Some Easy (totally normal) Ways to Cut Out Plastic
We have a few pets here in our apartment. Two elderly (but adorable) dogs, a senior guinea pig, a lazy betta fish (I didn’t even know fish can be lazy...but they can be), a million worms (for composting our food waste), and quite a few…snails. These snails were never intentional pets, but they came along with some aquatic plants we have. I do not particularly like killing living things. I usually don’t even kill bugs or spiders I see that wander into our house. These snails reproduce in our aquarium like crazy though so I recently started to make them their own homes in some upcycled jars (are you really low waste if you don’t have a million jars sitting around your house??!)! With these snails in the jars, these are self-cleaning and self-feeding aquascapes that work as a great conversation piece when people come over.
If you don’t know me in real life, I fucking love making aquascapes, closed terrariums, aquariums...Its a guilty pleasure of mine, for sure. At heart though, I do consider myself an artist, maybe not quite professionally (maybe one day...people do buy some of my art, but definitely not a career or a way to support myself 100%), deep in my soul and I know realistically...even if I don’t want it to be true, plastic garbage is now just a true part of nature. I HATE it.
Aquascaping and terrariums as an artform are supposed to reflect true nature. It is supposed to be as if you took a jar and captured a piece of the outdoors and encapsulated it. I am not going to lie to myself and others and create a ‘scape that looks perfect and picturesque, while ignoring the trash and litter I see when I actually go outside.
Did you know that every day 8 million pieces of plastic are pumped into our oceans? And every year 12 million tons of plastic are poured into the ocean? Living creatures have to live amongst pretty much anything and everything we throw out for the garbage(person) to collect. When I see litter on the streets while I am out walking the dogs, even when I know as an individual that particular trash is not mine, I feel guilty as a human. Most trash you “throw out” will either end up in the landfill where it will sit and not decompose properly or blow into the waterstream essentially ending up in nature. So even if I don’t “directly” litter...anything I place in a garbage can ends up in the trash heap and eventually, the ocean.
I try my best not to consume things in plastic, but I know that is not something that is easy for everyone and it will inevitably happen in the society that we live in. Even when I try my hardest, there are still circumstances I end up with plastic packaging, its just a part of the world we live in now.
Here are a few ways to avoid plastic usage, even if you only do one, it can help reduce plastic pollution:
Bring your own reusable utensils and straw (and tell your server/cashier, if you don’t and they bring it out anyway, they will just throw out what they brought you)
If I can do without a straw, I tell the cashier/server “no straw” so they do not bring one.
Bring your own reusable shopping bag and produce bags! A lot of people remember to bring their own shopping bags, but produce bags often get left behind. You can either buy some small bags specifically for produce, re-use plastic bags you end up with, or opt for no bag! A lot of produce does not even need a bag.
Bake your own bread. Tasty and literally costs pennies to make! Just a little bit of time. You end up with no plastic bag or plastic twist-tie.
Bake chips (easy, cheap, and tastier than Lay’s or UTZ. Let us know if you would like to see a recipe or video!)
Don’t chew gum! Did you know most gum is made of plastic??? Opt for mints that come in a metal tin instead.
If you have this option near you, buy from the bulk bins at your grocery store! Bulk bins often have options of nuts, beans, rice, flour, and spices!
Re-use, re-use, re-use any single-use plastic as many times as you can.
Buy bar soap instead of body wash or liquid soap
Bring your own water bottle or coffee mug
Bring your own cup. I hate to say it, but I still see parties outside my apartment window with people using red solo cups. As iconic as those are, they are so, so terribly bad for the environment. Especially when I see these people throwing them out into the regular trash instead of the recycling bin. If you are someone who goes to parties, consider bringing your own cup or collapsible cup. If you feel embarrassed by it, just 1. Remember that its better for the environment and 2. Anyone that thinks it is weird will very likely not remember at all that you brought your own cup.
Try out shampoo and conditioner bars!
Whenever possible, choose things that come in glass. If this is not possible, try to re-use whatever you get as much as possible. For example, I have found that it is very difficult for me personally, to find a replacement for Sriracha sauce. As much as I can’t find anything that’s not in plastic that is as good (hey, I am not perfect and I am willing to admit that!) When I am done with the Sriracha I have used the bottles for holding large batches of homemade hand sanitizer which can be distributed into small bottles, homemade plant fertilizer, and dish soap. The nozzle top is great for so many things. After I am done with it, I clean it out and try to properly recycle it.
How do you reduce your plastic-waste?
