Page 7 - March Newsletter

10 WAYS We’ve highlighted waste in our two Newsletters from 2017 and its good to see that “There is no such thing as
plastic is getting more & more media coverage and there is no hiding place for any of
TO REDUCE us, plastic is defi nitely entering the consciousness of us all. away, when we throw anything

China is now refusing to accept the UK’s plastic waste where 2.7m tonnes has been
OUR PLASTIC exported since 2012 so the UK is either going to have to address its own recycling
options or better prevent the waste in the fi rst place!
WASTE THIS To prevent the waste consumers are going to have to make some big changes to our away it must go somewhere”

normal routines, but much of this is like muscle memory in sports, we just subconsciously
YEAR repeat the same old actions, with better conscious thought over waste we can make - Annie Leonard
diff erent decisions and in turn chose plastic free alternatives.

Plastic Bags: this was the fi rst target for
raising public awareness and of course a 5p
charge has helped make signifi cant change,
but a reduction of over 80% goes to show what
can be achieved through conscious change.

Toiletries: in a family of four I have no idea
how many shower gel & shampoo plastic
bottles we use, but I’m guessing a shower
gel rarely lasts longer than a week. That’s 50
shower gel bottles every year just from one
household! We are looking at mail-order re-
fi lls, www.splosh.com , and the family is trialling
soap & shower gel alternatives to cut down on
waste.

Cling Film: miles and miles and miles of cling
fi lm ends up in landfi ll, so before wrapping that
plate with cling-fi lm we need to consider re-
useable containers with lids.

Coff ee Take-Away: as we’ve highlighted
before if we take positive proactive action to
avoid having to accept a single use coff ee
cup then some of the 2.5 billion paper cups
currently sent to landfi ll can be avoided, there
are many re-useable coff ee cups alternatives
coming online both within the promotional
market sector and retail.

Water Bottles: as with coff ee cups, there are
all manner of re-useable drinking bottles and
fl asks that keep drinks hot & cold for hours that
negate the need for buying water in a store,
if saving waste isn’t your motivator, maybe
saving money is! www.refi ll.org.uk

Pack Lunches: a change in behaviour Milk Containers: Plastic milk containers sold
requires a positive action, all convenience through supermarkets lead to the demise
lunches bought from the high street store will of the milkman delivering glass pint bottles,
Food Packaging: while we’re in the shops involve packaging, sandwich wrap, pasta in collecting, cleaning, reusing and delivering….
the packaging of our foods is generating plastic punnets, drinks in plastic. A pack lunch will we see the milk fl oat and milk man returning
plastic waste that must be stopped. Apples however is going to better for you, and better to our streets as we battle the plastic waste
& Bananas & virtually every other fruit & for the planet but requires planning ahead war? www.milkandmore.co.uk
vegetable doesn’t need plastic bagging or and washing up after!
wrapping! Eventually the shops will be forced
to change but equally we can choose the Straws: the US use enough straws every single
local greengrocer (if we have one available to Plastic Cutlery: is a single use item leading day to wrap around the earth’s circumference
us) where everything is sold loose, or try to only to immediate waste, it’s either convenient or 2.5 times every day! It’s a single use, plastic
buy the loose fruit & veg in our supermarkets. avoids washing up, either way we need to convenience item that makes drinking a little
The supermarkets will quickly react to what the plan better, or carry cutlery or a re-useable easier! But 5 minutes later it is rubbish that will www.refi ll.org.uk www.milkandmore.co.uk www.splosh.com
customer is buying. plastic spork and stop this needless waste. take forever to disappear. Hold the Straw! A useful app for fi nding places off ering free tap The milkman is making a come back and he Don’t recycle, instead refi ll all those toiletry and
water to fi ll your reusable water bottle. delivers so much more now than just GLASS cleaning bottles with mail order sustainable
reusable milk bottles refi lls.

SPROMO - 6 - MARCH 18