Second-hand, wooden or borrowed toys
Most toys are mixed plastics that cannot be recycled; second-hand, toy libraries and wooden toys cut both plastic and cost.
Families
-
-
Skip balloons and plastic party kit
Balloons, plastic tableware and single-use decorations are used for hours; paper bunting, real plates and no balloon releases avoid the lot.
-
Refillable pens and plastic-free school supplies
A pencil case of disposable pens, plastic pockets and laminated sheets adds up; refillable pens, paper folders and wooden rulers last years.
-
Pet care: bulk food, natural toys and honest poo bags
Dog-poo bags alone can be 3 kg of plastic a year per dog, and compostable ones rarely break down in a bin; bulk food…
-
Garden without plastic pots, mulch and twine
Nursery pots, plastic mulch and polypropylene twine are rarely recycled; terracotta, coir, paper pots, jute twine and organic mulch replace them.
-
Avoid bamboo-fibre melamine tableware
Reusable bamboo-fibre cups and plates are melamine plastic that can leach formaldehyde; the EU withdrew them in 2021 and the UK still sells them.
-
Paper-stem or reusable cotton buds
Plastic-stem cotton buds are banned in the UK and EU because they are flushed and end up on beaches; paper stems or a reusable…
-
Look for Plastic Free and How2Recycle labels
Vague eco claims are everywhere; third-party marks such as Plastic Free Certification, Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) and How2Recycle tell you what the packaging is…
-
Microplastics found in human blood for the first time
A Dutch pilot study detected plastic particles in the blood of 17 of 22 healthy adults, at an average of 1.6 micrograms per millilitre.
-
First evidence of microplastics in the human placenta
Italian researchers found plastic fragments in four of six placentas, on both the mother’s and the baby’s side.