Here are a few simple ways you can help reduce plastic waste at home
Plastic has become a huge part of our every day lives. We eat out of plastic containers, we carry things in plastic bags, we drive around in plastic cars, we even wear plastic! So it's pretty unrealistic to cut out plastic from our lives. But what we can do is cut down on single use plastics!
Single use plastics are plastic products that are only used once and then thrown away. The most common being plastic bags and drinking bottles. These are most likely to end up damaging the ocean, and the easiest to give up. Do you really need another plastic bag or bottle? Probably not! Plastic bags are a huge problem for sea turtles. They can't tell the difference between them and their food. Bottles are also a big problem, because they break up into sharp shards of plastic. These shards have been found in the stomachs of large whales and fish.
Challenge yourself to give up as many single use plastics as you can, for as long as you can. Get yourself a tote bag or two. They can be used over and over and are safer for the environment. Not to mention they look so much more stylish! Refill your bottles, or find a fun way to recycle them.
Hair and skin products Did you know there are some shower gels and face scrubs that contain plastic? Micro-beads are used to help exfoliate you're skin, but they can get past filtration systems and wash straight into the sea! Read the packaging before you buy products like these. Some are made from biodegradable material and are fine to use, but if the ingredients say Polyethylene best avoid it!
Be careful when buying glittery bath bombs and soaps. A lot of companies still use plastic glitter in their products because it's cheaper. Much like the micro-beads, this glitter can be washed down the drain and straight into the sea.
I hope some of these tips have got you thinking. Remember , even the littlest lifestyle change can make a difference!
And maybe a few more obvious things... Nobodies perfect, we've all left that one bit of rubbish behind on the beach, or let something blow off in the wind. Sometimes it's just a matter of stopping and thinking. Have i left anything behind? A bucket and spade? A sweet wrapper? But not just at the beach...wherever you are. Rubbish can be blown about, find its way down a drain and make its way out to sea. It's surprising how far your rubbish can go.