Something must be done to reduce plastic use. Experts predict that if we don’t make an effort to reduce how much plastic we use, our oceans will have more plastic than fish in them within the next 30 years. Each day, over seven million plastic pieces and microplastics are released into the world’s oceans. Evidently, it’s time to take action and reduce casual plastic use for good. Environmental awareness has already increased and some changes have already been implemented, for example, the plastic bag fee of 2015 and the recent ban on plastic straws. Small lifestyle changes can make a huge difference in the fight against plastic use.
With the year almost at an end, it’s the ideal time to start thinking about what you can do to reduce your plastic use. Forget fad diets and gym memberships, reducing your plastic use is both rewarding and extremely easy to achieve. Booklet printing specialists Where The Trade Buys explore how you can start off 2020 plastic free:
Takeaway plastic coffee cups are a major source of waste material and plastic takes a shocking 450 years to decompose. With this in mind, it is more pressing than ever to make the switch to reusable items. This might be the reason why many cafes prefer to use customized paper cups for coffee takeaways (get branded coffee cups for your takeaway). This can be an effective way for such businesses to promote their brand and create a lasting impression on their customers as well. KeepCups and Chilly’s Bottles are popular brands that focus on sustainable products.
Luckily, these items are becoming less commonplace in the UK today. However, it can still be difficult to avoid them at times. When you pick up a takeaway for example, don’t be afraid to say no to the excess plastic bags your food is wrapped in.
Many supermarkets are now making switch to packaging free products. If you have the option, choose to load up brown paper bags with fruit and vegetables rather than choosing pre-package food. Alternatively, you could grow your own veg in a greenhouse or allotment.
Plastic toothbrushes take 400 years to decompose, and if you consider how many you go through in a lifetime, the life span of them all is shocking. A bamboo toothbrush on the other hand, only takes five to ten years – minimal in comparison!
Shampoo and hand soap always seem to come with excess plastic packaging. There is simply no need to coat these items in plastic, as they work perfectly well in bar form. This is another tiny switch that will make little difference to your daily routine but really help out the environment.
Instead of chucking out the plastic bottle when your washing up liquid runs out, hold on to it and get it refilled! Lots of sustainable shops now offer this service, making it easier than ever to opt for refills rather than wasting more plastic.
Thankfully, zero waste shops are becoming far more common in the UK. The idea of zero waste shops is that they sell produce with absolutely no plastic packaging. Switching up your shopping routine and choosing a zero-waste shop would be a great habit to get into in 2020. You can find a list of zero waste shops and where to find them here.
This last one is essential, although perhaps not as easy as the other lifestyle changes. Every time you buy something, especially online, it is likely to come swaddled in needless layers of plastic. If you cut down on this spending, you could make a real environmental change.
Along the same theme, consider switching to sustainable Tupperware. There are plenty of alternatives to wasteful plastic Tupperware, such as bamboo, glass, or stainless-steel alternatives. Oxfam do a great range!
Sustainable food storage is another factor that people often forget to consider. We throw away single use clingfilm without a second thought, because it seems like such a necessity within our lives. Now however, there are plenty of alternatives to use if you want to go plastic free. Beeswrap, for example, is a ‘natural alternative to plastic wrap’ which can be used time and time again. Once you make an effort to change your routine, these changes will be easy to implement. They will soon become second nature! If everyone chips in and makes an effort towards sustainability, we will see a reduced amount of plastic pollution our oceans.
There are many forms of marketing these days, in fact online and digital marketing has become very popular. However, physical marketing is still used wide range bringing in just as much success for businesses. They need items like leaflets and business cards (click here for more) to help get their recognition. No matter how much we rely on the digital world, traditional marketing is not going to easily go away, in fact, for some businesses there can be in a surge in using this method to help them appeal to a certain audience. This is why brochure printing in Dublin, including other areas, is needed. It would also be important to note (especially for today) that some other businesses also like to use bags too! On this page, we will be talking about the use of bags in marketing. Single-use plastic bags used to be the preferred choice in retail outlets all across the world, but people have gained a higher appreciation for the paper bag in recent years. That’s mostly because of the move towards eco-friendly packaging, but there are other factors at work. Read more…
The management of waste is indeed inevitable and is a vital process that refers to the gathering, storing, and final disposal of all of our waste, and can be made up of just about anything from typical household rubbish to any hazardous materials that comes from nuclear power stations. Read more…
At some point in your life, you may decide that environmentalism and sustainability are a priority in your life, and that means that you want to go green. But, especially when it comes to a lifestyle change, this comes with defined goals and stipulations. When you’re making major life decisions, that’s when you have to get your priorities straight.
For anyone who has ever approached the idea of green living as a way of life, you will have noticed that it often comes as part of a package deal. There is a reason that you want to live in better balance with the world around you. There are circumstances in your life that push you toward making positive decisions that reflect positively on your natural environment. Read more…
Modernisation has impacted the environment on a large scale. The concept of global warming, climate change and the depletion of the ozone layer are a great threat to humanity if people will not change their destructive lifestyle. Read more…
When some of the biggest organisations, companies, businesses, etc, of this world get involved with initiatives such as the resolution to operate in a “greener” manner, it often comes from a place of seeking to gain some publicity out of their efforts. Now I’m not saying organisations or even individuals who resolve to live a greener, cleaner life with less of an impact on the environment do so without milking it for all the publicity they can get, but I guess it suffices to say that in most cases we seem to be missing the point altogether. Read more…
According to Real Simple, if every American made an effort to launder less — cutting out just one load of laundry a week per household — we’d save enough water to fill seven million swimming pools each year.
So if it looks clean, and it smells clean, call it clean and wear it again. Consider hanging worn clothes out on your clothesline to freshen them up between wearings
