10 Simple Ways To Use Less EVIL Plastic (Do This ASAP)

10 Simple Ways To Use Less EVIL Plastic (Do This ASAP) – Graphic © off-grid.info. Background image: Pixabay (PD)

“Some day the earth will weep, she will beg for her life, she will cry with teards of blood. You will make a choicem if you will help her or let her die, and when she dies, you too will die.” — John Hollow Horn, Oglala Lakota

Here is a simple system you can follow for eliminating as much plastic use from your life as possible…

Let’s all do this. If there is one thing that I could persuade you to do, it would be this. I am not writing this just for my own personal gain, it is for the good of all. We truly have the power but it’s not going to happen unless we push for it. Don’t leave this one to someone else. Share with your friends. It’s time. The world cannot wait any longer. Governments and corporations don’t care unless they are trying to make themselves look good. It is up to us to set the example and we can do it.

1. Eliminate Plastic Bottle Use

This is a hugely important one. First of all, get a water filter at home and a good quality plastic-free reusable water bottle such as the SIGG brand.

2. Refill Existing Containers

There are some brands that encourage refilling liquid laundry soap containers or even taking another container.

Numerous grocery stores now have the refillable polycarbonate 5-gallon style containers in-store on a deposit system so you can bring back the same container and use it again and again. Note – plastic bottled water bottles are typically specified as non-refillable and this because of the risk of harmful bacteria buildup.

3. Eliminate Plastic Straw Use

Billions of these awful things are used annually and it is estimated that they may take up to 1000 years to decompose. You can buy washable stainless steel straws – it’s nice to see these getting popular now! Or you can simply not use a straw at all. Some places have now actually banned plastic straws, due to the huge problems they have been causing for marine life with the high numbers of them that end up washed out to sea. Plastic straws are a completely unneccessary item that has destroyed the lives of countless innocent creatures. More info: Just Say No To Plastic Straws.

4. Eliminate Plastic Cutlery Use

If you used a little foresight you could take a set with you and then instead of helping yourself to a plastic fork and knife that you then throw away, you can simply take home, wash and reuse your utensils. Humans managed fine without plastic utensils for thousands of years. Convenience has become the enemy.

5. Eliminate Packing Peanut / Strofoam Use

Of all the ‘hidden evils’ of the modern world, this is one high on the list. Packing peanuts are made from styrofoam / polystyrene, a highly toxic plastic. There is no polystyrene recycling in most places – and so these end up in landfill or worse, blown by the wind to contaminate and pollute land, river and ocean. These horrible things should be banned permanently, they are a total disgrace. Stop this madness!

Never buy packing peanuts! You can package items either using re-used bubble wrap (yes it is still plastic but it is recyclable) or various plastic-free materials. Crumple up old newspapers / scrap paper, use shredded cardboard and of course re-use those Amazon boxes etc.

If you receive items that were packed using packing peanuts, collect them all up and donate them to a shipping store, so that they at least have a second lease of life and reduce the overall environmental burden.

6. Cotton Buds / Q Tips

Buy the ones that have a paper “rod” instead of a plastic one.

7. Be Vocal

Complain about plastic packaging whenever possible. I want you to do this! Speak up, because if you don’t, who will? This is not an ‘imaginary cause’. Plastic is killing wildlife and ends up broken into smaller and smaller pieces, which end up in the food chain. You end up eating it – and this is not an exaggeration. It has now been reported that If You Eat An Average Amount Of Fish, You Are Now Eating 11,000 Pieces Of Plastic Per Year Get over this idea that you can “throw something away” – because you cannot. It all goes back into the environment that is the source of our food, water and air. When the old Native American wise man said “Whatever we do to the web of life, we do to ourselves”, he was truly not exaggerating. Plastic is a very obvious example.

8. Support Companies That Use Plastic-Free Packaging – And Let Others Know That You Are Doing This

Companies are obliged, ultimately, to serve consumer demand. If everyone in the world simply insisted on plastic-free options, plastic would disappear. Nobody is forcing us to use it. We simply keep choosing it and keep affirming it, again and again and again. Yes it is difficult to oppose it, due to the sheer scale of the problem. But the more people fight the problem, the smaller it becomes. This is a problem that is ultimately solvable. Humans managed without plastic for a million years. We don’t actually need it, no matter what anyone tells you. We would simply be far better off if it did not exist.

9. Reuse

Plastic containers of all kinds can have second use, limiting the purchase of new containers. Bubble wrap and other packaging materials can be used many times over, before being finally recycled.

10. Filter Your Tap Water

A shocking study has found plastic fibers in 83% of tap water samples across 6 continents. So while this doesn’t quite count as plastic use, it does count as eliminating plastic from your body, which is of course highly relevant!