Plastic-free chewing gum
Most chewing gum base is a synthetic polymer, which is why it never disappears from pavements; natural chicle gum is the alternative.
Students
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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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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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Stainless steel lunchbox instead of cling film and zip bags
A steel lunchbox and bottle replace a daily set of wrap, bags and cutlery for a school child or worker for years.
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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.
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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…
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19–23 million tonnes of plastic entered rivers, lakes and seas in 2016
Even the most ambitious commitments would leave tens of millions of tonnes of plastic entering aquatic ecosystems every year.
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More than 1,000 rivers carry 80% of plastic into the sea, not just ten
Ocean plastic comes from thousands of small urban rivers, overturning the earlier claim that ten big rivers carry 90% of it.
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171 trillion plastic particles now float on the world’s oceans
Surface plastic has risen sharply since 2005 and is mostly microplastic, according to 40 years of ocean sampling.
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The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a plastic soup, not an island
At least 79,000 tonnes of plastic drift across 1.6 million square kilometres, and nearly half the mass is abandoned fishing nets.