9 Simple Ways to Live Plastic Free In 2021

Plastic pollution is undoubtedly one of the worst forms of human-made waste, causing big problems for our planet, ecosystem, and wildlife. The damage that plastic causes to the environment are horrific. When we look at the scale of plastic waste obstructing landfills and polluting oceans, it’s tempting to feel overwhelmed. It makes us wonder whether there’s anything we can personally do that would make a difference to this burning issue and live plastic free.

Across the globe, the majority of plastic is used only once, before being disposed of. This is a terrifying idea as most plastic takes decades to hundreds of years to break down. Now is the time to eliminate plastic from our lifestyle. In this article, we will discuss 9 simple ways to live plastic free in 2021.

Plastic Doesn’t Go Anywhere!

We often throw away plastic waste unconsciously, believing only dumping it somewhere would be enough. We treat plastic as disposable material. However, it’s imperishable, at least during our lifetimes and for the next few generations to follow.

It’s a terrifying fact that every single piece of plastic ever made exists somewhere on earth in various forms. Plastic is as stubborn as it can get. Whether plastic waste ends up in a landfill, the countryside, or the sea, it causes devastating effects on wildlife and marine life. This waste affects animals by either entangling or mistaking it for food and unfortunately choking or starving.

Why Plastic is Harmful?

Plastic causes damage in many ways possible. Not only is it harmful to our generations to come, but it’s also causing severe damage to our ecosystems.

Plastic kills over 100,000 marine animals and one million marine birds a year approximately. Moreover, the severity of this issue escalates when plastic waste breaks down into small toxic particles that pollute our water supply and enter our food chain.

What’s Our Responsibility?

Plastic is found everywhere in modern life, and it is very difficult to avoid it altogether. However, most disposable plastic items are completely unnecessary and have only been introduced into our lifestyles for convenience.

Ocean Panda Creative thinks that now is the time we reassess our obsession with convenience and prioritize sustainable choices that are beneficial for our planet. Let’s take a step together to live Plastic Free.

9 Simple Ways to Live Plastic Free In 2021

There are some simple changes of habit you can adopt to start minimizing the use of plastic in your lifestyle. Let’s discuss 9 simple ways to eradicate plastic from your daily lives.

1. Say No to Plastic Bags

Generally, we use plastic bags merely for a few minutes before discarding them. These bags then take hundreds of years to decompose. The trend of carrying reusable bags is becoming prevalent, but the challenge is to keep them handy when needed. One easy way to always remember keeping a reusable bag is by hanging it on the front door. You can also keep one in your handbag, laptop bag, or your car driving seat door, wherever works for you. If you somehow forget to carry one, instead of accepting a plastic bag you can simply carry the items loose.

After successfully adopting the habit of carrying your own reusable bag, you can go one step ahead in playing your part in saving the planet. Persuade your friends, family, and the local community to go plastic bag-free!

2. Carry a Reusable Water Bottle

Plenty of research has highlighted that tap water is healthier than bottled water. The extensive marketing efforts of bottled water companies convince us otherwise. There are so many bottled water companies and their quality is questionable. Meanwhile, the toxins from the plastic of the bottle itself have been found to seep into the water. Particularly when we use the bottle over and over again or leave it in the heat.

The healthier, and more eco-friendly option is to always carry a reusable water bottle. You refill it with tap or filter water at home, work, gym, or even dining at a local restaurant. The reusable water bottles are mostly made from stainless steel (with insulation) or glass (with a protective silicone sleeve). They are easier to clean and even keep your water cold/warm. Even a plastic reusable bottle will help reduce the waste issues. People throw-away millions of disposable plastic bottles every day worldwide, out of which only a fraction is recycled.

3. Bring Your Own Cup

Today’s world is moving at a fast pace. It’s common to spend our days fulfilling commitments without making time for a coffee/tea break. Many of us like to grab a cup of coffee or tea on the go. However, this relatively new trend in takeaway hot drinks is having shattering consequences on our environment.

An estimated 2.5 billion coffee cups are disposed of in the UK alone every year, which is equal to almost 5,000 a minute. The recycling process of over 99% of takeaway coffee cups does not happen. Even the paper cups have a plastic lining which makes them harder to recycle. The disposable cups and their plastic lids either end up in dumping sites or pollute our waterways and oceans.

The simple way you can contribute to this problem is to buy a reusable cup or insulated bottle, and make sure to carry it with you all the time. Opting for a reusable cup might also motivate you to make your hot drink at home before setting off, and save you the cost of at least one drink per day.

4. Use Reusable Containers

All over the world, taking your own lunch to work, school, picnic, or any outdoor adventure is still prevalent. This lets you save money by making your lunch, along with going for more healthy choices preparing your lunch, instead of looking to buy something carrying extra calories when you are really hungry.

However, the most compelling reason for us to avoid buying take-out meals is that it involves single-use plastic packaging which is not the case if we bring our lunch. The next step you can take is to avoid disposable plastic sandwich bags and cling films as they don’t make our homemade lunch more eco-friendly either. For a waste-free lunch, we recommend the use of stainless steel lunch boxes, insulated snack pots, reusable sandwich bags, etc. Try to avoid reusable plastic food containers due to the risk of toxins contaminating your food.

5. Say No to Disposable Straws & Cutlery

Disposable plastic straws and cutlery are among the worst plastic pollutants. Just like plastic bags and bottles, disposable plastic straws and cutlery are usually used just once before they are thrown away. Consequently, they usually pile up in landfills or pollute the waterways and oceans.

However, it’s convenient to develop the habit of carrying your own cutlery set with you. There are lots of options, and you don’t necessarily need to spend any money. Simply, grab a stainless steel spoon, knife, and fork from your home cutlery set and keep them nicely rolled in a napkin to carry with you.

Alternatively, you can buy a bamboo cutlery set with a travel pouch, or stainless steel cutlery in a travel case to live plastic free. As for straws, we’ve seen videos of a sea turtle having a straw painfully removed from its nose. Why would we make animals suffer just for our temporary convenience? Either skip the straw or choose a reusable stainless steel straw if you need to use one.

6. Store Leftovers in Glass Jars

As already discussed, we all tend to avoid not using plastic containers to store our food due to the risk of toxins leaching into it. An eco-friendly alternative is glass, as it is a safer food storage option. These glass containers can easily be reused for storing leftovers in the fridge, freezing cooked or uncooked food, storing dry fruits, or bringing our lunch to work.

We would recommend you to have a few wide-mouth mason jars, as their shape increases the utility. You can almost store anything in them and their wide mouth makes them easy to use and clean.

7. Skip the Plastic Produce Bags

While shopping for fresh fruit and vegetables, most of us often prefer to buy the ready-packaged (plastic) options, or one of the lightweight plastic produce bags, that are used to carry our fruits and vegetables in our trolley. Think about it again; do you really need a plastic bag? It does not require that much effort to put your fruits and vegetables loose in your trolley or basket before packing them in your reusable shopping bags after the checkout.

However, if you always buy fruits and vegetables in bulk, and think it would be a hassle to carry them loose in your shopping trolley, you can consider buying some lightweight reusable mesh bags to carry your stuff.

8. Choose an Eco-Friendly Plastic-Free Toilet Paper

Toilet paper is an absolute necessity of every household, and there’s no denying it. However, the type of toilet paper we choose to hang in the bathroom can make a big impact on the environment, both positive and negative. Unfortunately, many of us don’t think about the environmental implications of toilet paper and as such, usually buy whatever is on sale at the supermarket.

We can play our part in saving the planet and take a step to live plastic free by opting for more eco-friendly toilet paper. Many online stores are selling 100% plant-based toilet rolls made of bamboo or sugarcane waste. Not just the toilet paper itself, the plastic packaging of toilet rolls also causes unnecessary pollution that could be avoided.

9. Spread the Word

We would recommend you to have a few wide-mouth mason jars, as their shape increases the utility. You can almost store anything in them and their wide mouth makes them easy to use and clean.

The Bottom Line

There is no clear timeline when and how this situation will come to an end. It might be a matter of a few weeks, or we might be facing a worldwide recession for a year down the road. For businesses of all kinds, it is important to have a firm strategy in place to remain adaptable and flexible for future success.

We should also expect that the Coronavirus crisis will change our businesses and society in several ways. It is likely to highlight the importance of online shopping, online education, and public health investments. When the urgent part of the crisis has been navigated, companies should consider what this crisis changed and what they have learned from it so they can utilize it in future plans.

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Read More About WHAT WE DO AND WHY WE DO IT

9 Simple Ways to Live Plastic Free In 2021

Plastic Doesn’t Go Anywhere!

Why Plastic is Harmful?

What’s Our Responsibility?

9 Simple Ways to Live Plastic Free In 2021

1. Say No to Plastic Bags

2. Carry a Reusable Water Bottle

3. Bring Your Own Cup

4. Use Reusable Containers

5. Say No to Disposable Straws & Cutlery

6. Store Leftovers in Glass Jars

7. Skip the Plastic Produce Bags

8. Choose an Eco-Friendly Plastic-Free Toilet Paper

9. Spread the Word

The Bottom Line

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