With there being so many ways to shop these days, most of us choose convenience as our main priority when it comes to making purchases. We buy pre-made foods in the supermarket that are packed in plastic, we order several options of outfits from our favourite fashion websites (each one wrapped in it’s own plastic bag and shipped in more plastic), we are constantly restocking our soaps, shampoos and conditioners which so many of us still buy in plastic each time we need a new one.
If you (and only you) changed your priority and switched to refillables, foods made from scratch, secondhand clothes shopping – it probably wouldn’t make a huge difference. But if you and everyone you know, and everyone they know as well as everyone they know changed priorities, that would spark real change! So let’s spark change.
So what’s wrong with recycling? And why isn’t it the answer to the problem? For starters, things can be recycled in many different ways – what I’m referring to here is plastic being put in our kerbside bins and taken to sorting facilities. Okay, so now we’ve got that out of the way, what is wrong with recycling? When plastic is recycled, it loses a portion of its strength. So each time you recycle plastic, it gets weaker and weaker until it can’t be recycled anymore. Plastic is made from non-renewable fossil fuels which release harmful pollutants into the atmosphere each time new plastic is made. If we stop buying products in plastic, or at least reduce our consumption of these, then there will be less demand for them and less new plastic will be needed. It sounds so simple because it really is. It will take time for that shift to filter through to the top but companies don’t make what people are no longer buying.
Another reason that recycling shouldn’t be our go-to solution is the energy consumption of the manufacturing AND the recycling process. The land, the machinery, the power to run these sorting and recycling facilities is mammoth. If we consider this when making our purchases, we should be able to see that recycling is more of a last resort option.
There are some shocking statistics that claim only 8-12% of the UK’s plastic actually gets recycled. A large majority of it gets incinerated (causing air pollution) and way too much of it gets shipped to other countries for them to ‘deal with’. The percentage varies from year to year but one of the sources for this particular statistic is Greenpeace.
Look, we’re all human and most of us have been raised in a generation where plastic is everywhere. We can’t escape it. But we can choose to avoid it as much as we’re able to in this plastic world. Here are some everyday ways to make that choice:
- Shop at local fruit & veg markets, butchers, fish vans when possible and take your own tubs to fill up (if you visit towards the end of the day you can usually get some great deals).
- Refill the plastic containers you already have at your local fill-up stations – this could be liquids like toiletries, cleaning products, oils. You can also fill up your herbs, spices, flour, sugar, pasta, rice, lentils, beans, the list goes on. These fill-up stations are popping up all over the place, there’s bound to be one near you. There are even roaming fill-up stations that come to residential areas, which is great if you don’t drive or don’t have the time or ability to travel to a fill-up shop. The lovely Zoe, of Eco Thrifty Living, has created a directory to help people find their nearest shop.
- Always take a reusable water bottle out with you so you don’t get caught short and have to buy a bottle of water. This one is so so simple and an incredible amount of people now don’t leave the house without theirs.
- If you’re on your way to the frozen aisle of the supermarket to pick up a bag of frozen chips, try making them from fresh tatties instead. Pick up some loose potatoes and put them in your basket. When you get home just clean them, chop them into chippies and keep them submerged in water in your fridge until you’re ready to cook them (they will last about 4-5 days as they are). Coat with a little bit of oil, salt and pepper and they’ll cook up beautifully. And they’re totally plastic-free.
- Consider your period options. So many people are still using pads made from plastic, and tampons housed in plastic, that just get thrown into landfill. There are so many more options out there that mean you don’t have to throw away piles of plastic every month anymore. Reusable pads to fit all pants and meet all stages of your cycle, absorbent knickers that you can wear all day then wash and use again, reusable tampon applicators that you rinse and dry between each use, menstrual cups that you can reuse month after month after month. Why not try some of these options out, starting with the one you feel the most comfortable with, and see if you can cut out single-use products every single month.
- Use your local milkman for milk in glass bottles instead of buying plastic in the shops. Most local and national companies offering this service now sell non-dairy milks too. You can often get plastic-free fruit and veg from the national companies, as well as other pantry staples. Milk & More now has several refill products on their app, meaning that you can fill your own jars or tubs at home and leave their empty tub on the doorstep with your empty milk bottles to be collected on their next visit.
These are just a few examples of how to cut down our plastic consumption in a busy, convenience-led world. Please feel free to comment with anything you’ve been struggling to swap or shout about ways you’ve reduced your impact! We are a community and it’s so lovely to see communities supporting each other.
