Reusable shopping bag instead of single-use carrier bags
Bag charges cut single-use bag sales at England’s main supermarkets by 98 percent; carrying any bag you already own beats buying a new one.
Individuals
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Mesh or cloth produce bags instead of roll bags
The flimsy roll bags in the fruit aisle are being banned in Western Australia and elsewhere; a washable mesh bag or no bag at…
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Reusable cup instead of takeaway coffee cups
A reusable cup beats a paper cup on climate after about 20 to 25 uses, and paper cups are lined with plastic so they…
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Skip the lid and the sleeve
If you cannot bring a cup, refusing the plastic lid alone removes about 3 g of plastic per drink.
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No straw, or a stainless steel one
Plastic straws are banned in most rich countries, but 90 percent of paper straws tested contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); steel was the…
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Carry your own cutlery for takeaway
A fork and spoon from your kitchen drawer in your bag avoids hundreds of single-use plastic pieces a year.
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Containers and wraps instead of cling film
Cling film is unrecyclable and used once; a plate over a bowl, a lidded container or a beeswax wrap does the same job for…
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Silicone or glass instead of zip-lock bags
A reusable silicone bag replaces hundreds of zip bags, but silicone itself is not recyclable or biodegradable, so buy few and keep them.
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Solid soap and shampoo bars instead of bottles
Bars come naked or in paper; Lush has avoided over 15,000 tonnes of plastic since 2005 by selling solid products.
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Bamboo or replaceable-head toothbrush
A plastic toothbrush weighs about 18 g and is replaced every three months; a bamboo handle composts and only the nylon bristles remain.