10 easy ways to reduce your plastics use in 2019
by main extract from Sandra Levine, Guardian Environment Correspondent
Climate change is happening now and its happening faster and much worse than predicted. Global warming is the greatest threat to the world we know and everything in it. People are dying, more and more animals are becoming critically endangered or extinct in the wild, habitats are being destroyed and our oceans continue to be polluted and overfished. Sadly, some countries, like Japan, are starting commercial whaling again and totally ignoring international criticism. It's going to get worse beyond doubt or argument.
We have just years to change course. If we manage it, we could save the world, at least the one we recognize. Realistically, the prognosis at the moment is that we won’t manage to steer the ship around in time. Thats going to require the effort of every single human being and there are 7.7 billion of us sharing this planet as on January 1, 2019.
Following Extract taken from Article Written by Sandra Levine, Guardian Environment Correspondent
Plastic has become perhaps the most demonized material of the last 12 months, as the scale of pollution in the oceans becomes increasingly apparent.With dire predictions that if nothing is done there will be more plastic in the seas by weight than fish by 2050, it has become evident that we cannot recycle our way out of the plastic problem. More than 8 million tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans each year. Meanwhile virgin plastic production continues apace and is set to leap by 40% over the next 10 years as more products are made from virgin plastic than from recycled.
As consumers, we have the power and ability to apply pressure and force change to countless organizations and governments. Did you know that last year (2017) supermarkets alone put 1 million tonnes of plastic packaging on to the market?
Companies are increasingly aware that if their customers (you and me) loose faith they will lose money. Almost a quarter of consumers surveyed in 2017 said they were extremely concerned about plastic packaging. More than half said they were doing what they could to reduce their use of plastic. In Australia, public pressure led many supermarkets this year to announce they were phasing out single-use plastic bags. These include Coles, Woolies and Harris Farm. Other examples are Starbucks and Mcdonalds, who last year joined a growing movement to ban single-use plastic straws, both announcing they would eliminate the items from its stores by 2020. Great news and great win for the consumer, but 2020 isn't soon enough and actually plastic straws only account for approximately 0.2% of annual plastic use.
Just producing plastic uses huge resources – it takes around 12 million barrels of oil to make the 100 billion plastic bags used annually in the United States alone. Last year Britain’s Iceland supermarket led the way and others are beginning to follow suit. Iceland has pledged to eliminate plastic packaging on its own goods in five years. So what can you do to reduce your own plastic footprint and put pressure on supermarkets and manufacturers to move towards reusable plastic items and hugely increase the amount of recycled plastic in their products?
Here are 10 top tips:
Start at home. Do a plastic audit of your household. Shower bottles, deodorants, washing up liquids, shampoo bottles. Aim to make reductions here by ditching shower gel for soap and the plastic cotton buds for recyclable ones; buy liquid detergent in recycled plastic bottles and find a refill station to fill them up. Shampoo bars and toilet paper in recycled packaging are also available.
In the US, 1bn plastic toothbrushes are thrown out each year, creating some 50m pounds of waste. Try using bamboo toothbrushes instead which only take about six months to biodegrade back into the soil when you have to replace your brush.
Carry reusable fabric shopping bags.Try buying wholesale and putting dried products such as rice, pasta and lentils into glass jars to avoid buying products wrapped in plastic.
Recycle old plastic children’s toys. Search for a toy library in your area to borrow from or donate to. And consider charity shops when looking for gifts.
Carry a reuseable coffee cup or flask; 7m plastic-lined coffee cups are thrown away in the UK every day.
Say no to plastic cutlery. Carry a fork with you or use a compostable alternative.
Ditch cling film wrap for your food. It cannot be recycled in most UK collections. Foil is recyclable, so use foil instead or tupperware boxes.
Use an electric razor instead of plastic disposable one.
Write to companies whose packaging is non-recyclable, asking them to consider using less destructive materials. Maybe even think about starting a social media campaign to raise awareness. Strength in numbers!
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