I’ve always been conscious about our environment. I grew up living opposite a forest full of wildlife; at University I studied Environmental Science as well as Archaeology; and I now run my own business which re-purposes old books.
But this year we have seen a huge focus in the media on reducing plastic waste – and rightly so. A quick Google search will give you all the facts and figures, but here are the very few small changes that I have made to reduce plastic.
Very quickly I just want to say this is not an ad, all items were purchased by myself and any businesses mentioned are merely my own recommendation. Okay let’s move on…
1.The reusable bag
What I love about this bag so much is that I swapped it with an unwanted Christmas gift (A duplicate Little Miss Sunshine Mug) at my local WI group. I also love the fact it’s a watermelon, and that it folds down really small but is really strong and is easily filled with books on an impromptu visit to the charity shop!
I also carry a spare in the car boot just in case!
2. The reusable coffee cup
I love coffee. And I drink lot of it, so a reusable cup immediately helps reduce coffee cup waste. Although coffee cups can be recycled , it’s not an easy process and there are only a few places in the country that have the machines to specially remove the plastic lining from the paper outer.
I may invest in a collapsible cup as I do find when out and about they do take up a lot of space in my bag. I always get lovely comments on my cup cozies by The Fun Impossible.
3. Cheeky Wipes Cosmetic Pads
These wipes have replaced my cotton wool pads and have made me wonder why we ever use cotton wool pads? Once upon a time I’d have used a flannel, but as I like to use Micellar Water these days, a flannel is just too big.
The Cheeky Wipes bamboo towelling pads come in black (and hide any mascara stains) they come in packs of 10 and can be popped into the wash with ease. I especially love the fact that they are posted in plastic free packaging all of which you can recycle.
4. Crisp Packets
No, I’ve not found an alternative to the crisp packet, nor have I stopped eating crisps (shh don’t tell my Slimming World consultant 😉 ) but I have stopped putting them in the general waste. Even though my local council won’t recycle them I now volunteer to recycle the crisp packets for our local WI, and at the last meeting we had well over 300 packets to drop-off at the nearest Walkers Crisp recycling centre. Throughout the month I store the crisp packets in a tin in the kitchen.
Walkers have teamed up with Terracycle and have hundreds of bins in schools and public places over the country that can recycle ANY crisp packet – doesn’t have to be Walkers – check out their website for more details.
5. Re-usable water bottle
I cannot remember the last time I bought a bottle of water… I’ve had my Hydratem8 for a few years now and can’t fault it. Yes it’s made of plastic but I’ve had plenty of use from it and plenty more to come I hope!
I especially love the fact that it helps encourage me to drink more water. And now with so many businesses signing up to the refill scheme it’s easy to get free water all over the country!
6. Swapped Wipes for anti-bac spray and cloths
A no brainer. If you haven’t watched BBC’s War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita then I really recommend you do. The wipes problem isn’t only a large cause of fatbergs in our sewers but they are hugely contributing to the plastic problem. I used to use baby wipes to clean my notebooks, but now I use a diluted antibac spray and a cloth – just dampen the cloth and wipe. Simple! And saves me money too!
There are lots of other ways to help reduce plastic, these are my main ones which have made very little impact on my normal daily routine. Please feel free to share your tips or let me know if this has inspired you to make a change and help reduce plastic waste.
Retro from Scratch 