Five Easy Ways To Reduce Your Plastic Waste Today

Every year, the waste we generate in Australia is growing at twice the rate of our population. Reducing our plastic waste is one of the most important things we can do to help preserve our environment.

Here are five easy ways you can start cutting down your plastic waste today and work towards a zero plastic life. 

Every day, 60 million water bottles are landfilled. That’s a LOT of plastic waste. We can all work together to reduce this waste by bringing a reusable water bottle with us when we leave the house. Keep it filled with water in the fridge and grab on the go so you’ve always got a cold drink on hand. If you don’t own one already, check out some popular designs by S’Well, bkr and SoL.

Australian consumers use about 3.92 billion plastic bags each year. We can easily cut this down by committing to bring reusable bags every time we go shopping. Keep a few different sizes handy in your car, desk at work and by the front door so they are easy to grab when heading out. If you forget them, turn around and go get them! You won’t forget next time :) 

Invest in eco friendly alternatives to cover leftover food and break up with single-use plastic wrap for good. There are plenty of options out there to choose from including beeswax wraps, vegan wax wraps and silicone food covers. Glass containers are also a great way to store leftover food. Not only will you be reducing your plastic waste, but you’ll also be cutting down on food waste too. 

This is an easy one, and one that a lot of restaurants, bars and cafes are already on board with. But for those places that still persist on using plastic straws, just say no. Opt for Eco friendly alternatives made from bamboo, steel or paper.

Purchase foods like nuts, dried fruit, pasta and rice from bulk bins at the supermarket and use a reusable container or bag to reduce unnecessary waste. You can reduce even more plastic waste buy purchasing other items such as herbs & spices, coffee & tea, olive oil and flour in bulk at specialty health food stores and embrace conscious consumption.

With a little planning and forward thinking, it’s easy to move towards a zero plastic life and minimize the impact we have on our environment.