Reducing my plastic consumption is a big focus for me. I have reached the point where going
shopping, especially grocery shopping, makes me feel guilty because of the amount of single use plastic involved. Cutting out plastic is difficult, and so I am taking it slowly and not beating myself up when I make mistakes or if my progress is slower than I would like; but, I'm proud to say that I buy a lot less single use plastic than I used to.
I would like to clarify that I am not against plastic as a whole. As an aspiring engineer, I am aware that plastic is essentially a miracle material, being so low cost and durable and versatile. What I am trying to reduce is how much single-use plastic and plastic packaging I use and subsequently throw away. Most of this plastic ends up in landfill or in the ocean. It is sad that we reached a place where this is the case but we have the opportunity and responsibility to do something about it. This is an environmental issue that I just cannot ignore anymore, I think about it daily.
If you are looking to reduce the amount of single use plastic that you buy, I believe the following are good places to start. I warn you that these are incredibly simple ones and I think a lot of people would claim that they do these things, but the question to ask yourself is, do I do them all the time? By remembering to do these things all of the time, you are more likely to shift your mindset, and that is what is most important.
Take A Reusable Bag When You Go Shopping
Everyone is talking about doing this, especially now that plastic bags cost 5p in the UK. But how many times have you gotten to the store and realised that you don’t have a reusable bag with you, or how many times have you have been about to take a reusable bag with you but it is inconvenient
and so you have felt a little guilty but you have snuck out of the house without it.
What I did to combat this was to find a really thin tote bag that I could roll up and leave in the bottom of my rucksack. It is more or less always with me and it no longer requires any effort on my part because I don’t even have to think about it or whether I will need it. The only thing I make sure to do, is to put it straight back into my rucksack once I have emptied it so that I do not forget it. And if I am planning on going shopping I will pack another one as well.
I am not perfect and have once or twice been using a different bag and not had it with me, but I think I
have purchased a grand total of two or three plastic bags in the last year and if everyone reached that stage, we would be laughing.
Bonus tip: If you do end up purchasing a plastic bag, you can reuse this for future shopping trips or you can use it as bin liner. Some people will probably be annoyed that I am suggesting this because it still involves plastic ending up in landfill but we have to accept that none of us are perfect and it is better to do little things like this with the plastic bags that we do end up purchasing rather that just throwing them away.
Carry a Reusable Water Bottle and Stop Buying Plastic Bottles
Again, just do it. You are paying for water and for plastic that is going to end up in the ground. Also
being a student makes you appreciate the price of bottled water.
Bonus tip: I have found canteen water bottles to be the best because they hardly ever leak and I recently purchased a small one so that it is not so inconvenient to carry around. There are plenty of water fountains around my university where I can refill it and many coffee shops will happily fill up your water bottle for free, especially if you are purchasing a coffee. If you do not have easy access to refill stations, it may best to use a slightly larger bottle so that it lasts the whole day for you.
Take a Reusable Coffee Cup to the Coffee Shop
The thing that sealed this for me was deciding that I was simply not going to buy plastic coffee cups. If I don’t have my reusable coffee cup with me, I either have to sit and drink my coffee there in a mug or am I not allowed to buy it. Sure, I have made exceptions of the last six months, but only a handful, and I am determined to be even stricter with myself going forward.
The ultimate hack would be to keep your cup in your rucksack at all times but I often pack a lot of stuff when I go to the library and so I don’t do this. But I would love to be a bit more streamlined about what I carry in my rucksack so that I could do this.
Bonus Tip: Don’t worry if you cup is dirty from a coffee earlier that day, most baristas really don’t care and many places will quickly wash your cup out for you before making your drink.
For all reusable items, their carbon footprint is only lower than its plastic counterpart when used over and over again. It is likely that you already own some. Please use these instead of going out an purchasing new reusable items.
To learn more, please see my list of resources on plastic pollution.
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