Refillable bottle instead of bottled water
A single reusable bottle used daily replaces hundreds of PET bottles a year, and its impact becomes negligible over a year of use whatever…
Kitchen
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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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Refill or concentrate cleaning products
Spray bottles are mostly water; refill stations, concentrates and dissolvable tablets cut the plastic to a single bottle you keep.
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Loose-leaf tea or plastic-free tea bags
Many tea bags are sealed with polypropylene or made from PLA mesh, which does not break down in a home compost heap.
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Washable cloths instead of wet wipes
About 31 billion wet wipes were sold in the UK in 2021, and a quarter to a half contained plastic; the UK is banning…
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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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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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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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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 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.