovely to drink out of and my worry about chipping my teeth on them is groundless.

Morrison’s let yiu brubg your own Tupperware type boxes to their fish and meat counters, and use paper bags for their loose fruit and veg.

I've done some reducing - washable cloths, bar soap, milk bottle deliveries but it's so hard to find things that work. We use a huge amount of cling film and DH puts all open foods etc in a food bag - I'm encouraging to move to tupperware. A couple of questions, I have an itchy scalp with occasional dandruff. Has anyone found a bar shampoo that really works for this? What do people do for moisturising face cream, sun cream and conditioner. Those I need and can't see a way to avoid plastic?

Don’t forget “Repair” in the waste hierarchy.

I've recently started to use a solid deodorant block from Lush. No plastic and it makes the bathroom smell lovely as an extra bonus.
Loofah scouring pads and wooden washing up brush.

Cloth nappies, cloth wipes, cloth sanitary pads.
Weleda deodorants
Faith in nature shampoo
Body shop soap
Only buy locally reared meat and less of it
Reuse egg boxes buying direct
Glass milk man bottles
No clingfilm
Eco leaf cleaning products, detergent, dishwasher tablets etc
Bars of soap (faith in nature have very good credentials)
Second hand clothes (debobblers are great for refreshing them)
Organic cotton instead of normal cotton.
Never buy packed fruit or veg
Home made baby snacks but if I need to use a pouch I use Ella cycle via terra cycle
Green scents washing up liquid
Buy coffee from our local coffee shop straight into our caddy
Brown wrapping paper and reused ribbons
2nd hand baby equipment (our full size wardrobe, huge changing dresser and lovely cot, John Lewis nursery curtains and Ikea nursing chair cost less than £150)
Home made bread (sourdough)
Buy ham/cheese from the butcher too and have them put it in your own containers.
Dh cycles to work
Everyone wears a vest and socks in winter.
Lids on pans of boiling pasta etc
Don’t automatically replace things when they break (e.g my old pretty tea saucer I use for soap went splat this morning)
Eco bathroom cleaner does work, you just need to encourage it a bit, an old toothbrush helps.
Thermal coffee cups for on the go.
Using the library for rotating children’s books.
Suggesting experience gifts for birthdays/Christmas

Our lifestyle has changed completely in the last 12 months, it’s been gradual, but doing it bit by bit has been very easy.