As a species we seem to have gone totally plastic mad, the stuff is EVERYWHERE.

It feels deeply ingrained in our society.

Reduce, reuse and recycle.

These are the buzz words that will assist you in reducing your plastic footprint in 2020.

According to The Economist, we now create 380 million tonnes per year of global plastic production. Since the 50’s only 9% of plastic has been recycled and another 12% has been incinerated. The remaining has been dumped into landfills, or our natural environment.

Mostly, plastic packaging is dumped after one short indulgence, with single-use plastic packaging being the worst offender. Offenders include plastic straws, disposable coffee cups, plastic carrier bags, drinks bottles, wrappers and food packaging. This is especially true for America and Europe.

Plastic is an unnatural material. It can take over 400 years to decompose.

(In fact, this is a guess from the experts as we’ve never seen any plastic decompose as it hasn’t been around long enough.)

Combine that plastic isn’t biodegradable with the explosion in population numbers, that’s a scary amount of plastic.

Where does this plastic go currently?? Where will it all go in the future??

At best it’s in the ground or at worst it’s in the ocean! That’s where.

Predictions have been made by Ellen MacArthur that there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish if we cannot find our way out this plastic problem.

Fortunately, change is coming. From both organisations and people.

Tip #1 – Eat A Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet

Sorry not sorry for starting with this one.

Fundamentally this one also means eat less convenience foods.

Often, convenience processed foods are sold in plastic packaging.

By buying fresh fruit and veg from the farmers market and combining with your plant-based protein sources, you’ll cut out all of the plastic from these pre-packaged processed foods.

Eating a fresh produce plant-based diet means getting your protein from sources such as lentils, beans, garbanzo beans (chickpeas). It can also act as a huge money saver, try purchasing these dried and see how much money you can save.

If you’d like to find out more about the benefits, how to and what to eat then check out Going Vegan in 2020, The Ultimate Guide For Beginners. If you just want to eat more plants while still indulging in meat sometimes then check out The Flexitarian Diet 101 – How To Eat Less Meat And More Plant-Based Foods.

You pick up plant-based foods from the local farmers market, and use paper bags instead of plastic bags or packaging.

Supermarkets and grocery stores are also taking note and now making commitments to try and eliminate plastic packaging especially around fruit and veg. If they haven’t started putting something in place already, then it’s likely they will soon due to consumer pressure.

PLANT-BASED FOOD MADE SIMPLE

Eating plant-based doesn’t have to be complicated. This Complete Plant-Based Diet Foods List makes grocery shopping quick, easy and delicious.

Tip #2 – Only Use Reusable Steel Straws Instead Of Plastic Straws

Plastic straws suck, big time.

They are used only once and discarded.

Plastic straws somehow end up in our oceans and can take up to 200 years to decompose! They find their way into turtle’s noses.

Steel straws are a much better option for when out and about.

It’s time we stop using them in restaurants, perhaps say ’no straw’ when you order.

Steel straws are brilliant to keep in the draw at home and are easy to clean. It can be a good idea to also carry one around with you for when drinking out. They are also better than plastic straws as far as straws go as they just feel more substantial than a plastic one.

Tip #3 – Take Reusable Fabric Tote Bags Or Backpacks When Buying Groceries

According to Greenpeace, the UK uses over 35 million plastic bottles everyday. You can download an app called Refill that will tell you where 14,000 free refill stations are based where you can take your bottles to, so that you can stop buying water in single use bottles.

Plastic carrier bags are thin and easily rip.

They are cheap to produce, easy to carry and they have been embedded into grocery stores.

Its common place to find them in the pantry or lining bathroom bins in the home.

BUT, they carry an enormous cost to the environment.

According to The United Nations of Information Centre for Western Europe, the United States produces 100 billion plastic bags per year, yes, 100 billion!

They end up circling the trash cans on the street, blowing in the breeze amongst the tress and they end up in the tummies of whales and other marine life.

In the United Kingdom, customers are charged 5p per bag they take from the store. Canada is looking to ban them by 2021. San Francisco has started banning them all together.

Instead of using plastic bags, invest in fabric bags, backpacks or even a trusty wheeled shopping trolley. If you have a car, it can be a good idea to keep a bunch of spare fabric bags ready to go.

Also, it’s good to think further than just grocery shopping, carry all your purchases from electronics to toiletries in tote bags too.

Tip #4 – Use Soap Bars To Reduce Plastic Waste

Making the switch from bottle to bar is inevitable in the fight against plastics.

Plastic shower and hand-wash bottles are used once and tossed away.

There are lots of organic and natural scented soaps in the market that are both more environmentally friendly plus boasting that they have zero plastic waste.

They can smell nicer and feel more moisturising to your skin than a gel from a bottle.

Tip #5 – Bulk Buy Wholesale Products Such As Oats, Dried Lentils/Beans, Pasta and Rice

Many dried foods can be purchased wholesale.

Not only is this much cheaper, but it means you’ll have to purchase it less often and you’ll reduce your plastic purchases.

Glass jars filled with the dried foods also look chic in your home either on the side or when you look in the cupboard and will look in freshness.

If you’re not sure on your plant-based protein sources and would like more info then Where Plant-Based Vegans Get Their Protein From has all the info.

Tip #6 – Ditch Cling Wrap When Going Zero Waste

It’s another single-use plastic.

Is it just me or does this end up in a total wrestle anyway to wrap whatever you need to. Maybe I missed the lesson in school where they tell you how to win against cling wrap. All I know is that it starts clinging to me or whatever else is within clinging distance!

But the pain of cling wrap doesn’t stop there.

Cling wrap cannot be recycled in most American or United Kingdom recycling facilities.

The advice is to use re-usable containers instead.

Place sandwiches in lunchboxes instead of plastic wrap, use ceramic glass containers to reheat food in the microwave or cover with a plate.

Another alternative if you have no suitable reusable containers is to use aluminium foil, it can be and should be recycled rather than end up in a domestic landfill.

Tip #7 – Buy Boxes, Not Plastic Bottles

Purchasing juices, plant-based milks or laundry detergents?

Opt for those sold in carton cardboard material over those in plastic.

If possible, it’s best to get the ones which you can cut at the sides/corners instead of having a plastic top clip thing.

The cardboard options are much easier to recycle than plastic bottles, plus paper-based products decompose much easier.

Even better would be to choose companies who source their cardboard sustainably or have a strong stance on deforestation.

Tip #8 – Have A Thermos Instead Of Plastic Waste

Have a Starbucks or daily coffee habit? Start using a thermos for all of your hot drink.

They are refillable and you’d be surprised for how long they can keep the drink warm if you’d like it to.

Tip #9 – Compost Your Plant-Based Waste

When eating a plant-based diet, much of your waste can be the scraps of the food itself.

For example, potato or squash skin, the ends of vegetables, orange or banana peel or the ends of a cucumbers.

Garbage bags. Landfills. The ocean. The mass scale of waste is a mass scale problem.

Rather than natural waste taking up space in your garbage or rubbish, why not get a composter and dispose there? This reduces your contribution to landfills.

Then every once in a while, you can dispose of and give back to the soil. The ground and critters will be grateful for the addition as the natural waste helps soil to retain moisture, enriches and helps to suppress disease and pests.

Composting also encourages the production of beneficial bacteria and fungi that breakdown organic matter to create humus, a rich nutrient filled material. Lucky critters I guess!

Tip #10 – Use A Bamboo Toothbrush To Reduce Plastic Waste

Using a bamboo-based toothbrush eliminates unnecessary toothbrush waste.

While providing you with the same sparkling clean teeth that a plastic toothbrush can offer. With all of the packaging and tossing away of your toothbrush, recycling, reusing or composting couldn’t be easier.

They last just as long as a conventional plastic toothbrush.

Bamboo toothbrushes are naturally antimicrobial, this ensures bacterial growth is extremely limited. The bamboo fights the microbes while cleaning your teeth.

Bamboo is the gift of nature for your teeth!

Tip #11 – Use A Refillable Bottle

To cover your water needs in the office or at home also have a refillable water bottle instead of using single-use cups or bottles. The idea is that you never need to buy a bottle of water in a single-use bottle again.

I have added this to my bag that I carry around everywhere. The reusable water bottle market has been flooded with stainless steel options and pretty designs.
As we’ve heard a million times before, it’s recommended we drink 2 litres of water per day. By carrying around water with you wherever you go it means you’re more likely to hit this target.

Tip #12 – Quit Or Switch Up Your Chewing Gum

I hate to burst your bubble gum bubble, but chewing gum is made up of plastic properties.

When you are chewing these, they are leaking into your body. Do you remember that thing you were told as a child “If you swallow your chewing gum it’ll stay in your tummy for seven years?”

Well I don’t know if that’s true (it probably isn’t but we believed it at the time didn’t we?).

Anyway.

After you have disposed of chewing gum, it can end up in the stomachs of fish, turtles, whales – you name it.

The good news is there are some new all-natural brands coming up. Try Chicza, it doesn’t have plastic in it as it is made from the resin in trees from Mexico.

Tip #13 – Say ‘So Long’ To The Glitter Fairy

We all love glitter, it makes for happiness and joy at any given time. Arts and crafts, even face or body paint, the sparkles are just wonderful aren’t they?

It’s the sparkly devil in some ways, once it’s out there it’ll never leave your house or the whole area. It’ll stick to your face at random times for decades to come.

Glitter is unfortunately a micro-plastic. It does take hundreds of years to decompose and because of its size, after use it’s likely to end up in the oceans.

The issue can be solved by purchasing instead environmentally-friendly glitter or by buying paper confetti to add the party time.

Tip #14 – Headphones On Flights

You’re taking a trip somewhere, you sit down in your seat, and then the kind air stewards or stewardesses come around and give you a free pair of single-use plastic headphones to enjoy the flights entertainment with.

Often the entertainment systems just use the traditional headphone jack. It is recommended to cut back on plastics usage to always bring your own pair so that you don’t need a pair from the airline. The quality may also be better.

Tip #15 – Reuse Glass Jars From Foods

Glass jars are pretty versatile. They can save you purchasing food containers.

You can start collecting glass jars from everyday cooking and items such as spaghetti sauce or peanut butter. You can use them salads, overnight oats or soups, just to name a few.

Tip #16 – Avoid The Worst Offenders

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Polystyrene and Polycarbonate. If ever you see these materials, just avoid like the plague.

PVC is not biodegradable or degradable. It takes over 1000 years to decompose. By my estimates, that means that no PVC has ever decomposed yet right?

Scary stuff.

Polystyrene, the chemicals deplete the ozone layer, classed as a carcinogen to humans and slow to biodegrade.

Polycarbonate is a group of thermostatic polymers containing carbonate groups… (they lost me at polymers). The important bit is that environmentally, this stuff is described as a ‘nightmare.’ It never biodegrades as it’s made of petroleum. The chemical bi-products that leak into the soil can cause significant damage.

Enough said on those three.

Tip #17 – Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree – Plastic Ones Are Not Plastic Waste Free

’Tis the season to be jolly, jolly with a tree.

More and more nicely designed trees are popping up for the home that may look pretty but unfortunately are made of plastic and meant for throw away at the end of the year.

A good way to get around this by avoiding a plastic Christmas tree is to go back to how it was in the olden days and get a wooden tree. The fresh smell of pine also fills the house with the most incredible smell. These trees make for some stunning family photos. Say cheese next your wooden tree everyone!

After all of the festivities are over for another year you can dispose of the tree with a wood chopper and it can just go back into the soil.

Another tip for Christmas time is to only give ‘green gifts’ meaning presents that are plastic free and environmentally friendly too.

Steer clear of toys where you have to get through five layers of plastic and several cable ties.

Tip #18 – Getting Lit With Matches

Matches are made from wood and are fully biodegradable.

Matches, generally speaking, do not contribute to the global waste problem.

Did you know that over 1.5 billion disposable plastic lighters end up in landfills every year. It’s typical for them to end up being ingested by birds and other animals who think they are a source of food.

Cardboard matches are made from recycled materials. They definitely have less of an environmental impact than plastic lighters.

Tip #19 – Use Cloth Diapers When Going Zero Waste

Plastic diapers do not degrade well in a landfill.

They normally take over 500 years to decompose.

Due to the explosion in global population numbers, in the US alone, The Environmental Protection Agency reports that about 20 billion disposable diapers a dumped in landfills each year.

More bad news is that diapers also release toxic chemicals into the environment, which have all been linked to adverse health affects in humans.

It’s better for the planet if your baby poops into a cloth diaper. These are washable in the home and reusable. Saving dollars and helping the environment.

Tip #20 – Make Your Own Snacks And Energy Bars

If you’re anything like me, you’ll want to ensure you’ve always got plant-based snacks stashed in your bag for any given snack based emergency.

Most protein and energy bars in the shops come in single-use plastic wrapping.

Why not make some cacao and almond energy balls at home or oat cookies? You’ll know exactly what’s going into them ingredients wise, but also you’ll reduce your plastic footprint but not having that daily wrapper to throw away.

The Bottom Line

Seemingly plastic pollution has less fuss created over it than other kinds of pollution, however it doesn’t mean that it’s any less serious.

Blue Planet II assisted in raising awareness with people now starting to take note. However, we are still at the bottom of a very big plastic mountain to climb to be closer to fixing the issue.

According to BBCEarth, in some parts of the ocean, it is estimated there are over half a million pieces of plastic for every square kilometre.

The worlds oceans are drowning in plastic.

As humans, we need to set ourselves free. The tips above are to give some inspiration on how to cut back on single-use plastics on an individual level.

Single-use plastic continues to be manufactured due to demand. If we can cut back on the demand, then less will be made and put out into the world and less plastic will end up in the oceans.

If you would like to read more on switching to a vegan plant-based diet, then check out Going Vegan In 2020, The Ultimate Guide For Beginners. If you’re not sure you want to go vegan or what veganism is then 10 Ways To Be Vegan can give you all the info.

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