What do you do to reduce your use of single use plastics?
I really love the idea of reducing single use plastics in my life. What have you done to successfully reduce or eliminate it?
I am finding that there are things that I can replace stuff with but they don't tend to work as well. If I can get like 90% efficacy out of a more eco friendly replacement then I'm good, but it's been more like 50% so far.
Where are you struggling to eliminate or reduce single use plastics?
My approach is I avoid buying things with lots of single use plastics in their packaging. If you shop Amazon you can opt to prefer paper/cardboard packaging (it's not always used though). I use reusable or no bags at the grocery store. Don't use straws or use metal / silicone. But that just scratches the surface of common sources of single use plastics - I'm also into 3D printing which can be a bear to reign in plastics use, luckily more companies are moving to cardboard spools for example.
Absolutely nothing other than voting. Any individual "reducing their plastic use" is just a drop in the ocean. The only meaningful change is through legislation or some economic situation. The only positive outcome of reducing your own plastic use is that warm and fuzzy feeling that you get from believing that you are doing something good.
However, I do not want to discredit that warm and fuzzy feeling. It brings people joy, and I think that is great.
Any individual "reducing their plastic use" is just a drop in the ocean.
No raindrop blames itself for the flood...
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Masses of individuals each making small local changes can add up to some very significant impacts.
Shampoo and conditioner in liter bottles, same with kitchen hand soap.
Paper bags for sandwiches and cheese.
Reusable glass containers (but we do have to replace the freaking plastic lids sometimes).
Reusing produce bags over and over until they tear.
We have not found a replacement for trash bags, doggie poop bags, plastic wrap is irreplaceable for some tasks.
You aren't personally responsible for the market of single use plastic crap. Do what you can. Over time you figure out some strategies.
If you can find one in your location we have been trying to shop more at a package free stores. We have found that the cleaning products which we have purchased are generally similar in price and work just as well if not better than we used to use. After living in a city that charged for bags at the grocery store we have gotten used to using a reusable bag for all grocery trips even though lots of items still have the single use plastics in packaging. For those we try to reuse that plastic as small garbage can liners or other uses but most get thrown away.
We have been trying to reduce our consumption in general (the high costs of goods has helped with this). We have been trying to only purchase the high quality long last version of any item instead of the cheapest one available. This has been difficult since the high quality is more expensive and its difficult to find what items are actually worth it instead of a brand name. Overall it difficult but being mindful of it has been helpful
This would be fantastic! I'll look around in my area.
We replaced liquid laundry detergent with powered , replaced shampoos and soaps in bottles with bar soap etc. And bought netting bags to replace plastic bags
I started using those "eco sheets" for my laundry and they work just as well. The big win is the container is the size of your hand and is made of cardboard
We switched to these also, and they work great. We also tried this with dishwasher detergent, though, and didn't have as much luck. Maybe it was the brand we chose.
Not sure where you are but there are many "refill" shops around me where they sell bulk soap, cleaning products, etc. Which I love and have been using for years.
There's similarly places that sell food in bulk and you can just bring a reusable bag/container and get the basics like flour, sugar, seeds, snacks I've even seen like margarine and salad dressings at some places. There's the bulk Barn in Canada and it's pretty affordable
I try to buy only glass or metal Tupperware, avoid using Ziploc bags. They sell reusable sandwich bags now too which are still plastic but much more reusable.
I always have a cup or two with me for coffee and collapsible metal straws. When I used to go to restaurants pretty often, I would bring my own takeout containers.
The basics like bring my own grocery bags and I also have little produce bags to replace the plastic ones from the store, or sometimes I'll just go without a bag for something like onions or oranges.
I still feel like I could be doing much better but it's really hard, especially if I'm buying easy to make food rather than raw ingredients. I do my best to support local places that try harder to provide eco-friendly alternatives, and with the rising costs of groceries, I've honestly found a lot of these places have stayed the same which is still more than the big grocery stores, but not really by that much anymore.
I work in in-home health care and I go through so many pairs of gloves in a day...
But there's no more hygenic option for cleaning up human waste so... just screwed.
Health related items are probably one of the few appropriate times to use plastic. I think that's a pretty common opinion. The medical world uses a lot of plastic to saves lives, compared to cocacola which uses single use plastic to save money and make us unhealthy
Don't feel guilty. You've gotta protect yourself. Your job is hazardous enough.
Out whole system is set up to make it crazy hard. I drink a lot of soda water, and despite what they'd have you believe, aluminum cans are lined with single use plastic. While the aluminum is recyclable, the plastic liner is not. I've been carbonating my own water at home to reduce the amount of cans I go through. Glass bottles aren't much better. In America, at least, they aren't reused, they are recycled, which involves melting them down at a large energy cost (probably more than the energy cost of making a single use plastic bottle).
I think my main cause of single use plastics is just food packaging. I try to avoid any of the really processed foods that are packaged in plastic. Obviously, I'm no better at this than anyone else, but I at least try to buy ingredients to make my own food. Every loaf of bread I bake is a single use bag I don't buy.
I also get a good portion of my produce from my own garden, or from a local farm, and that's all plastic free.
I'm always wary of products that try to do "plastic-free" by switching to a cardboard/paper material, cause if they are a package that needs to be water/air tight, they are going to be coated with some kind of plastic or other petrochemical product. Maybe it actually cuts down on the total amount of plastic, but it might just be greenwashing.
My wife carries a fold-up nylon shopping bag in her handbag everywhere we go. Useful in a surprising number of situations.
We've switched from petroleum plastic to cornstarch plastic bin liners in our kitchen. They're not as sturdy (basically they start to break down the moment they get wet) but they're solid enough to carry a week's cooking waste out to the big bin.
If plastic grocery bags could be considered single use, then I think I have an interesting method to share.
Since I was young, probably in the 2nd grade or so, my mom and I were trying this project where we'd take plastic bags and cut them into strips. We'd then feed these into her sewing machine, which used one of its functions to stretch the plastic until it was about the same with as a thin strand of rope or thick yarn. We'd quite literally roll them into balls of plastic yarn.
She'd then knit them into all sorts of things. Drawstring bags, coin purses, and her favorite- tote bags. They were very pretty and had unique feel to them as well. The best I could describe it was it felt like a fake leather purse, but more bumpy due to being knit. It might not be the most efficient method of reducing single use plastic waste, but given that we still have the bags we made back then, I'd say we did a pretty good job of keeping them out of the landfill!
Knitters and crocheters call that "plarn". But I've not heard of anyone feeding it through a sewing machine first. We just roll up the strips. There's a way to cut the bag so that it's one long continuous strip.
A popular use for this material besides making reusable shopping bags is to make sleeping mats for homeless persons.
Edit: meant to say that I find the sewing machine use fascinating and will see if Google can shed more light on how to go about it and what machines it can/can't be done with.
By not buying bottled water. Where I live water is clean, so I have a coffee thermos that I refill.
I have metal silverware in my desk at work. No more plastic spoons for eating my morning oatmeal.
I have the Opinel Picnic+ Cutlery set and it is awesome. It's a Opinel No.8 with a fork and spoon that can slide in, and all kept wrapped up in a cloth. It has completely replaced my need for plastic cutlery while out as I keep it in my man-purse (which is defined as a purse carried by a man).
A great way is by charging for volume of trash produced. My city works that way (pay per bag) and we produce very little trash (sometimes not even filling a trash bag in one week). It also makes you really consider buying something when you include the potential cost of throwing it away, if it is not reusable.
Most people wouldn't consider these "single use plastic" in the same way that a plastic baggie is. But I always make an effort to get glass containers for things like oil whenever possible
Don't order take out and touch as little plastic as possible in the grocery store
A lot of the takeout places near me are exclusively handing out cardboard and biodegradable based utensils. Which is the better solution systemically imo
I agree, DreamButt
I switched to a safety razor. Zero plastic, cheap to own and use. It's not much, but it's a start.
People have offered very going advice, something not mentioned is: buying larger containers for any plastic related things I do need to buy. If I'm buying dish soap, i'm purchasing a larger container to reduce the amount of plastic I'm purchasing per unit of product. Meats and fish generally use plastic packaging. I eat a lot of beans which can be placed in your own packaging at many regular grocery stores, and generate less green house gasses then meats and fish.
I take a cardboard box to the grocery store, instead of using bags
I use my own container and utensils for takeaway, bring my own shopping bag, eat less fastfood, and do less online shopping, and also buy less cheap plastic stuff(because cheap stuff that is no good is just plastic waste/e-waste). Not sure what i can do more because almost all groceries comes with one use plastic.
Make plastic out of ragweed.
What's your problem? I think the only ones I can't avoid are from packaging. But for my personal use everything is reusable.
I have a few water bottles, I take my bags for life when I go shopping and I try hard to buy things in recyclable packaging. This has really helped reduce the amount that goes into my general waste.