Plastic is everywhere – in the air, in the soil, in the rivers and in the sea and in our bodies. Microplastics have even been found on the top of Mount Everest and remote parts of the Arctic! We produce 450 million tonnes of plastic globally and this is set to grow exponentially in the coming decades as population increases and incomes rise. Plastics are very versatile which is why they are so popular. Plastic is made from fossil fuels and contributes to 3% of global emissions. It is very hard to avoid plastic when shopping as everything seems swaddled in it, but there a few actions you can take to reduce your consumption of plastic. As it is so hard to avoid plastic packaging, it is best to take your journey to reducing your plastic pollution slowly.

Refuse single use plastic

The easiest thing to do first is to avoid using single use plastics. You can avoid plastic packaging by buying loose fruit and vegetables and switch to buying products in glass bottles rather than in plastic bottles for products such as ketchup when you are in the supermarket. Another time we encounter lots of single use plastic is when we go out to buy lunch. Look at how you can avoid using plastic packaging and plastic cutlery. Is it possible for you to eat in at the café instead of taking it back to work? Can you bring in your own drink in a reusable bottle rather than buy one from the shop?

Throwing a party is another situation where you can avoid using single plastics. Balloons and glitter are single use plastics which contribute to plastic pollution and stay in the natural environment for many years. Products with glitter on such as birthday cards and wrapping paper cannot be recycled either and must go into general waste bin even if most of the product is made from recyclable material such as wood.

Other ways to avoid single use plastic is buy teabags which are biodegradable. Most teabags have plastic in them and need to go into the general waste bin. Avoid buying these teabags and find brands that sell compostable ones. Clingfilm is another widely used single use plastic. You can avoid using clingfilm by wrapping food up with foil or a beeswax wrap. Clingfilm cannot be recycled and is not biodegradable, so it will ultimately stay around in the environment for a very long time. Finally, another action you can take is to stop chewing gum because it contains plastic. Chewing gum is on most of our streets and spreads microplastics everywhere.

Reuse and refill

Reusing and refilling existing containers is another way to reduce the amount of plastic pollution you create. First, this involves avoiding plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic straws and plastic bottles and using a reusable alternative. Tote bags are the best alternative to plastic bags because they are sturdy and last the longest. It also estimated that carrying around a reusable water bottle will save you £243 a year. If you are a big coffee drinker, there are collapsible travel cups that you can buy and will take up little space in your bag.

To cut down on plastic from drinks cartons, use of your local milkman. Milkmen were a widely used delivery service for drinks and groceries in the UK, with 94% of households getting deliveries from them by 1975. However, this declined in the 1990s when supermarkets sold milk in plastic bottles. There has been a resurgence in the use of milkmen, especially after the coronavirus crisis meant people had to rely on home deliveries and it is an eco-friendly option. Local farms or UK wide company The Modern Milkman will likely by a close by option for you and they sell a wide variety of products.

A third way to use refillable containers is to buy household products that are in bottles that can be refilled. You can buy shampoo and conditioner in 5 litre containers from the company Refill and containers can be sent back to be refilled whenever they are finished. Companies such as Ecover sell laundry liquid, washing up liquid and cleaning fluids in bottles that can be refilled. They can sell in bulk, which not only reduces plastic waste, but also cuts the price. Finally, you can reuse plastic containers to contain random things lying around your home, such as small tools, nuts and bolts.

Engage more in the circular economy

One way to reduce the amount of plastic pollution you produce is to engage more with the circular economy. The circular economy is a concept that has been gaining more attention over the last two decades as we became increasingly aware of the challenge of moving away from the ‘take-make-dispose’ economy we currently live in that has been the cause of global warming. In our economy, we take resources from the ecosystem, make product with them for single use and throw them away instead of returning them to the environment. This destroys our environment, creates waste and causes greenhouse emissions.

One solution that has gained popularity internationally as a way of marrying our aspirations for a good life whilst maintaining our ecological system is promoting the circular economy. In a circular economy, resources taken from the environment would keep on circulating resources for multiple uses before returning to the environment.  This would mimic our ecological system in the sense that ecosystem produces without making any waste and does not reduce resources. A way of thinking about the circular economy is to think about the life of a tree . A tree grows leaves, flowers and fruit. These fall to the ground and either eaten by animals or rot and become nutrients for the soil, which in turn helps the tree to grow again. The tree produces and consumes without creating any waste. In an in circular economy, this is how we would be using resources to produce and consume. This would mean changing our ‘take-make-dispose’ economy and replace it by reusing, recycling and recovering resources in our production-consumption cycle.

You can incorporate the circular economy into your lifestyle by composting, using reusable products, renting and sharing what you need when it comes to clothing and transport.

Recycle whatever plastic you can

Once you have avoided, refilled and reused all the plastic you possible can when you go shopping, the only thing you can do is to recycle plastic where possible. Hard plastics, such as plastic bottles and containers can be put in the recycling bin and many soft plastics can be brought to collection points in supermarkets for recycling. Typically, packaging has instructions on how it can be recycled, so look out for it on the package.