How to Stop the World From Drowning in Single-Use Plastic

15 Tips to Cut Down on Single-Use Plastics:

• Bring reusable bags to the store to avoid produce and checkout bags (a single plastic bag can take 1000 years to degrade).
  
  
• Use re-usable containers for storing leftovers, packing lunches or shopping in bulk (rice, pasta, cereal, etc.)
  
  
• Give up gum. It’s made of synthetic rubber, in other words, plastic, and is the 2nd most common form of litter behind cigarette butts.
  
  
• Resell or donate gently used clothes and shoes or recycle worn items through textile recycling programs.
  
  
• If you’re moving or work in transport, protect your items with recycled paper or shredded cardboard instead of bubble wrap or packing peanuts.
  
  
• Buy goods like washing powder in boxes instead of plastic as cardboard is easier to recycle.
  
  
• Better yet, make your own cleaning products in bulk to eliminate the need for multiple plastic containers. It takes about 20 minutes to make an eco-friendly clothes washing solution with grated castile soap (7 ounces), hot water (2.5 gallons) and washing soda (3.4 fluid ounces).
  
  
• Bring a reusable mug to coffee shops (which often means a discount) and a reusable water bottle to work, the gym, etc.
  
  
• Ask your company’s suppliers to cut down on unnecessary plastic packaging, which accounts for 40% of single-use plastic.
  
  
• Bring your own container for restaurant leftovers. Many restaurants use Styrofoam for this purpose, which contains harmful polystyrene that leaches into food, especially when reheated, and is completely non-biodegradable.
  
  
• Use matches or a refillable metal lighter instead of disposable lighters.
  
  
• Rather than buying fruit juice in a plastic container, eat whole fruit. It’s healthier for you and the environment.
  
  
• Use a razor with disposable blades instead of plastic razors that you throw away completely.
  
  
• Use bars of soap (not packaged in plastic), instead of liquid soap in a plastic container.
  
  
• Opt for Q tips (cotton buds) with paper centers, rather than plastic.

Once you start thinking about what single-use plastics you use, you will probably come up with more ideas on where and how to cut down. Remember that every little bit helps!