3 Ways To Reduce Your Plastic Usage Today!

Plastic has become a dirty word and while plastic free is the ideal, we appreciate it’s not possible to revamp your lifestyle in a day.

Quite a lot of plastics aren’t actually recyclable, therefore the best way to combat the Plastic Waste Crisis is to simply use far less of it.

Since the most common environmental goal in the Earth Rewards community is to reduce plastic usage: here are 3 ways you can reduce your plastic usage today!

1. Ditch the gum.

In the UK an estimated 130 sticks of gum are chewed per person each year. Gum is made from polymers which are synthetic plastics and don’t biodegrade. 

That’s an awful lot of the sticky stuff that won’t ever go away.

If you cannot kick the habit then there are a few natural chewing gum options out there from brands like Peppersmith, Simply Gum and Glee Gum.

2. Leave your coffee cup lid at Costa.

Ideally it would be acceptable for everybody to wear a thermos as a belt accessory so nobody forgets their reusable mugs when buying hot drinks on the go. 

It’s not fashionable just yet and we’re all human and forget sometimes. 

If you can’t give up the take out coffee cup today then at least leave the lid (the stirring stick and sleeve too while you’re at it).

3. Don’t bin your straws – reject them.

Straws is a buzzword right now as plastic straws have been linked to the global epidemic of sea turtle endangerment.

While many restaurants are switching for paper alternatives, these will still end up in landfill so why not up your edgy-factor and invest in some metal, glass or bamboo straws.

We love these metal straws, they’re reusable and will save you money in the long run buying for dinner party guests. They always get a positive comment from visitors when snuck in a gin and tonic.

At Earth Rewards we want to know what you are doing to reduce your plastic usage so we can share your tips with the Earth Rewards community and encourage others to do the same with full credit given.

Email us at getintouch@earthrewards.net with subject line: How I save Plastic.

Best of luck with making the swaps!

– The Earth Rewards Team