Using less plastic at home.

[loubielou31]

What have you done at home that has worked and you have stuck with to reduce your plastic use?
Inspired by a Guardian article (that I now can't find) for simple ways to reduce plastic use in the home. The Guardian list had things like metal water bottles and wooden cooking utensils.
Also what have you tried that was a disaster. Hoping to get good tips from other mumsnetters.

https://www.phoxwater.com/?srsltid=AfmBOor_a_ozPQORMX_eJNVNp6RlAxGY5nf0m9R1AQ-4zHLaEeBMD6BI
I have used this refillable water filter for a few years now, better than throwing away the cartridges. If you already have a filter jug they have a compatible cartridge that you can swap in.

I use a greengrocer and butcher to minimise single use plastic

Milkman
sodastream (big sparkling water habit)

Could not get on with those wax wrap things

Washable pantyliners have saved me loads of money. They're no good if you're exercising because they move around too much, but normal every day use they're great. I have also had them for years and they're still fine.
And being so fed up of my bars of soap going to mush on the soap dish that I bought magnetic holders. They are brilliant! Much cleaner than the grotty soap dish and the bar lasts longer because it isn't sitting in a little pool of water.
I will have a think about any other successes.

I have never got on with shampoo and conditioner bars so recommendations please, but my soap holder might save the day there too.

Following OP - excellent thread to start.

Maybe also we can add ways we have tried to reuse plastic before having to recycle? As while I try very hard I can’t avoid the damn stuff all together 😬

Example … plastic bags a loaf comes in I often use as a mini bin when chopping veg and salad for tea especially pongy onions to avoid stinking the kitchen bin out after.

@boulevardofbrokendreamss yes, need to dig out our soda stream.

Decent reusable coffee cups and water bottles. I’ve not bought a cold drink out and about for myself or dd for ages now. sometimes ‘Sitting in’ in a coffee shop too, and using a proper cup and having a minute to appreciate the coffee instead of dashing out

Buying bulk sizes of cleaning products from Costco and reusing smaller size bottles and containers for them . It’s a bit like my own refillable/zero waste shop because we don’t have one near us. I’ve used the same glass spray bottles for dettol/window spray and bathroom cleaner for 4 years

having milk delivered in glass bottles

Also we are dedicated soda stream users! We love ours !

We have washable nappies and wipes. We also get milk in glass bottles, and make our own yoghurt (we eat a lot of yoghurt, and realised it was a bit inconsistent to be reusing glass bottles for the milk, but getting through multiple plastic pots of yoghurt per week).

I do like my reusable water bottle here.

In the supermarket I have tried reusable bags for fruit and vegetables and do revisit it now and again. Somehow or another though the loose stuff frequently seems to come out much more expensive than the prepackaged (in plastic) ones. I'm really hoping that the supermarkets might start to play ball a bit better there.

Bar soap in the shower is better from the point of view of plastic avoidance, and I do use it too, although I like my shower gel.

From the point of view of overuse of paper, I have everything possible on a paperless option - so bank statements, my Tesco clubcard etc. and vouchers. Not so much comes in an avalanche by post now. I do buy some books because I really just love them but I am increasingly using my Kindle and Kobo more - no paper there and I can adjust the size of the print too.

I'm not perfect. I will be looking for ideas from this thread too.

@tellmewhenthespaceshiplandscoz reuse suggestions is also a brilliant idea.
Where I live you can line your food caddy with a plastic bag, so that could be a use for the bread bags. Any plastic (probably including the compostable bags) are sort of raked out at the processing centre and incinerated (the heat is used to power the plant) and the food waste sent to a big anaerobic digester thing.
I am trying making my own cleaning sprays so refusing the bottles I already have but DH doesn't like the smell of the vinegar in them.

Beeswax wraps for clingfilm work really well.

I buy 4pt cartons of milk and freeze it into pint containers. Then sterilise them in the dishwasher as they are emptied, and refill.

And I reuse plastic bags used by supermarkets for fruit or bread. I sterilise them in hot water, dry them & reuse them as freezer or sandwich bags. I haven't bought any plastic food bags in a decade.

@KindLemur I must get back into the habit of carrying my reusable coffee cup.
@Topseyt123 The refillable shower gel bottles from body shop are good if there's still one near you. But they don't have the ful range available as refills.
It irks me that the eco or refillable option is usually more expensive but I am hopeful that bit by bit the costs will come down.
I often just won't buy something because of the plastic so I suppose that saves money.

I buy washing powder in a cardboard box for my white laundry and Sainsbury's greencare brand are now selling their laundry products in Tetra packs, which is at least less plastic although they're not very easy to recycle.
Much cheaper than buying vanish stain removing powder (and means I'm not buying more plastic tubs) is a spoonful of Sodium Percarbonate (bought in a huge quantity from Amazon because I also use it to clean the patio) in with the washing. Or a tablespoon each of Soda Crystals and Sodium Percarbonate for presoaking. Nancy Birtwhistle's clean and green books have loads of excellent tips for eco cleaning.
www.waterstones.com/book/clean-and-green/nancy-birtwhistle/emma-mitchell/9781529049749

Bottle of tap water in fridge

Another plastic reuser here. A packaging bag becomes a sandwich bag and then after that a freezer bag and then after that a rubbish bag etc. I use old bottles for cleaning products as receptacles for ones I make myself when they’ve run out. Also love our Soda Stream - and it saves a good bit of money to boot.

Also, I actively give my custom to big retailers and brands who make an effort to reduce plastic. Put the cashew nuts, the rice, and the ground coffee in paper-based packaging rather than plastic? Aldi, you are now my supermarket of choice. Be a dick of a brand who makes e.g. spray containers non-reusable by fastening the nozzle to the bottle? Cillit Bang, no more.

We do that as well for when the weather is hot. But our water is pretty hard, furs up the kettle and makes my tea taste yucky. The refillable water filter is better than a completely disposable one. (Not perfect because the contents go in the bin, they can't be composted yet)

Fair point!

Milk and yogurt (plain in big jars) in glass from the milkman.
Use jam jars and plastic lunchboxes for all components of packed lunches.
Buy the thick plastic bags from Ikea because they are easy to wash and reuse, I take them to the farmshop and fill up shop as well as use in the freezer.
Buy washing powder in cardboard boxes, no fabric conditioner.
Bar soap in the bathroom (got an excellent Joseph soapdish).
Refillable shower gel.
Refillable washing up liquid and handsoap in the kitchen (fill glass bottles at the fill up shop and decant as needed).
Refill kitchen spray with concentrate and water.
Re-use bread bags etc where possible (for the freezer etc).
Silicone stretchy lids for things in the fridge but I do still use some clingfilm, a roll lasts several years though.
Sodastream.

I don't tend to carry reusable cups and water bottle, just too bulky as I hate big bags. But I do try and sit in for my coffee like a PP and use a water bottle at the gym and at work.

@EssentiallyDecluttering do you have concentrated cleaning brand that you like? I tried ocean saver but didn't find them very good.

Yes to silicon covers instead of cling film.
Also just putting a flat cover or a plate over things in the microwave instead of cling film.

I don't really like the beeswax wraps as I find them a bit sticky, but like a PP I have silicone stretchy lids, and some good storage boxes for the fridge and freezer. We also have little silicone packets of various sizes in which we put snacks and sandwiches. This kind of thing: https://www.lakeland.co.uk/26965/6-lakeland-reusable-leakproof-food-bags?srsltid=AfmBOoqcQ-1I5FGAFNZI5ZBLtsDbOa4QJIs-WEiH0HYEfAPLljA8h0ebRW4
except we have some small ones and some that are big enough to put half a melon in.
We also buy washing powder in a cardboard box, mainly because it's better for the nappies, but it's a bonus that it doesn't come in a plastic bottle.

Oh, and here's a frivolous one: I buy tonic water in little cans instead of big plastic bottles.

I love my soda stream too, if I am going yo use a cordial to flavor it I try to get the tiny super concentrate ones , I wish more companies made them it only seems to be Robinsons.

I don't use cling film at all.
Like pp I reuse bread bags for alsorts from food storage to wrapping paint brushes that will be used later.

I do buy tescos extra small snack bags for lunch because I batch cook and thy are the ideal size and don't take up much room in the freezer when they are full.
They wash well and can be used dozens of times.

I make my own yoghurt ( lakeland electric machine means it's really easy to do )

Milk is delivered in glass bottles.

Food scraps go in the council compost caddie.

Coffee flask and water bottle.

i dont drive.

Carpet cut offs for door mats .

Reusable shopping bag & rucksack for any shopping that isn't getting delivered.

following, we recently had a plastics challenge at work and I failed miserably to reduce my usage in the 2nd week! I think I actually used more but that was because things like shampoo and toothpaste ran out that week.
I really struggled to identify ways I can use my useage though. I eat a lot of fruit, veg and salad and that nearly all comes in plastic packaging. That said, I don't often buy soft drinks, don't drink cows milk, buy loo rolls that come in paper packaging, take lunches to work in tupperware so not buying sandwiches and salads in plastic, take a thermal coffee mug on trips etc so maybe my useage is actually quite low......
I could buy washing powder in a box instead of the pods in a plastic tub (will do that next time I restock).