Plastic is killing the planet. Use These 14 Ways To Cut Down On Your Consumption

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If you suddenly realized that “something needs to be done”, then this article will tell you exactly what.

From the point of view of the average city dweller, the world is a comfortable and safe environment, which is specially designed to satisfy his, the city dweller's needs. Every morning in stores, it is not clear where fresh rolls, tomatoes, milk and other necessary products materialize, so that, being digested and thrown out in the form of waste, they disappear somewhere in the distance without any trace. A clean, pleasant and comfortable world.

The rupture of the template occurs when this average citizen is faced with the waste of his life closely. This happens, as a rule, at the most inopportune moment and makes an indelible impression. Having tasted all the delights of a picnic in a forest full of household waste, swimming in a river, the surface of which is a porridge of bottles and disposable dishes, lying on the beach among plastic dishes and disposable syringes, you suddenly wake up and understand that “it is impossible and necessary to live like this. to do something."

And here we are with a memo about the fight against the plastic invasion.

1. Avoid packaged foods

The desire for maximum convenience for the consumer forces stores to use more and more packaging, even in cases where it can be perfectly done without it. Try to abandon the plastic-wrapped fruits and vegetables altogether and move to a nearby market, where you can buy all this without additional wrappers.

2. Do not use plastic bags

Plastic bags are a real scourge of our time, the harmfulness of which is even difficult to assess. Just think about a few facts:

• The average life of a packet is 20 minutes, and it takes about 200 years to decompose.
• A quarter of the ocean's surface is already covered in floating plastic debris.
• The oil used to make 14 plastic bags is enough to drive a car 1.6 km.
• 4% of the world's oil production is spent on the production of plastic bags.

3. Buy in bulk and in bulk

Try to refrain from buying goods packaged in small quantities and enclosed in environmentally friendly packaging.

4. Do not use plastic utensils

The use of plastics in the kitchen, even special food varieties, is not only environmentally illiterate, but can also directly harm your health. Over time, especially under the influence of temperatures, they can release strong toxic substances that cause various diseases. Try to give preference to glass and metal.

5. Stop buying bottled water

No, I do not at all urge you to start drinking water from the tap or from puddles, which in some cities, by the way, is almost equivalent. Just pay attention to the existence of domestic wastewater treatment plants or find one of the points of sale in your area for bottling purified drinking water.

6. Carry water with you in a steel or glass container

We have written a lot about proper hydration of the body, and I hope you are no longer parting with a bottle of water. Now you need to take the next step and replace it with a special reusable container. A great way not only to preserve nature, but also to stand out again and emphasize your individuality.

7. Instead of disposable cups, use special cups

Count how many glasses of coffee and tea you drink each day and how many plastic cups you put in the bin. It's time to get a special reusable glass, which will also keep the warmth and aroma of your drink much longer.

8. Go shopping with your bag

A string bag is a brilliant Soviet invention (in fact, Czech), which was popular in the era of total scarcity due to the fact that the string bag practically did not take up space when folded, but, if necessary, easily contained a bag of potatoes. Today is the time to remember this and other, no less convenient and beautiful substitutes for plastic bags.

9. Drink straws

Every thing around us serves to satisfy some need. What need the plastic straws satisfy for drinks, I do not know. It's time to quit with this relic of the past and drink, like normal people, from a glass.

10. Use plastic bags as many times as possible

The plot is from the story of one of the most popular comedians in the past, yes. But in fact, there is nothing funny about it. If you don't throw away every plastic bag immediately after use, you can save a couple of hundred seabirds or turtles. Is it funny anyway?

11. Choose foods in plastic-free packaging

Today, on store shelves, you can find many products presented in different packages. For example, milk can be in a paper bag, plastic bottle, or bag. The same goes for washing powders, cereals, juices. Make the right choice!

12. Do not use plastic containers for storage

The most chemically neutral substance is glass. Then there are various metals. Plastic is completely unsuitable for long-term storage of food and preservation.

13. Surround yourself with the right things

Plastic may be cheap to make, but it never feels like noble wood or metal in feel. Don't surround yourself with cheap things!

14. Toys without plastic

When a child appears in the house, happy parents want to surround him with all the best, convenient and safe. So why do they put all these ugly pieces of plastic in his bed, the chemical composition of which includes the entire periodic table? After all, it is quite possible to replace this muck with products made from natural materials: wood, wool, natural fabrics.

We have offered you just a few simple ways that each reader can contribute to a great common cause. You can, of course, just ignore the problem, you can declare the author another crazy naturalist, but you still cannot avoid the war with the plastic invasion. Because now the question is quite simple: either we are his, or is it us.