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???

Some councils have a foil recycling banks. All metal can be taken to the metal scrap merchant (used to collect aluminium cans /other metals and donate the money to charity - paid by weight) I understand the comment about the lettuce, because it takes water and time to grow your own vegetables and make your own compost. One supermarket used to have recycling stations where cans were recycled and points were given in return, however I don't understand why these were not rolled out every where, I thought it was a great idea, the nearest one to me was a long drive away so it was not economically viable. I went to the supermarket the other day and bought some reduced vegetables that were in a plastic bag. Is it better to eat these vegetables or for them to have gone passed their sell by date and be thrown away by the supermarket? If you grow your own vegetables, you know that they naturally grow into strange shapes, but no lack of taste. All supermarkets should sell 'wonky veg'. We all have choices, some people in other countries may not be so lucky to have so many choices

We buy fruit and veg from the local farm who deliver in boxes, meat from the butchers who put it in any container you bring and milk in glass bottles which is collected and delivered by the local farms. We try to avoid plastic toys/containers etc. We're by no means 'there' but have cut down massively with a few small steps.

Weigh and save was the shop that you filled a bag or box or bottle, sold their goods by weight. I believe that the trend has come back for this type of shop

If China has banned the import of waste plastic then stop buying there recycled plastic crap that fills the pound shops up and down this country.

I find this thread really sweet, but shockingly naive.

Have you not realised yet that the planet is fucked beyond repair? Or are you all a bunch of silly Doris's that listened to Jeremy Vine?

The best thing you can do, is not have any more children. Urge you kids to have one child max and never get on a plane again. All this washing of yogurt pots is probably depleting our water and causing other issues, however well intentioned.

Honestly, you all sound adorable, but even my 6 year old niece isn't this stupid regarding the planet and sustainability.

If you want to know precisely what is happening to our oceans then I suggest you watch a plastic tide, a plastic ocean and a plastic whale. A lot of these are just replacing plastic that is used once with other types of p!astic. Stopping the use of single use plastic is great but we need to look at how we use all plastics.

Is it really adorable and naive not to want to actively shit in your own bed?

OldPony I don't have any kids and I still do the above. It's both/and not either/or. All my yoghurt pot and teapot rinsings go into a container by the sink to water the plants, not down the drain. I'm neither "adorable" nor "naive" thanks.

Going to read this thread properly as very interested in reducing our house hold waste overall. Specifically plastic. Here's my addition:
-Solid soap and shampoo/conditioner - cruelty free brands always
-Using soap and soda crystals instead of washing powder and white vinegar and essential oils instead of fabric softener
-BPA free, reusable lunch and drink containers
-no cling film (store left overs in empty glass jars or pop a plate over a bowl)
-no tinfoil - just do without
-bamboo toothbrushes instead of plastic
-keeping a menu plan to reduce food waste

Really struggling with buying produce and general stuff that's not encased in extra plastic. We can't realistically afford 30-40% increase on products to buy everything ethically. Also, the more bitter part of me thinks manufacturers should be taking the responsibility for reducing packaging not the consumer who has less choice in it.
Great thread, brought out my inner hippy 😁

I have decided to start with th following:

No more straws. Anywhere. If I get a drink I always now say - no straw please. You can apparently get stainless steel straws but I'm not sure it would work for me.

Soap instead of gel. Vegan soap if possible.

No plastic per se- but, I've made a rule to not buy any salad. We always do with best intentions but neither me nor OH are salad eaters. We are trying to cut down on diary and meat incidentally but I doubt the salad eating will increase. It's the most thrown away item and it uses a lot of water to grow so extreme waste

I’m doing nothing, because I really couldn’t care less and there’s nothing that could even make me care.

Wow, what a depressing attitude. Go educate yourself and watch a few videos of the literal sea of plastic out there turning up in the most unusual and unexpected places such as the Antarctic.
Boats trying to pick their way through it all, or seals with plastic stuck inside them.

I’ve stopped buying cotton buds as a start. The photo with the seahorse was so sad. We don’t use bottled water, cling film or sandwich bags or straws anyway.

I don't use it if there is an alternative.
Meat from Butchers, veg straight from the stall into my shopping bag, reusable and not a carrier bag.
rubbish straight into the wheelie bin, no bin bags. Food waste in biodegradable bags, or compost bin.
Try to find glass bottles rather than plastic.
Sandwich and freezer bags are the work of the devil.
We don't need plastic, we managed fine without it.

@gillybeanz what does your mest get wrapped in? Genuine question; ours is still put in plastic bags after it’s been weighed.

*meat

I buy meat from our market in paper.
They do put in a plastic sheet usually, but I ask them not to.
Our fish man is the same, he puts it in paper, greaseproof for the really wet stuff, then in paper bag.

I'm ot plastic free, we consume quite a bit as a family, but we're trying to cut back.

@CiderwithBuda, have you seen these?

www.tesco.com/direct/contigo-770ml-fruit-infuser-water-bottle-scuba/383-5303.prd?skuId=383-5303

They've got a section at the bottom to put fruit in to flavour the water.

It really gets to me, always has.

I’m going to contact a local milkman to get bottles delivered instead of plastic cartons. Already been using reusable bags for good few years - even for clothes shopping. Also bought soap bars to use more for hand and body washing though still have showe gels in plastics. I don’t really buy bottled water and reuse plastic drinks bottles for kids school drinks.

See that M&S arenputting more food in cardboard containers rather than plastic so will try and buy less packsged goods.

@MuddlingMackem - I have something similar already. The type with the middle bit for putting the fruit in. Thanks! I actually like the look of that one you linked to more than the one I have but am not buying any more water bottles. They seem to be taking over the house!

Also - regarding powder vs tablets.

Our landlord is an engineer. He has requested we use powder over tablets in the dishwasher. Tablets are basically powder stuck together and this "glue" is really bad for your dishwasher. So powder is cheaper, comes in better packaging and is better for your dishwasher/washing machine!

SFA

Re milk - my parents get theirs from a milkman and that's delivered in plastic bottles, so if you're thinking of changing it might be worth checking with them first.

sparechange I bought a yoghurt maker from lakeland mainly because I was concerned about the sugar content in kids yoghurts. Mostly now we have yoghurt from there (although you need long life milk which comes in cartons but at least it makes up more volume! ) and they have it in a bowl with a bit of jam in so I can control how much sugar they have.

I use soap bars too instead of shower gel or face wash. Have done for a long time. Makes a huge difference! I also use shampoo bars now as well. Annoyingly the Lush ones have SLS in them but I've spent a long time trying SLS free shampoo bars and shampoo alternatives with no luck at all. I've decided (just yesterday actually) that avoiding plastic is more important than avoiding SLS so it's back to the Lush bars. They do a conditioner bar too. It's not as great as the shampoo bar but again, reduces my plastic use an awful lot.

As others have said, it's the unavoidable and unnecessary packaging in supermarkets that you can't avoid. Aldi are particularly bad. We've reverted back to getting certain fruit and vegetables from Sainsbury's despite the price because Aldi package them and Sainsbury's don't.

I bought a couple of cloths in the autumn called Makeup Erasers. I used them for a few months, and decided to give them as presents to the rest of my family for Christmas! My cash strapped student niece was the most impressed, but am hoping they all benefit from them. It's cut the use of my wet wipes hugely.

Am liking the suggestions from some people, and will look into the nice Cornish company recommended upthread for their stuff. My scalp is getting more sensitive the older I get.