Five Simple Ways To Reduce Your Plastic Waste

The invention of plastic was a life-changing event. It is a reliable and affordable material used in packaging, footwear, clothes, gadgets, and much more. Almost everything you see in your vicinity has some sort of plastic in it, and for good reasons, as plastic is a sturdy, widely available, cheap, and easy to handle material. It brought about a major industrial revolution, and since then, we have relied heavily on plastics. So much so that today it’s the most used material on earth. The overuse of plastic has created a global plastic waste challenge that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

To understand why plastic waste is turning into a crisis, we need to understand what plastic is. Basically, it is a polymer, often made from different fossil fuel chemicals like natural gas and petroleum. Most importantly, it is an artificial material that can be engineered to achieve different goals with different characteristics at will. Plastic can be made to be flexible, lightweight, stiff, durable, strong, and water-resistant. As stated previously, it is a beneficial material, but it comes with significant setbacks – its recyclability. Plastics are very difficult to recycle and re-use as it needs tons of energy to do so. Furthermore, when thrown away in landfills, plastic waste does not decompose like other organic materials, and it can be trapped in our environment for centuries before it decays.

Tons of Plastic waste is being dumped daily into landfills around the world. Some of it washes away to the oceans, affecting marine life adversely and causing high alarms for the fishing industry. This has created a major plastic waste management crisis around the globe. We, as responsible citizens, can help solve this problem and save our planet earth by eliminating or reducing the use of plastic in our daily lives. In this blog, we are giving you five simple and easy tips that can be useful to reduce your plastic waste.

1. Reusable water bottles and cups: The most important step to reducing plastic waste is avoiding one-time-use plastic bottles and other disposable items. Instead, it is encouraged to benefit from reusable metal bottles or glassware mugs. Aluminum bottles are a great alternative to plastic bottles. Not only are they safe and reusable, but they are recyclable as well. So once you are done with them, they can be transformed into another aluminum product.

You can use your own aluminum water bottle in your office, carry it around in your backpack or purse and refill it at public water coolers and fountains. This will reduce your plastic waste, and at the same time, save you some bucks, as you will always have access to free drinking water with your own bottle. Adapting such sustainable habits and keeping ourselves away from one-time-use plastic bottles will drastically reduce the amount of plastic waste one generates in their lifetime.

2. Stop using Plastic cutlery: Take-away food boxes and plastic bags that are common for carrying food end up in trash cans and are not recycled properly. Masses should be encouraged to say no to plastic packaging, cutlery, plates, and more. You can also consider bringing your own lunch in reusable tin containers to your workplace. This is not only is a healthier option, but it also reduces your plastic waste since you no longer need to order takeaway food.

3. Choose metal/wood over Plastic items: Apparently not a game-changer to solve a global plastic waste issue, but replacing plastic razors with metal razors and a plastic toothbrush with wooden toothbrushes and taking other similar steps can offload tons of plastic waste from landfills.

It is estimated that almost 2 billion plastic razors are discarded every year, and 1 billion plastic toothbrushes end up in landfills annually. Those numbers are staggering and only increasing each year. Furthermore, metal razors last way longer than plastic ones. However, the wooden or bamboo toothbrush needed to be replaced just as often, about every 3 months. Still, the bamboo brush will decompose in 5 to 6 months, and the plastic toothbrush will take decades before decomposing into earth’s landfills. Therefore, by introducing the above-mentioned small steps in our lives, we can contribute massively to this great cause of reducing plastic waste.

4. Avoid single-use Plastics: Say No to plastic straws and Yes to paper straws. It is routine at fast-food restaurants and other food and snack places to give plastic straws with each drink. You can enjoy your drink without using a straw, and in case if you need one, you can opt to carry your personal reusable straw. Also, say no to plastic shopping bags. Whenever you go shopping, always carry reusable bags such as cloth bags or paper bags.

5. Avoid cosmetic products that contain microbeads: Millions of plastic microbeads are washed down into the oceans each year. This poses a severe threat to marine life who mistakes them for food. It is also dangerous for us as this plastic enters our food chain. Luckily, governments around the world are putting bans on items that contain microbeads. The market is also full of alternative products to tackle this problem. Overall, buy clothes that are made of natural fabrics, wear makeup that is free from micro-plastic, choose bath and shower soaps with zero microbeads in them.

It is a long fight against the global plastic waste challenge, and everyone has to put in their efforts for a cleaner and greener earth. There are several ways to reduce your plastic consumption, but the above are some ways you can get started and make a change.