Why it’s important to do more to reduce your use of plastic

Since the early days of recycling, I’ve been recycling plastic. Before curbside plastic recycling was offered, I volunteered at a weekly recycling program offered in a grocery store parking lot. We helped people sort their plastics into big plastic bags that the recycling company would haul away at the end of the day.

I also started a Shop Smart program in my community that took people on a tour through a grocery store and showed them how to cut down on the amount of packaging they were buying and what plastic items were recyclable at that time.

In 2014, I wrote an article on how to reduce the use of plastic. See the list at the end of this article.

But, after seeing reports on Facebook of hundreds of pounds of plastic being removed from the ocean and plastic actually visible floating down rivers, I realize we need to do more to reduce our use of plastic. Here are new tips that I’m using that you can try, too:

• Save the plastic vegetable bags you get at the grocery store and bring them with you every time you go shopping so you can reuse them. I save them in a plastic bag then take some of them with me in a string vegetable bag when I go grocery shopping.

• Take a glass quart jar or two with you when you go to a restaurant to put your leftovers in. You can put them in a canvas bag so they aren’t so conspicuous.

• Cut down your use of quart- and gallon-sized plastic bags that you buy in boxes. Save the ones you’ve used to reuse.

• Save plastic containers that food comes in for reuse. I store my food in glass pint and quart jars. However, I have friends that like to get the plastic ones I save for reuse.

• Collect the plastic containers that seedlings come in and find a store locally that will reuse them.

• Choose fruit such as apples and bananas more often than fruits packaged in plastic containers. I love blueberries and strawberries, but I’m eating less of those now to reduce my use of plastic.

• Clean with vinegar and soda instead of cleaners packaged in plastic containers.

• Buy eggs in paper containers.

• Use paper grocery bags in the small garbage cans in your house instead of plastic ones.

• Use real silverware for parties instead of plastic. In addition, use real cups, wine glasses, plates, and bowls. You can find wine glasses that are very inexpensive at yard sales and secondhand stores.

Let me know how you’re doing with reducing your use of plastics in the Comment section below.

This is the list of tips from the Natural Resources Defense Council that I reported on in 2014.

1. Lunch smarter.

• Keep a set of utensils in your desk, and start refusing disposable plastic forks at your favorite lunch spot.

• Quit putting food leftovers in plastic containers – instead, use stainless steel food carriers.

2. Take advantage of sharing opportunities.

• Try Freecycle Network, Craigslist, and San Francisco’s Yerdle.
  

• See if you can share fresh local eggs, travel experiences, bikes, car rides, or errands.

3. Ditch single-use bags.

• Bring your own bags when you shop. Several U.S. cities and states have passed bans on single-use plastic bags.

• Start refusing single-use bags, and use washable replacements.

4. Change the way you give gifts and wrap them.

• Help loved ones celebrate with more eco-friendly gifts and experiences. Check the NRDC’s list of ideas. You could also give tickets to shows, or the gift of your time, such as cooking a meal or helping with a household project.

• Start experimenting with reusable wrap – a gift in itself. You can also wrap gifts in any kind of paper – newspaper comics, pages from last year’s wall calendar, or old maps.

5. Jump on the steel straw bandwagon.

Try stainless steel straws. Keep one in your desk and workbag, or buy a set for the house.  

6. Drink water – minus BPA and plastic.

Have a healthier year by discontinuing the use of plastic bottles and drinking water from a BPA-free bottle.

7. Get to know bamboo.

Buy products made from sustainably sourced bamboo, a great alternative to plastic throw-aways and wood products made from old-growth forests.

8. Join the Instagram #Litterati movement.

Check out Litterati on Instragram, which asks users to snap photos of litter, upload and tag #Litterati on Instagram, and recycle or throw away the trash.  

9. The 4th “R”: Refuse 

Reduce, reuse, recycle, and … refuse – 2014 is the year of “No, thank you.” You don’t need more throwaway chopsticks with your take-out dinner, or unwanted mail and catalogs. Read the Consumerist’s tips for opting out of unwanted mail, sign up for Catalog Choice, and practice the 4th “R” at local restaurants, grocery stores, and malls.

10. Set a no-buy goal.

Set a no-buy goal for a particular area of your life, and stick to it. For example, no morning lattes for six months, no new clothes until you donate everything you haven’t worn for a year, no soda or endangered seafood for a month, or no driving for a week. Or use less plastic and more reusable products in your life.