to ask what you're doing to reduce your use of plastics?

[k2p2k2tog]

Lots of coverage on the BBC yesterday about how we used to ship loads of plastics for recycling to China, and China have said they aren't taking it any more.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42455378

Of course recycling is a good thing. But that should come third after reduce and reuse.

Plastics are an environmental nightmare - we can't avoid all plastics but we can certainly reduce what we're using. I've just ordered reusable sandwich wraps for the kids to take to school rather than wrapping in cling film. Little steps. If everyone does a little bit, we can reduce the total amount of plastics.

So what are you doing???

Well I felt a bit self conscious putting apples and oranges etc loose on the conveyor belt today,but the cashier didn't seem fazed ,just scooped them onto the scale and I stuck them straight into my reusable bags.Will do that in future.I really wish paper bags were an option,they are at the local farm shop and bakery.

apparently you can buy paper bags really cheaply on ebay so you could take some to put your fruit in maybe?

In Austria they offer paper bags in the supermarket but you still have to pay for them! All the sanctimonious shit of the supermarkets wanting to "change consumers' behaviour" by making us pay for plastic bags (which I use many times and recycle when I need something to carry all their packaging to the green bin) when they should be offering us paper bags

I've put fruit and veg loose on the conveyor for years, no need to feel embarrassed about doing so!

Reusable water bottle here. And paper straws. No microbeads or glitter. I also take part in beach clean ups removing plastic from beach. Reuse bags for shopping.recycle when possible. Email companies asking them to reduce plastic use in store. Seen a shrink wrapped coconut once!

Also have a reusable travel coffee mug.

Ooooh hoping for some help from this thread. DH and I seriously going for reducing are plastics this year.

What are good household and washing cleaners readily available that dont have microbeads?

Buzzfeed article on reducing trash use. Does anyone remember the charity that accepts washed mascara wands to use on hedgehogs?... i mean to comb out ticks not to tart them up.

@user187656748 would olive oil or coconut oil work as a conditioner?

Re: soda stream there's a few on eBay, seems like the sort of thing that might get freecycled too?

Now yearning after one of the vintage ones with glass bottles I had in the early 90s.

Louhotel try soapnuts. Here's one link for you

www.thenaturalgardener.co.uk/soap_nuts.php

i mean to comb out ticks not to tart them up.

There's a very god discussion on Victoria Derbyshire now

Hope it's ok to restart this...

How's everyone getting on?

I tried a new conditioner bar (had tried the Lush one before and it was rubbish) and it is fantastic.

I switched from rooibosch teabags to loose leaf... but the loose leaf box is wrapped in cellophane while the teabag box isn't! I found the same with black tea. Infuriating but highlights how it needs to come from above.

I've also been using an electric toothbrush for years and I love it but of course the heads are plastic and the packaging of them is heavy on plastic. However, if we all switch to bamboo we'll be throwing out a lot of plastic (the toothbrush and the charger x 4).

I did a beach clean up and the thing we came across most was the shiny string/tape that is tied to birthday/ celebration balloons. It is pretty indestructable and get's tangled in seaweed.
I hope once people start avoiding plastic containers that manufacturers will come up with something eg waxed cardboard that we can use instead. I buy ready meals for an elderly family member and they are all in plastic trays.

pepper what conditioner bar did you buy? Thanks

In China the old people (I couldn't say if they are old homeless, old subsidising their pension, or employed oldies) collect the plastic bottles in bin bags and push giant wheelbarrows to take them to be recycled somewhere.

There is a problem with plastic from third world countries but per head of population I would think we produce more. Most manual workers in the third world won't be buying and binning water bottles on a daily basis. In fact lucky if they have one at all, in China I noticed the construction workers lived in sort of communal large canvas tents, shared eating and washing facilities.

Finlaggan my phone is utterly rubbish and doesn't let me copy web addresses.

Go to eBay and search for jojoba conditioner bar. It'll be the first one that comes up. Sold by LASHEBA.

While I'm making recommendations, I switched to solid deodorant a few months ago. Go to Earthwise Girls and search for Earth Conscious. It's wonderful and the tin it comes in is the perfect size for both the conditioner bar and the Lush shampoo bar. The deodorant lasts for aaaaaages though!

Again, sorry about the lack of actual links!

Can’t believe there are some people who don’t give a shit about these sorts of issues. The ignorance blows my mind! So pleased to see so many of you are passionate about making a positive change though. If only the rest of the world shared your enthusiasm.
I read that 50% of the world’s animals will be extinct by 2050 😱

I'm on a mission to reduce plastic use this year (we are environmentally conscious anyway but still have a bin full of recyclables). The amount of plastic we throw out is quite depressing.

My task is to look at the waste we put out to be collected and try to eliminate one piece each collection.

Have bought reusable straws (children like to use straws and DH would forget about our mission and buy a box of 200 plastic ones).
Have bought a packet of loose tea to try (last time I tried loose tea the 'leaf' was so small it went through the strainer - hopefully Twinings is better).
Always try to buy fruit and veg loose but that is difficult in the local supermarket. Going to plant more vegetables this year.
Going to buy meat from the butcher more often this year.
Have bought mayonnaise in a glass jar rather than the squeeze bottle - supermarket doesn't sell the glass bottle ketchup - does it still come in glass?

I did my second weekly shop avoiding anything in a plastic tray. Again, I had to buy milk in plastic bottles, and delicate laundry liquid (didn’t see a powder equivalent.) DH wanted soup, and the least plasticky was a Covent Garden carton. Yes, I know I could make it myself but apparently homemade isn’t as nice

The thing I’ve noticed is that I’ve wasted less and it has cost less. I’ve got bits of meat from the deli counter instead of prepacked and it’s meant that I don’t have 4 salmon fillets when I’m cooking for 3, or 500g mince when I want 300g.

I read an article today on how you can offset your carbon footprint but you can’t reduce your plastic footprint. Once you’ve bought it, you add to your lifetime total of plastic waste.

Collecting and cleaning out plastic bottles etc for this year's gardening.

I've found bread bags really useful in reusing and replacing other food bags - they are dry and so don't need to be washed beforehand (which never really works with plastic bags). Good for wrapping things to put in the fridge, etc, or for packed lunches. The bags that wraps and torillas come in are particularly sturdy and useful, but all bread wrappings seem to be good for something.

Can’t believe there are some people who don’t give a shit about these sorts of issues. The ignorance blows my mind!

So anybody who doesn't share your passion must be ignorant.What a dogmatic old bore you are!

Years ago (before cling film people used to wrap sandwiches in greaseproof paper.

Can anyone suggest what I can do I have to buy 10 x 2 litre bottles of water a week as I cannot drink tap water. (I suffer mouth ulcers and rashes if I drink tap water) I've tried 3 different types of water filters without success so that's an awful lot of plastic I'm putting in the recycling bin each week, that's if they are actually re-cycled at all!