Laundry powder in cardboard or refill instead of liquid bottles
Laundry liquid bottles are among the heaviest plastic items in the home; powder in cardboard, refill stations or sheets avoid them entirely.
Individuals
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Buy dry goods from bulk or refill stores
Rice, pasta, nuts, cereal and cleaning products from refill stores go into jars you already own and cut hundreds of packets a year.
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Returnable glass milk or bigger bottles
A returnable glass bottle only beats plastic if it is returned and refilled many times; if that is not on offer, buy the largest…
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Cans over PET when you must buy a drink
Aluminium cans are recycled at 75 percent globally and can be recycled forever; PET bottles are recycled far less and downcycled.
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Loose fruit and vegetables
The EU will ban single-use plastic packaging on fresh produce under 1.5 kg from 2030; choosing loose produce now avoids about a kilo of…
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Bring a container or use a return scheme for takeaway
Takeaway containers are the heaviest single-use plastic most people handle; returnable-container schemes reach payback in three to four years for venues.
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Coffee pods: reusable steel pod or ground coffee
A capsule a day is over a kilo of plastic and aluminium a year; a refillable steel pod or a stovetop and cafetiere removes…
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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…
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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.
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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.