Plastic Free
Plastic is a big issue for us (especially living by the sea). Learning that plastic is getting into the water we drink and the food we eat made us realise it was time to take action.
Since 2018 we’ve been reducing the amount of plastic we buy at home and also trying to eliminate plastic from our business.
Here’s what we’ve done -
At home
♻️ swapped hand gel and shower gel for bars of soap
♻️ swapped to shampoo and conditioner bars
♻️ swapped to bamboo toothbrushes
♻️ invested in a bamboo safety razor
♻️ make our own 'zero waste' dry shampoo
♻️ use reusable sanitary items
♻️ use reusable fabric wipes or biodegradable wipes for our son
♻️ use biodegradable nappies (and potty trained early to get him out of them)
♻️ use fabric make up remover wipes and coconut oil
♻️ refill washing up liquid, fabric conditioner and antibacterial spray, rather than buying new
♻️ get milk delivered in returnable glass bottles
♻️ buy bread from a local bakery and request a paper bag
♻️ buy loose vegetables from local green grocer (or only buy loose veg in the large supermarkets)
♻️ always opt for items packed in paper or card rather than plastic at the supermarkets (oats, pasta etc)
♻️ go to 'zero waste' shops with our own containers to fill
♻️ always carry a reusable bag
♻️ use a reusable coffee cup when having a take away coffee
♻️ use reusable water bottles
♻️ invested in a 'Guppy bag' to wash clothes made of man made fibres
♻️ try to avoid buying clothes made from man made fibres
♻️ requested second hand gifts and no new plastic toys for our son (I'll write another blog about this!)
♻️ stopped buying gifts made from or covered in plastic
♻️ use recyclable wrapping paper and paper washi tape rather than plastic tape.
♻️ swapped to biodegradable poop bags for Sydney
♻️ buy dog food in paper bags
♻️ stopped buying dog treats and keep a jar with carrot pieces in the fridge instead
♻️ replaced doggy dental sticks in plastic packaging to alternatives in cardboard boxes
At work
♻️ swapped our plastic ended tubes for 100% cardboard tubes
♻️ swapped bubble lined bags to padded ‘Jiffy Green’ bags, made completely of paper / card
♻️ our cellophane sleeves have always been biodegradable ✨
♻️ replaced plastic postal bags for all our cushions and blankets to carbon neutral, compostable bags made from sugar cane
♻️ we've managed to get our cushion supplier to offer 100% organic cotton, rather than man made fabrics. They needed to invest in new machinery, so this was a huge win!
♻️ swapped our packing tape to paper tape
♻️ replaced organza gift bags with reusable cotton bags
♻️ swapped bubble wrap to biodegradable bubble wrap. We’ll be swapping to corrugated card in the office after current stock runs out.
♻️ reduced the number of branded stickers we use on packaging (the backing paper can’t be recycled)
♻️ use twine to tie our Royal Mail sacks rather that plastic zip ties
♻️ requested no plastic packaging when ordering with suppliers
♻️ managed to get our frame suppliers to trial plastic free packaging
♻️ subscribed to ‘Who Gives a Crap’ toilet roll
♻️ replaced peak time staff treats from tubs of chocolates to plastic free, foil covered (and vegan!) chocolates
♻️ buy plastic free tea bags
We know we're not perfect, but we're doing what we can (the list is actually a lot longer than I thought it would be!). Hopefully we've given you some ideas of how you can easily reduce your plastic waste too.
If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment below, we'd love to hear them!
