Top tips for ‘Plastic Free July’ that can last the year!
It’s no secret that the world has a big problem with plastic waste. In the UK alone, we throw away approximately 100 billion pieces of plastic each year according to Greenpeace, and the global figure is many times higher than that. Plastic is part of our every day life, but too much of it is designed to be disposable.
Plastic Free July is an initiative from the Plastic Free Foundation which challenges people to look at how they can reduce plastic usage in their lives during the month of July. Hopefully, people will take that attitude on for much longer than a month and reduce their waste permanently – making a big collective difference in the global fight to save our ecosystem.
Here at H2Origin Refills, we are big fans of Plastic Free July and want to share our tops tips for reducing your plastic intake that can last the whole year. Read on to find out more…
Take a refillable water bottle with you
One of the most significant sources of plastic waste is single-use water bottles which are discarded and end up in landfill. The average Brit buys three plastic bottles a week, and even when recycled that process uses more energy and materials to return the plastic to our shelves.
Rather than buying and recycling bottles endlessly, a far better way to reduce plastic bottle waste is to carry a reusable water bottle and keep an eye out for water refill stations near you. Doing so means that you will not only reduce the number of bottles headed to landfill or recycling, but you will also remove all the emissions used to create a new plastic bottle in the supply chain next time.
By embracing the water bottle refill lifestyle, you can drastically reduce the amount of plastic waste you contribute to landfill at the same time. Even better, water refilling stations like those provided by H2Origin Refills give you a chilled, triple-filtered water refill that is as good as any premium bottled water you can buy off the shelves. Learn more about how you can slake your thirst and save the planet at the same time by clicking here.
Re-use carrier bags
Much like water bottles, single-use carrier bags are an easy place to make a big positive impact in the fight against plastic waste. It is also a fight that we are winning bit by bit. Since the charge for plastic bags came in, government statistics show that the use of new bags has fallen by approximately half.
However, that still leaves a lot of work to do and this is an area where an individual can make a difference. The trick to going plastic free when it comes to shopping bags is to build a habit. Get bags for life and store them in the same place each time, then
The best bags to use are the ones you already have. By building habits and making sure you don’t need to buy new ones at the supermarket, you can break the cycle and go plastic free.
Rethink how you shop
This one can be a bit tricky, but with some perseverance you can make it part of your routine and cut back on your plastic use without changing much. We can often take a trip to the supermarket on autopilot and not really pay much attention to what we are buying.
Instead, take the time to really look at the products you are putting in the trolley and see if there are nearby alternatives that come in glass or cardboard packaging. Both of these materials are much more easily recycled and reused than plastic.
Likewise, if you are buying fresh fruit and vegetables there is no need to get them in plastic wrapping. They are more than ok going straight in the trolley and then being washed before use at home. This is another small change that has an increasingly larger impact the longer you keep at it.
Saving plastic waste is not just important to us at H2Origin Refills, it is the reason for our existence and we are big supporters of Plastic Free July. The tips above are just some of the ways that you can get involved and save plastic waste all year round.
Want to get in touch about our water refill stations and learn more about how H2Origin Refills can help you? Click here for talk to us today.
