A lot of eco activists worldwide have tagged this month Plastic Free July. So, I’d first start off by saying happy plastic free July to you. *cue the fireworks*
This a perfect opportunity for me to write about, well, plastic. It is a noble thing to recycle plastics. But a fraction of some of those plastics that are recycled would as well end up in landfills, and ofcourse that is really bad for the environment. So, we should ultimately endeavor to reduce our use of this material all together, as much we can. It is much like trying to reduce on paper use, and choosing to go paperless in the office by using paperless business forms and paperless forms instead of paper forms in the office. It’s about finding alternative & sustainable ways of doing things.
Here are just some helpful tips on how to reduce your paper usage to reduce your carbon footprint:
Bring your own shopping bag:
- Just stop and think about how many times you’ve literally been given plastic bags to carry around your grocery. I’m sure it could up to thousands of times. According to one estimate, somewhere between five billion and one trillion plastic bags are used each year around the world. It’s ridiculous how much plastic is wasted (at a very high environmental cost at that) when you could literally just carry around a cheap reusable recycled shopping bag.
Store food differently:
- I grew up in a home where my mum would use old jars or glass containers to store food, rather than keeping them in plastic containers or ziplocks. I know she didn’t do them because she cared about the environment. But nevertheless, she had a good thing going, and I picked it up from her at an early age. Basically, your choice of plastic storage units is seriously worth re-evaluating.
- Use Reusable Bottles and Cups:
- Bottled water produces 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year, and these bottles require 47 millions gallons of oil to produce, according to Food & Water Watch. Instead of throwing them away or buying new ones, opt instead to refill reusable bottles. And, you just would be preventing them from ending up in landfills or oceans.
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Cardboard Vs. Paper:
- Choose cardboard and paper over plastic bottles and bags as it is easier to recycle cardboard than it is to recycle plastic. Cardboard can be more easily recycled and made into more products than plastic.
- A Few More Tips for the road:
- Use reusable ecofriendly cutlery, instead of plastic
- Say no to straws when you can, they are really not necessary, that is to say we can do without them.
- When you go shopping, buy in bulk. This is because the less number of times you have to take a trip to the grocery store means you’d save more on package.
- Buy laundry detergent and dish soap in boxes instead of plastic bottles.
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