Reducing plastic can be easy. Start with a few simple plastic swaps - like reusable bags, solid soap, or loose produce - and build from there.
"Reducing plastic consumption can be fun? Excuse me?!!!!"
Yes, ditching single-use plastic is fun!
And I'm not just talking about feeling good when you know you're doing the right thing.
I'm talking about the joy of embarking on little adventures in everyday life, of doing things differently for a change.
You will feel self-efficacious, strong, and powerful when you change a plastic-heavy habit.
Go shopping with a jute bag (fashionistas may call it a tote bag) and put apples and crooked vegetables directly into it - no need for plastic produce bags.
Or switch to solid soap in the bathroom and banish liquid soap in plastic dispensers.
What other areas of life could you easily "de-plasticize"?
2 Visual Guides by Less Plastic
Amanda Keetley is the founder of Less Plastic, a non-profit organization based in the UK that helps spread awareness about the problem with single-use plastics. Even though the website hasn't been updated in a while, the ideas and infographics are completely relevant today.
Amanda's appealing infographics give tips for plastic-free alternatives and honestly, these are the kind of infographics you accidentally stare at for five minutes.
I'm so glad she shared these two infographics with me so I can pass them on here.
Let's start with 9 simple everyday plastic swaps. Which of the following 9 tips do you already know? Which ones have you already integrated into your everyday life?
Ready for a few more ideas?
Little by little, I started integrating these plastic swaps into my daily life. The easiest one was the reusable water bottle; I bought one years ago and it's still going strong (and everywhere I go).
The most challenging is avoiding synthetic clothes, especially workout gear. Arrgh.
Which of these plastic swaps feels easiest for you to start with?
If you're curious, I've collected even more ideas for cutting down on plastic under 40+ Plastic Product Alternatives.
And if you want to find out about the bigger picture behind plastic waste, I've written about the major 10 Scary Plastic Facts.
And now a cheer for the small steps in everyday life. All the small changes that add up to a revolution.
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
Barack Obama
Enjoy,
Ramona
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