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???

Oh and using cloth menstrual pads and a cup instead of disposables.

A local shop does Ecover refills for washing up liquid and softener too.

Last Christmas I wrapped my partner's gifts using fabric that I already had. It's a Japanese wrapping technique called 'furoshiki'. I didn't do it this year and was then annoyed when I saw all the pointless wrapping paper.

I agree on the supermarket packaging. It would help our cause hugely. Sadly, I don't have a greengrocer or decent market nearby.

The "Weigh and Save" places would be great - I saw the link upthread to places locally and although in Glasgow you can buy things like beans, lentils, vinegar and olive oil, it would be great to see places which sell the basics by weight/volume which you can then decant into your own containers.

Flour, washing up liquid, shampoo, coffee, sugar, rice, pasta etc etc etc.

Will try to cut down use of plastic

Buy more eco friendly products

In supermarket could you reuse the plastic bags you use to buy fruit and veg or should supermarkets go back to paper and cashiers should check contents or

What can u use instead of those toilet duck loo freshener things

What frustrates me is that apparently if people live in flats they are not obligated to recycle

Sandwich wraps here too, although I only bought one, as a trial, and it’s in use today, so ended up using bastarding cling film for dd’s sandwiches today. I think I’ll order some more.

I’ve also switched to biodegradable toothbrushes (bamboo) and have ordered some toothy tabs from Lush instead of toothpaste and mouthwash.

I’m expecting a baby in just under 3 weeks time as well and I’ve bought lots of second hand reusable nappies. We always used cheeky wipes with dd anyway, so will continue with those too.

I received a metal drinks bottle for Xmas as well to avoid needing to buy bottles of water out and about.

Actually the supermarkets could give us reusable containers or metal dish to put lose vegetables in then weighed and tipped into our bags, no plastic then returned to shop floor for next customer

I read that they have found some sort of larve that contains an enzyme that breaks down plastics. They have also discovered a fungus that does the same. Not sure why this could not be used to break down plastics on a larger scale. There is also the Ocean Cleanup project which should (once fully operational) collect a lot of the plastics from our seas. The problem is money and power. At the moment there is not enough incentive for the Governments of the world to deal with it probably because the plastics lobby is big and powerful and a lot of people will be getting very rich from polluting the place with plastics.

There are often simple(ish) solutions to big problems, once you dig a bit deeper you will find a vested interest wanting to keep the problem going because they somehow benefit from it. And China is one of the most corrupt and polluting countries on earth!

And you’ve just reminded me I want to buy some net bags for fruit and veg. I’m trying to do more fruit and veg shopping at the market anyway, instead of supermarkets. I’m trying to phase out meat, but when we do buy it I go to a local butchers. I might get a bag to put meat in. Does anyone know how to make that hygienic?

killforcarrots

There is a huge difference between something working in a lab setting, and working on an industrial scale

And the ocean clean up is great, but then what happens to the collected plastic?
Uncontaminated plastic is difficult enough to recycle and reuse. Plastic that has been bobbing around in the sea for months is really really difficult to recycle and reuse, unless it is mixed in with a high proportion of 'new' plastic.

It can't be used for fizzy drinks because it is too brittle and liable to splitting. It has a murky grey colour to it so can't be used for products where the consumer expects the bottle to be perfectly clear, or food products

Method and Ecover have been experimenting with ocean plastic in their bottles but they are a niche company with a customer demographic who will accept 'sub standard' packaging when they know it's recycled

Coke and Heinz customers won't.

I didn't even realise how much plastic was around me until I read a thread on mumsnet a couple of days ago, so threads like this are good. I just can't believe how much plastic is in my house, I've counted 36 plastic bottles in the bathroom alone. I'm on a huge mission to stop using it this year. My first step is obviously to not buy anything else that comes in a plastic bottle! Also going to get some bamboo toothbrushes as ours are on their way out anyway.

If you had a dedicated "meat bag" which would probably just have to be sturdy plastic, you could just wash it out with hot water and washing up liquid after use. I also suppose if you're going to a local butcher, you could take plastic boxes to put meat in to take home. Bit bulky, but not too heavy.

We are not on this planet for a long time, so we may as well use the resources we have available to us in order to live fulfilling lives. "Live for the moment” and all that.

If that’s your attitude towards life then so be it. But it’s rather hypocritical to then follow that statement up with;

If we were serious about saving the planet, we would focus on reducing the spiralling population.

Nah, fuck that. I’m having 17 children because I’m only on this planet for a short time and I should spend that time doing exactly what I want, and I want to have as many children as I can. “Live for the moment” and all that.

We are not on this planet for a long time, so we may as well use the resources we have available to us in order to live fulfilling lives. "Live for the moment” and all that.

I agree that we're not on this planet for a long time and the Earth itself will be fine. We'll be wiped out eventually and a new species will evolve to suit a new environment. Thats not the issue. We won't all live happily enjoying all the worlds resources until we are suddenly wiped out. Our grandchildren and future generations will live in poor conditions, trying to survive on depleting and polluted resources, living in houses built on endless landfill sites with increased risks of flooding and erratic weather conditions if we don't at least do something to make our time on this planet a bit more bearable and sustainable.

Soap not handwash/shower gel
Shampoo bars
Buy face creams etc in glass bottles/jars rather than plastic (the Ordinary serums come in glass bottles which helps)
Lip salve in metal tins/glass jars rather than plastic tubes
Always have fabric tote bags with you for shopping
Buy fruit/veg at greengrocers rather than supermarket and buy loose or in paper bags
Buy meat from butchers rather than supermarket (less packaging)
Stainless steel refillable water bottle
Don't buy sparkling water/squash/soft drinks in plastic bottles - glass bottles or cans
Don't buy any new stuff until you've used up existing things

Ketchup in mayonnaise in glass bottles/jars rather than squeezy plastic bottles
Bamboo toothbrushes that can be composted once they're done with

I’ve switched to soap in the shower rather than shower gel.
Loose leaf tea rather than bags. There’s plastic in tea bags!
Always use a reuseable coffee cup/flask.
Veg/fruit box delivery.
Butter in paper rather than a tub of marge.
Reuseable nappies/wipes/sanpro/kitchen roll.
Next mission is to make reuseable food wraps.

Another thing I've been thinking about... Schools here give out plastic bottles at both breakfast club and in the lunch hall. It's an obscene amount daily and a huge number are just thrown out half drunk. It's so unnecessarily wasteful.

Re not using black bin liners, I do because that's how my local council takes the non-recyclable waste. But I buy recycled plastic black bags from wilkos. It's all very well recycling plastic but we need to create a market for the recycled (plastic) items this industry produces.

So recycled toilet paper, bags, sometimes supermarket groceries (generally organic ranges, I find) come in recycled packaging.

Plastic film is what mainly fills my black bin bags though which is annoying. I'd say 90% of my landfill waste is plastic film! My council don't take it with recycling.

@CiderwithBuda, DH reckons the ones with the fruit at the bottom work better because you still get the flavouring as you drink the water, whereas the ones you have the fruit ends up in air as the water level goes down.

I recycle what I can, i use my own shopping bags, I don’t buy micro bead products, I use soap (but can’t change shampoo as mine is medicated), I repurpose where possible, I rarely buy new furniture and always pass on what we don’t need, I use stainless steel travel mugs at work (and am slowly converting other people too), I don’t buy straws or disposable plates etc.

I can’t do more than I do, and I’m damned if I’m going to go into a spiral of drama because of that.

@WhatToDoAboutThis2017 really? Do you have kids? Do you give a shit about anyone else's kids? Because if you do at all, in the slightest, you should care.

pepperminttaste have you talked to the school about it? It must be costing them a fortune, never mind the storage, and the time taken to hand them all out, etc. If they installed a couple of water fountains plumbed into the mains that would do the job with a lot less fuss and waste.

This is a great thread! I'm going to start changing our practices at home.
But I worry about the balance of reducing plastic use vs higher cost and/or travel to source the items.
Currently, we recycle, don't use straws, reuse sandwich boxes, menu plan to avoid food waste.

For those using nappies we have always used Naty which fully biodegrade and never had a problem with them.
We get looks which baffles me. Yes in theory reusables are better but it makes us run the washing machine and tumble drier that much more so not convinced personally.

My son is six and incontinent. I’m not putting him through the indignity of using bulky reusable nappies I’m afraid. I do as much as I can with other things, but I’m not budging on his nappies.

Which has reminded me that I need to activate his order.