One of the biggest problems that the modern world faces at the moment is the incredible accumulations of plastics in the environments. Plastic is truly synthetic, which means it’s something that the natural world has an extremely hard time breaking down into its constituent molecules. Some plastics can take 1000 years to break down, while many others will stay in the environment virtually indefinitely.
Plastic is an issue that we need to face collectively, and while politicians and large corporations are partially to blame, consumers also need to play their part. Fortunately, cutting back on plastic at home is neither difficult, costly, or time-consuming.
Single-Use Vegetable Plastics
One of the worst offending plastics is the single-use plastic that they wrap fresh produce in at the supermarket. The majority of the produce at the store can exist perfectly well without plastic, especially if it’s stored well. The best way to avoid getting plastic at the stores is by taking a small, breathable material bag with and using it to collect the fresh fruit and vegetables that they have loose.
Of course, not everything will be loose, and some sacrifices will need to be made, but even the reduction of buying plastic at the store can ultimately mean that the plastic won’t make it into the environment.
Avoiding Plastic Bags
Another way to easily cut back on the amount of plastic that you take home is by having permanent shopping bags on hand. When we add up the long-term costs of buying plastic bags every time we’re at the shops, combined with the environmental damage that they can cause, it’s just easier to have long-term bags on hand instead. This can even be as straightforward as reusing old plastic bags from before.
Cans And Glass
There’s nothing better than having a cold soda at the end of a long day. Most soda drinks are sold in plastic, but they can also often be found in cans or glass. These latter two are the preferred way of enjoying a drink, as they are both endlessly recyclable. Even an aluminium can that’s been left out in the environment can be picked up and recycled back into something usable. Glass is especially valuable, and anyone with an interest in learning how to recycle this material can easily do so at home with a home-built forge, or it can sometimes be sold for a few dollars, perfect to buy lunch or have a few rounds of the online slots Australia offers.
Consider Zero-Waste Stores
Zero-waste stores have become extremely popular in many parts of the world and specialise in offering goods that are as close to zero waste as possible. This can often mean that the produce is sold in brown paper bags, in glass, or some mixture of the two. Compostable plastics are also a popular option, since they can eventually break down in the environment, but not quite as well as a brown paper bag can. Regardless, these stores make it much easier to get a hold of staples and other supplies without creating more plastic.