These tips are designed to go hand in hand with our recent posts about Plastic Free July that you can find here and here. Going plastic free is a journey, and we can all use a few handy tips now and then to help us through.
Shopping Tips
- Get into the habit of shopping at local markets. Low miles for every reason. Markets also tend to be stocked with local & small suppliers that are less inclined to use packaging.
- Buying pre loved clothing / household items is a great way of reducing landfill and saving your dollars whilst saving the earth.
- When buying fresh bread loaves/pastries from the Co-op or bakeries, take a clean cloth / tea towel to wrap the goodies in.
- Keep cloth shopping bags in your car and by your front door to avoid forgetting them when you go shopping. Have a fold up one in your bag or jacket at all times.
- If you have had to purchase something in a plastic bag then at least find ways to re use it whilst it is still functional. Even ultimately as a rubbish bag.
- Frequent cafes that accept Keep Cups or have Contactless processes in place. Here is a list of local cafes with contactless cup options.
Tips at Home
- What bin liners do you use? If you’ve stopped using plastic bags there are a few different options. The ideal is no bin liner at all, or lining your bin with newspaper. But if you do buy bin liners you might be interested to know which ones will degrade properly. The Northern Beaches Clean Up Crew recently posted this super helpful article about the difference between degradable, bio-degradable and composting. Read this post to find out which bin liners are best!
- The Northern Beaches Council has a great site with so many ideas for plastic reduction in your home. Click here for ideas.
- STOP subscriptions to magazines that are delivered in plastic. Call companies to advise why you are cancelling your subscription.
- Call companies that distribute free promotional letterbox drops to request them to avoid using plastic or to
- Encourage local businesses to go plastic free by joining Swap for Good.