10 easy-to-adopt ways you can reduce your personal plastic footprint

It is well-documented that plastic has devastating impacts on wildlife, our oceans, and human health (with a global study now finding that the average person ingests the equivalent of a credit card per week*).

Plastic-free July is a global movement that helps individuals take steps to reduce their personal consumption of single-use plastic. But this effort to reduce plastic shouldn’t be contained just to one month, of course.

Below are 10 easy-to-adopt ways you can reduce your personal plastic footprint. What will you try?

1.  Use, or if you don't already have one invest in, a reusable water bottle and hot drinks cup, and make sure to pack it in your bag every day!

This way you won’t end up contributing to the massive single-use plastic bottles and hot drinks cup waste generated every day.

2. Choose a soap bar rather than shower gel.

If you don’t like soap, you could look at refill bags of shower gel so you are cutting down on your overall plastic use, too.

3. Choose unwrapped options for fruit and vegetables where possible.

This isn't always easy in supermarkets, but local markets and vendors are more likely to be plastic-free.

4. Keep a small tote bag or foldaway shopping bag on you at all times. 

That way you’ll never have to accept the single-use plastic bags from shops/sellers.

5. Choose fabric, brown paper or old newspapers to wrap presents instead of purpose-made wrapping paper (which usually isn’t recyclable).

You can also be creative through choosing to reduce plastic waste in gifts.

6. Choose loose tea over teabags

Many teabags contain plastic, so going for loose leaf is a great easy switch. Often you can have higher quality brews, too!

7. Mend clothes and repurpose old garments

This gives them a longer life and avoids fast fashion – one of the most polluting and damaging industries. Did you know most clothes are made of plastic?

You could cut up clothes that are ‘beyond repair’ into makeup/surface wipes etc.

8. Wash your clothes less (say what?)

When clothes are washed, they leech plastic fibres.

We're not advocating poor hygiene, but many clothes can be worn for more than one day, and airing out clothes can often do the job with keeping them fresh!

9. Choose sustainable menstrual products, such as a Mooncup or washable pads.

Mooncups are zero-waste and plastic free, whereas traditional tampons and sanitary pads are single-use and up to 90 per cent plastic.

10. Make your own beauty and cleaning products.  

For a natural cleaner that works a treat, try mixing vinegar, water, lemon and bicarbonate of soda … keeping plastics, toxins and costs down.

References:

• WWF: Could you be eating a credit card a week?
• The Spruce blog: Cleaning Naturally with Lemons, Vinegar, and Baking Soda
• Science Museum: Let's get Sustainable, Period article
• The Guardian: Less laundry less often: how to lighten the washday load on the environment
• Greenpeace: 9 ways to reduce plastic use
• Hammersmith & Fulham Council: 15 top tips to help you reduce your single-use plastic waste