Less Plastic

Plastic-free living – what’s it all about?

Plastic is everywhere. And a lot of this plastic is simply unnecessary. Trying to live with less plastic means refusing the unnecessary and single-use plastic, using non-plastic alternatives where possible, and choosing to reuse and recycle the plastic we really can’t avoid, to stop plastic waste.

‘Perfection’ (or zero plastic) might not be possible, but doing what we can definitely is.

Why live with less plastic?

Let me tell you my story. In June 2012, I came across a challenge to refuse single-use plastic for a month. I signed up, but didn’t think much about it. I felt that I was pretty sustainable already. After all, I diligently recycled, took my own bags to the shops, bought eco-friendly washing up liquid… Surely that was enough?

Anyway, how much plastic could I really be using?

That evening, looking around my home, I actually realised how much plastic was in my life. I might be taking my own bags to the store, but almost everything I was buying was packaged in plastic. My kitchen cupboards, fridge, bathroom shelves and pretty much everywhere else in my house was filled with plastic.

And I’d never even noticed.

Now I had noticed, I was determined to do something about it. I couldn’t just ignore what I knew, and I couldn’t stand by and do nothing. I decided that I wasn’t going to give up plastic for a month. I was going to give up plastic (or reduce as much as I could)… forever.

That was the start of my journey. An inspiring, challenging, motivating, at-times-overwhelming and infinitely rewarding journey.

Want to join this journey too?

Beginner? Start here…

Plastic-free living for absolute beginners: 7 tips for getting started

5 ways to line a bin without plastic bags

What I actually mean by living ‘plastic-free’

What’s the problem with plastic?

These are just a few of the myriad of reasons to live without plastic:

Most plastic is made from fossil fuels.

The plastic we use today will outlive us.

It litters and pollutes, and harms wildlife by entanglement and ingestion.

Plastic isn’t truly recycled, it’s downcycled.

Most plastic is unnecessary – designed for one use, or designed for the dump.

It’s bad for our health.

I don’t like to dwell on the problems, but having an understanding of the problem is what spurred me to take action and change the way I live.

Some of the benefits of reducing plastic use

Of course, it’s not all bad. There are so many positive reasons and benefits to choosing to live without plastic:

Eating better and being healthier – less processed, packet food and more real food.

Embracing creativity – for me this has meant learning to cook, problem solving, and writing.

Learning new skills.

Being part of a community of like-minded people and doing something bigger than ourselves, that benefits the planet.

Rather let all the things we can’t change overwhelm us, it is much more energising to focus on the things that we can change, and look for solutions that we can be a part of. For me, that starts with the personal decisions that I make every single day.