Starting an eco-friendly life: Reducing Plastic at Home
Let's start changing the world from what we control: Our home
Plastic is found in large quantities all around us, almost without exception. Our cell phones are mainly made of plastic, our cars contain large proportions of plastic, and even most of our clothes are made of plastic. All this is due to the ease of dealing with plastic but all the more so because of the low price of this material.
Our homes are a vivid example of this, the food that arrives at home is mainly wrapped or packaged in plastic, a very common practice, that fortunately, has decreased with the change of awareness due to a culture of environmental care.
The Solution to this problem is our Holy Trinity: The 3Rs
Making any kind of change can be a complicated and overwhelming process, and the transition to an eco-friendly lifestyle is no exception.
Fortunately for us, we have a relatively simple alternative at our disposal, the 3Rs: Reuse, Reduce and Recycle. Our most potent weapon to confront the major threat represented by plastic.
Tips to reduce plastics at home
Of the 3Rs, the most well-known is recycling and the one that appears to be the most important, however, it must be our final option. Before opting to recycle we must resort to reducing.
Some ideas to reduce plastic at home are the following:
Avoid single-use plastics: Let's start by turning off the fuel that has the flame burning. Avoid using cutlery, straws, plates, and other items that are used once and then thrown away. Try to replace them with other products made of biodegradable material such as wood or cardboard, or use products that are not disposable and can be reused repeatedly.
Replace plastic wrapping with a biodegradable material: Plastic is used in most cases to wrap and protect fresh food in supermarkets, it can also be the case that we have rolls of plastic to wrap anything at home. You can replace it with aluminum foil or better yet with another biodegradable alternative to eliminate plastic as the main threat to marine and terrestrial life.
Avoid using plastic bags: Every household regularly shops in supermarkets, whether weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Fortunately for us, the use of plastic bags in supermarkets has decreased and even reusable bags made of more eco-friendly materials are available as an alternative. An extra tip would be to keep a couple of reusable bags on hand or in the car so you don't have to resort to plastic bags.
Image by Luciano Paris en Unsplash Consider buying in bulk: Nowadays there are stores that are a good alternative in products such as food and even cosmetics without the need for packaging or containers, plastic or otherwise.
Making this change will have an obvious and instant effect on your household and turn it into a zero-plastic home.
PS: It is something that depends more on the type of person, but to make these changes remember to do it one step at a time, it is easier to run having learned to walk before.
A warm greeting in these crazy times,
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Jr Nicolas by ReduceEntropy🌎