Kick Single Use Plastics To The Curb For Good

I am not a tree hugger. Truly, my distain for plastic started out more as an aesthetics issue for me (I’ve yet to find anything plastic that screams beautiful or classic) and it grew to become more of a health concern when I had my children. We limit what plastic comes into our home mainly for those selfish reasons, but it’s harder and harder to ignore the overwhelming impact that plastic is having on our environment. Not only is my children’s future at stake, but I believe we have a duty to be good stewards of our precious plant and resources and not just trash it all day, everyday. That’s why our family has been cracking down on our use of perhaps the hardest plastic of all to avoid: single use plastic.

What is single use plastic? It’s plastic that is designed for a one time use and more often than not, is hard to recycle, so it’s mostly thrown away after it’s short life. It’s literally everywhere you go. Think plastic wrapping on food items you buy, plastic utensils, plastic straws, plastic bags, etc. Need a coffee on the go? No problem, buy one in a disposable cup with a plastic lid. Don’t forget the little plastic straw to stir it up! Any purchase you make, there’s bound to be single use plastic involved. It all adds up to an overwhelming amount. In one week we go through one billion plastic bags world wide and it’s estimated only 1% of that gets recycled. That’s a big problem because once the plastic is done being a bag or straw or lid and gets tossed, it doesn’t just disappear. It hangs around for hundreds of years, polluting the environment and killing wildlife that often get entangled in plastic items or mistakenly eat it. Marine animals especially are at risk since many floating plastic items resemble their real food and a surprising amount of plastic gets washed into the ocean each year.

“There’s an estimated 315 billion pounds of plastic in the oceans right now” –News.discovery.com

 

As prevalent as single use plastic is, there are some surprisingly easy ways to cut out large amounts of the single use plastic you use. Here are some beginning steps to kicking single use plastic to the curb for good!

-Use your own reusable bags when shopping (don’t forget your produce bags!)

-Bring your own travel coffee cup if you plan to purchase coffee on the go.

-Buy in bulk when possible. When something comes in pack of 50 little individual containers or one large container, opt for the larger one. Also check out the bulk section of your grocery store for everything from grains to nuts, instead of buying them pre-packaged.

-Use stainless steel straws at home or on the go, instead of plastic straws (they’re easy to tuck into your purse and keep with you!)

-Replace plastic baggies and plastic wrap in your home with reusable versions. We actually prefer those since we never run out and it saves money in the long run.

Here are some of our families favorite products and some other suggestions for what to use instead of plastic. You can find them all at BeHomeWell.com, which is an online store with a great selection of eco friendly products for your home (and some healthy products for the whole family).

Bee’s Wrap is the perfect replacement for plastic wrap!

Stainless steel straws` are a favorite in our house! The kids love them and they are super easy to take along with you when you are eating out. I’ve even seen some Etsy shops making cute little carrying pouches for them.

Skip the one use produce bags and bring these handy washable + reusable bags along on your next shopping trip instead.

When you know you’ll be eating on the go, these bamboo utensils with a carrying pouch are the perfect thing to use instead of plastic, disposable utensils.

I’ve also teamed up with BeHomeWell.com to help someone clean up their act with plastic products by giving away one set of stainless steel straws, one set of produce bags and one set of bamboo utensils to one lucky winner! Head over to my Instagram to enter. Happy Earth Day Week! xoxo