Ten Habits To Get Plastic Out Of Our Lives

Ten Simple Habits to get the Plastic out of our lives

Brands like; Franprix, McDonalds, are countless signs that anticipate the ban on the sale of certain plastic disposable products by 1st January 2020. It is no longer a secret that plastic contaminates the planet. Now, you can find everywhere in nature, on the beach, beneath the oceans and even on the icebergs. With a few simple actions, everyone can play a role in remedying it. Are you ready to follow?

Plastic pollution threatens our planet. By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans. Sad, yet, plastic production continues to grow. Some 348 million tonnes of plastics came out of
factories worldwide last year, up 3.9% from 2016.

Signs seem to take up the problem, either because of ecological awareness or because of the commercial opportunity, and they make mediated announcements. Thus, McDonald’s will remove the plastic straws in all its restaurants. Franprix declared to withdraw from the sale of the disposable plastic articles, in doing so, these groups anticipate the ban on the sale of certain plastic products for single use (touquets, cotton swabs, cups, etc.), scheduled from 1 st January
2020.

But will that suffice? No doubt, as plastic is present in our daily lives. For the popesse of “zero waste”, Bea Johnson, the sorting is not enough, we must begin by reducing the place it occupies in our lives. An approach within the reach of all, provided you do not want to change everything at once and proceed in stages. Because the hardest thing is to change your habits.

Here are ten simple actions to achieve this:

1- Stock

To reduce its consumption of plastic, the first step is thorough awareness. What could be better for that than to explore his interior in search of the presence of plastic. It is absolutely everywhere and not always useful.

Write down your observations without judgment and start thinking about which durable objects he could be replaced. A look into the sorting bin can also be instructive. What does it contain Packaging, cotton swabs, bags, bottles, etc. Each of these wastes is preventable because an alternative solution exists for each of them.

2- Long live the bulk!

It is in the kitchen that we produce the most plastic waste everyday. In question, the overpack that continues to rage in the shelves of supermarkets. Learn how to sharpen your flair to avoid unnecessary packaging. For this, nothing beats the bulk.

For a long time now, specialized organic banners have been offering very complete dedicated shelves (pasta, nuts, biscuits, rice, cereals, flour, tea, coffee, etc.). Many supermarkets are also there. To carry your purchases, the stores make available paper bags. If you want to go further, buy a dozen cloth bags instead. Once at home, simply store your products in glass jars. Old jars of jam are just fine.

3- No bag, thank you!

Make a habit of systematically refusing the bag that is offered at the checkout. Since 2016, single-use plastic bags have been banned at the checkout and merchants have also been using them since 2017 for fruits and vegetables, cheese cuts, meat and fish. Yet, according to a UN report, another 5,000 billion plastic bags are used every year!

The solution for shopping: trolley with wheels, wicker bag, backpack, wooden crates, etc. And never to be caught off guard, slip a cloth bag at the bottom of your bag just in case.

4- Abandon the aluminum foil and the plastic film

To carry your food in a plate on a bowl is just as effective. You can also opt for a jam jar to store the rest of the dish.

5- Drink the tap water

In France, tap water is one of the most controlled foods and is subject to permanent health monitoring. Yet, there are still 9.3 billion liters of water in bottles that are sold per year. And only
half is recycled.

6- Say goodbye to straws and plastic cutlery

Every second in France, we throw 150 plastic cups, or 4.73 billion a year. France has planned to ban the sale of cups, glasses, disposable plastic plates by 2020.

In the meantime, we can already take new habits. Why not bring your cup to the office? And this
summer, specify that you do not want straw when you order your cocktail at the beach bar.

7- Remove the trash from the bathroom

The method may seem radical but it may be the best solution to realize what is thrown daily.
What does it contain? Cotton swabs, plastic toothbrushes, plastic containers of different hygiene
products, etc. Here again, for everyone, there are alternative solutions.

8- Forget the cotton swab

The cotton swabs will soon be banned because they represent a real scourge. They can be easily replaced by more durable objects like ear-picks. There are bamboo or metal. And if you really can not do without it, opt for fully biodegradable cotton swabs

9- Brush your green teeth

No way to stop brushing your teeth. But it is possible to replace its plastic toothbrush with a compostable model with a bamboo handle or interchangeable head.

10- Goodbye shower gel, hello soap

Replacing your shower gel with a bar of soap is a winner. In addition to reducing packaging, you
avoid a product whose composition has long been denounced (aggressive sulphates, harmful artificial dyes, fragrances and allergenic preservatives even in sensitive skin versions).

But be careful not to choose any solid soap. Some fancy soaps also contain questionable ingredients. Prefer a cold saponified soap that has a natural composition based on vegetable oils and butters. A traditional soap such as authentic Marseille soap and Aleppo soap are also very pure in their formulation.

Author Bio:

Natalie Blake is an environmentalist and a follower of the zero-waste lifestyle. She is a contributor at WhosGreenOnline.com and talks about eco-friendly alternatives that homeowners can use for their houses. Follow Natalie at Bamboo Hearts or get in touch with her at natalieb@bamboohearts.com.