To ask you to share easy ideas for eliminating plastic

[AnotherDayAnotherIdea]

The easiest one that strikes me is not buying those plastic bottles of pancake mix, given how simple the recipe is. I am amazed they are even still sold.

Please share plastic-eliminating ideas!

I never buy or use clingfilm. If I'm baking and things need to rest/prove, they get covered with a damp clean tea towel. If I'm savingleft over food in the fridge, it goes in a bowl with a saucer/plate on top.

It's more eliminating single use plastic rather than just plastic in general.

I have reusable silicone lids for things that go in the fridge.

Kids sandwiches go in reusable plastic pouches. Still plastic but will last for a few years so no clingfilm in our house.

I buy a large bag of crisps for lunch boxes rather than individual packs. Same for packs of pasta - a 5kg pack is less plastic than 5 x 1kg packs.

I make flapjacks and cookies instead of wrapped chocolate bars.

In the bathroom
old fashioned solid soap
Shampoo and conditioner bars.
Buy toilet paper that isn't wrapped in plastic.
Use Zero waste toothpaste. You get toothpaste tablets which are OK but I think this is an easier swap for most people
Use Fussy or Wild deodorant
Wild also do lovely lip balm in reuseable holders
Moisturiser is the hardest but you can get it in little tins rather than plastic containers.

Veg boxes - Riverford use minimal plastic and the plastic they do use is home compostable, we use the bags to line our compost caddy.
Buy soft drinks in cans rather than plastic and recycle them, metal is infinitely recyclable.
Return soft plastics to supermarkets to recycle, if we make it their problem then they will start doing something about it.

I’ve been trying to reduce plastic for years with varying degrees of success. But in the last 6 months I started focusing on reducing UPFs and increasing the quality of our food and it’s only when you mentioned the bottle of pancake mix that it struck me how much less plastic we have now. There are so many things we were buying that are easy to throw together and much nicer.

Biggest for us has been moving to soap and shampoo//conditioner bars. We now have just one bottle in the shower (my face cleanser) rather than 20.

Grease proof paper for sandwiches. It makes a nice paper wrapped package. Kids get good at wrapping 🤣. It’s reusable too. I just shake the crumbs off. It’s dry, it doesn’t absorb water so nothing can breed.

I wish tubs like yogurt and margarine were reusable- freezer and microwave proof.

Look out for products in alternative packaging eg sugar sold in paper, butter in paper not a plastic tub, loose veg where you can, cheese from a counter put in your own tub. Sometimes there's no choice or non plastic is more expensive, but often you can choose no/ less plastic options. I avoid food with individually wrapped plastic inside eg croissants, bread sticks etc.

We make our own pizza bases rather than buy ready made, and its easy.

Bar soap rather than liquid.
Wooden toothbrushes.

Trying to get cats to swap from plastic pouch food to metal trays, but they're not playing ball!

Take your own water bottle/ thermal cup out with you

If you've got pets buy tin cans instead of plastic pouches which aren't recyclable. Can get little plastic covers that clip on if you want to.

I feel so virtuous not using liquid shampoo any more😇.

A few different places do a cleanser bar so might be worth shopping around for that as well.

All plastic, really. The single use thing is a bit of a greenwash. Plastic can only be recycled so many times, and so much of it is getting into our bodies.

I am eliminating as much as I can from our wardrobes too, and have very few non- cotton items.

I save on shampoo bottles for the kids by not washing their hair. They're both under 10 and have beautiful, fluffy hair that has never been shampooed.

We don't use cling film, foil (well, sometimes but very rarely), disposable wipes, plastic sandwich bags, or kitchen roll. We put things in tupperware and have reusable wipes / use clean tea towels instead of kitchen roll. We have reusable cups and a thermos mug for our and about.

We buy certain things in 5L bottles - much more efficient, and cheaper! Like conditioner and washing up liquid. I also buy kids birthday cards in bulk, so they come in a cardboard box (no individual plastic wrap). We buy washing powder in a cardboard box rather than tabs/liquid detergent, and tend to buy a few other products in paper bags rather than plastic where we have the option e.g. oats.

We used to use reusable nappies and wipes for the kids but they are grown out of them now. Reusable nappies and wipes were really good. Just a superior product to disposable equivalents, before you even think of the cost and environmental benefits. I also use reusable sanitary pads sometimes.

Still seem to create a ton of plastic waste (we recycle it at Tesco but still feel bad that we have used so much plastic in the first place).

Make your own detergents.
Nancy Birtwhistle’s mixtures are green and better than branded. Yes, you have to buy the basic products but I can get vinegar in glass bottles, citric acid, washing soap and washing soda in cardboard packaging.
Large bottles of detergents (windolene, fabric conditioner) are 75% water, so even buying concentrated pods to dilute will save a lot of plastic.

There was a time I lived on the 5th floor without a lift, so I’d buy the lightest version of everything with the least packaging. So consider:
Dry pasta and pulses, flour not bread, cartons rather than tins, Knorr packet soups, dried herbs and dry cat food. Brita water filter, never bottles. Always take a sturdy foldable shopping bag with comfortable handles to avoid crappy ecoplastic bags.

I was a student and they were happy days!

@JaninaDuszejko I've just had a look at the zero waste toothpaste site. Do you use it? Don't you think the refills alone work out ridiculously expensive compared to a normal tube, or am I reading it wrong?

Get milk delivered in glass bottle
Use a soda stream for fizzy drinks
Take sports bottles out - never buy drinks when out and about
Large refill (5l) toiletries into glass bottles
Make my own cleaning sprays using soda crystals, washing up liquid, essential oils

Do you just use conditioner?

I tried to do this a few years ago but the enthusiasm burnt out after a few months. Anyway I did this:

Got milk delivered weekly in glass bottles.
Pet food in tins.
Sandwiches in paper bags from the wholesaler
Only bought drinks in glass bottles or cans
Oil/vinegar/condiments in glass bottles/jars
Took my own paper bags to greengrocers (they had switched to plastic)

The impossible things were: crisps, takeaway containers, most food packaging, teabags, cereals (except porridge and weetabix for some reason)

Yes, the toothpaste is more expensive than normal toothpaste. That's true for a lot of green options sadly.

Can't speak for the OP but DS had eczema and so we didn't use shampoo until he hit puberty when it started getting greasy. His hair as a young child was gorgeous, the only time we had an issue with it was when he got slime in it and we used conditioner to get it out. It took a couple of weeks for his hair to recover. Put me off conditioner TBH.

Glass dishes instead of tupperware or plastic pots for leftovers.

Refill shops

Soap bars

Beeswax wraps for sandwiches

Buying larger quantities and decanting into suitable containers as required

Who gives s crap loo rolls

The smol products are good. I use the kitchen spray, fabric conditioner, laundry detergent, dish soap. No plastic or refillable. Raindrop hand soap tablets too. You pop a tablet into water in a glass dispenser.

No, nothing. I run a wet flannel over their heads or just tip plain water over them.

I ordered a big box of recycled toilet paper from another company. I don't want to go for WGAC. They run adverts when my six and four year olds are watching TV and I'm not happy about that!