10 top tips for cutting your single-use plastic

Whether or not you’ve seen Blue Planet II, most of us know about the impact that plastic waste is having on the environment.

We see it locally too. We’re regularly out litter picking – often with help from our dedicated volunteers – but we can’t capture everything. We still find birds trapped in beer can rings, and plastic bags in our rivers and hedgerows. Our natural environment is our lungs. We need to keep it clean and healthy for our own health and well-being, as well for the wildlife living there.

This can seem like an enormous hill to climb when faced alone. But if we all made a few small changes to our day-to-day habits the results would be massive. It’s not easy. Granted. Modern life is designed to meet our demand for speed and convenience. It often comes down to asking yourself – is there a better way? Do I need this? What impact is this choice having? It means being prepared (which isn’t simple and not always possible).

If you need some ideas, here’s a list of things I’m now doing to cut down my single-use plastic. Some are easier than others, but they’re all doable:

1. I love coffee but hate the throw away cups. So, I now have my own ‘keep cup’ in my bag that most cafés are happy to fill. In fact, at some places I get a discount for using it.
2. I also have a refillable water bottle.
3. I’ve replaced cling film with beeswax wrap. These involve a bit of preparation but they’re great fun to make – especially with children (watch this space for our ‘how to’ video).
4. I now use hand soap and shampoo bars. I beat the slime by keeping them in dishes that I wash out when I’m in the shower.
5. I no longer use plastic straws – I either go without or use paper ones.
6. I was always forgetting my shopping bags, so I keep at least one scrunched up in my bag and the rest I keep in my car.
7. I also use natural fibre cloth shopping bags whenever possible.
8. I’ve turned my back on disposable plastic cutlery (thanks to one sturdy plastic ‘spork’).
9. I only use wooden cooking utensils.
10. I even have a bamboo toothbrush!

These are a few of the changes I’ve made – what would yours be? I’d love to hear about your plastic alternatives. You can share your ideas on our Hampshire Countryside Facebook page.