[GREEN LIVING] How to have a plastic free lifestyle?

It’s time to be an adult about your relationships. Say bye to all commitment phobic aspects of your life starting with single use plastic. They’re the easiest to eliminate:

• Decline that plastic straw at restaurants or carry your own sustainable straw if it really floats your boat! Bamboo is one of the most eco-friendly variant of this- check out Bali-Boo Bamboo Straws. It really is the easiest planet positive step you can ever take- the #1LessStraw pledge.

• Ask your food delivery service to not send plastic cutlery like forks, chopsticks, spoons etc with order. Single use plastic cutlery is coming under the scanner in a big way with France even putting a ban on plastic cutlery recently.

• Put the brakes on buying PET bottles for everything from soda to water. Studies show the ill-effects of chemicals in plastics that can seep into the food or beverage it carries and enter our bodies like BPA, or Bisphenol-A, an industrial chemical that is a key building block of polycarbonate plastics, and a subject of much heated debate since 2008. BPA is a hormone-disrupting compound that has been linked to a lot of serious health problems like breast cancer, early puberty, infertility. The other compounds to worry about are Phthalates which are used everywhere from household cleaners to food packaging to fragrance, cosmetics, and personal-care products. These are linked to asthma, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, breast cancer, obesity, type II diabetes, fertility issues and even low IQ! Drinking out of plastic bottles is one of the biggest health concerns we face so reduce consumption as far as possible.

• You may love your Nespresso but those single use coffee pods are such a waste. Ok so I don’t want to get arrested for suggesting filter machine but that old school Italian espresso maker is my go to choice for making excellent coffee without generating waste.

 

›› BYO when on the go! 

• Join the coolest movement out there B.Y.O – Bring Your Own Pledge by Green NYC. Join in the action to make the world a plastic free place by bringing your own bottle, cup, mug, bag etc whenever you are on the go.

• Stop drinking water out of plastic cups at the gym or office and carry your own reusable water bottle everywhere. We recommend Retap glass bottles:

Also we fell in love with the brand Two Thirds. Two Thirds is a sustainable clothing and accessories brand that aims to create products that reduce our use of plastic with stylish and quality alternatives. Their water bottle is stainless steel, BPA free and with a beautiful bamboo wood finish.

• Start with your toothbrush- bamboo is again a very reliable alternative to plastic- eco-friendly and suitable. Check out EcoBamboo toothbrush for green and safe oral care.

• Try refills for body & skin care products, cleaners etc if available in your choice of brand instead of buying a new plastic container every time. A lot of premium and high end brands like L’Occitane have provisions for re-fills for most of their body and hair care products. Brands like Aveda too sell in big sizes which helps in controlling the plastic containers you get home.

• Buy detergents in boxes instead of plastic containers or plastic packets.

• Best way to go plastic free- make your own soap, shampoo and cleaners at home. There are so many DIY recipes out there to make all personal and home care items with common household ingredients. Here is an UrbanMeister who shared her expert DIY recipe on home cleaners. Making your own has two major advantages. One it restricts you from buying more items in plastic containers and secondly these are much safer than commercial products that have many toxins and harsh chemicals in them.

• Opt for plastic free toys like wooden ones as far as possible for kids.

 
Go plastic free in your kitchen

• Don’t cling to that plastic cling film. Cover food items with plates.

• Use soap bars instead of liquid cleaners to do the dishes as these add to your plastic container count.

• Slowly replace plastic containers for food items like herbs, spices, grains, coffee etc with mason jars. They anyway look prettier sitting on your kitchen shelves.

• Replace the plethora of tupperware and other plastic containers you carry your meal in to office with a good steel lunch box. From hand painted ones to cool slogan bearing sets, lunch boxes are in vogue these days. Tupperware while great for cutting down use of disposable plastic needs to be phased out eventually too as it’s plastic after all.

• Think local for groceries like from farmer’s markets, local butcher shops and bakeries instead of supermarkets- they not only give you fresh farm to table produce, they also drastically cut down on your plastic packaging.

• Earn extra eco points by lining your garbage cans paper bags or biodegradable trash bags instead of buying plastic trash bags.

 
Buy recycled plastic
If you have to buy plastic then at least let it be of the recycled variety! And fashion is one area experimenting a lot with recycled plastic. And ocean trash seems to be the flavour of the times!
Try special edition denims line RAW FOR THE OCEANS by Pharrell Willams for G-Star Raw (a brand he co-owns). Or pick some pieces from the H&M 2017 Conscious Collection again made out of recycled ocean plastic. Both use this innovative sustainable fabric called Bionic Yarn which is made of recycled ocean plastic trash.  Even Adidas has made sustainable concept sneakers adidas Ultraboost in collaboration with Parley for the Oceans made with recycled ocean trash. Another fabric to keep in mind especially for fitness wear is recycled polyester which is clothes made form recycled plastic really. So buy conscious and encourage brands to use recycled plastic more frequently in their collections.

 

›› Dispose responsibly 

Contrary to popular belief there is such a thing as plastic recycling. In fact the biggest problem with plastic consumption is not the sheer scale of consumption but how little heed we pay to recycling plastic. Despite concerted efforts to make plastic recycling mainstream and more accessible, this has not caught on. Stats reveal that less than 10% of the plastic we consume goes into recycling and the rest ends up rotting in landfills and choking our water bodies. Which is why the emphasis on reducing plastic consumption has picked up steam. The thing to grasp is what plastic items can be recycled and how to go about it. First up learn to read the triangular recycling symbol under all plastic. They’re usually numbered. This helps in sorting of plastic efficiently for recycling authorities- most have designated bins for different kinds. And it also is a good deterrent for us to not go for plastic that can’t be recycled- usually marked 7 or ‘other’. Find a good guide for recycling plastic symbols here.

Trust me you’ll be breaking up with plastic like a pro with these 4 tips. But there’s one more thing you can do to make the world plastic free. Turn on the activist mode a little bit. All brands and establishments are now so worried about what consumers say so speak up about plastic waste to them. Ask your neighbourhood restaurant or delivery service to cut down on plastic cutlery by giving it only on request. Volunteer for ocean cleaning drives and initiatives. Supermodel Anja Rubik is in Maldives right now with Parley for the Oceans on an ocean cleaning drive!