Green Planet Content Creation

News broke this week that a further delay looks likely for the long-awaited Deposit Return Scheme. With a small cash deposit placed on single-use drink containers, there would be an incentive to return the containers, helping to reduce litter and plastic pollution.

While recycling plastic is preferable to it going to landfill or littering our environment, making plastic-free choices can help address the growing plastic problem. Around 14 billion plastic bottles are used in the UK annually and around half of these are for bottled water.

Carrying a reusable water bottle is a simple way to avoid disposable plastic bottles. It’s now even easier to top up your bottle when out, with businesses and organisations signing up to refill schemes – search by location for where you can fill your bottle up.  

But how else can you help to avoid disposable plastic items?

10 Ways to Reduce Single-use Plastic

• Take a reusable bag with you wherever you go. Keep some bags by the door, fold one up in your main bag or pop some bags in your car so that you’re never without one.

• Take your own lunch to work. Instead of prepackaged sandwiches, salads and fruit pots, prepare food at home in reusable containers. Sandwich wraps and beeswax wraps are a plastic -free alternative to cling film.

• Get a reusable cup for your hot drinks. If you buy coffee, tea or hot chocolate on the go, a reusable travel cup will help to save disposable cups and lids from landfill.

• Buy loose fruit and vegetables. As well as supporting your local greengrocer or farm shop, you will avoid the plastic that supermarket fruit and vegetables are packaged in. 

• Buy loose bread from a local bakery or make your own bread to avoid plastic packaging. A reusable bread bag or bread bin will help to keep your bread fresh.

• Find out if there are any refill shops in your area. Here you can buy dry ingredients, such as cereal, pulses, nuts and dried fruit, and laundry products in reusable containers.

• Switch plastic food bags for reusable silicone storage bags or keep food in glass containers for plastic-free storage.

• Choose bars of shampoo and body wash, plastic-free deodorant sticks and toothpaste tablets. These plastic-free personal care products help to eliminate single-use plastic bottles and tubes from your bathroom.

• Swap to reusable period products; reusable pads, pants and menstrual cups are all available.

• Swap traditional wrapping paper, sticky tape, shiny curling ribbon and metallic gift bows for brown paper, scarves, natural twine and evergreen embellishments for wrapping presents.

However, before you rush to buy any new products, use up what you have before you replace them. As is often said, the most sustainable item is the one you already own.