How to Switch to a Plastic-Free Lifestyle and Help the Environment

Plastic is polluting our planet and it’s time for all of us to do our part in reducing its impact. If you’re looking for ways to make your lifestyle more environmentally friendly, switching to a plastic-free lifestyle is a great place to start! In this blog post, we will discuss some tips for making the switch and how being environmentally friendly can benefit you and the planet. Let’s get started!

Did you know that plastic not only takes up to 500 years to decompose but it also spreads toxins and is harming our wildlife? When you think of environmentally friendly what do you think of? We want to do our part in reducing the global warming which is affected by plastics and we want to help nature, wildlife and ourselves. Getting rid of unnecessary plastics in your home and workplace would be the best place to start.

Taking care of your health

Many people don’t realise it, but studies have shown that plastics can actually leach chemicals into our food and drinks. This can have an effect on your health and can even cause issues with your immunity, can cause cancers and has even been linked to birth defects.

Surprisingly, plastics have even been found in human waste and some types of foods and drinks that we consume. Unfortunately, our stomachs cannot break down plastics so this will in fact come out the other end and may cause health issues that can stay with us for a while.

Taking care of wildlife

Our wildlife suffers greatly from our plastic use which has caused a deadly effect on many creatures. Many of these creatures are a part of our sea life and can be caused by ingesting it or getting tangled in it. The worst part is that it isn’t surprising as there are currently roughly 51 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans. If everyone could have a plastic-free lifestyle, our marine life and oceans may eventually get healthier but for now, we need to all do our part in encouraging others to help save our oceans.

Switching to a plastic-free lifestyle

So you may be thinking “yes, I want to help my health and our wildlife but how?”, well firstly you could switch out your usual plastic products! There are now many reusable alternatives you could buy to replace your everyday plastic items and most of the time it ends up being cheaper than buying plastics repeatedly. Let’s have a look at some of the products;

Straws

Straws have such a big impact on our environment and are one of the main products found in our waterways. There are now so many different alternatives to plastic straws so it’s safe to say that everyone has a choice on which one they would prefer. Here are a few options now available;

• Retractable metal straws
• metal straws
• Silicone Straws
• Paper straws

Cutlery

So, you’re on the road and maybe getting takeaway for lunch, the takeaway comes with plastic cutlery and eventually ends up in the landfill. Not the best situation but luckily we are taking steps to change it. Again there are different alternatives to plastic cutlery so we don’t have to add to the environmental impacts of plastics anymore! Here are a few options available;

• Travel Cutlery Set
• Cutlery travel pouch

Pegs

Plastic pegs are history with the new options available to replace them! We don’t need another thing added to our landfill and we don’t need to keep running down the road because our pegs keep breaking either. Here are a few options available;

• Metal pegs
• Timber pegs

Self-care

Make-up wipes and earbuds are other products that make their way into our oceans and landfill. It not only impacts our environment but they can both be harsh on our skin too. Some options available include;

• Reusable make-up remover pads
• Reusable earbuds

Kitchen products

We need to bake, we get out baking paper. We need to put food away, we get out cling wrap. We go shopping, we get out our plastic bags. Unfortunately, we don’t think about these products and how they can also have an impact on the environment. There are some alternatives to these products with more eco-friendly products coming out to replace these every day! Some of the alternative choices available include;

• Non-stick Baking mat
• Tote bag
• Silicone food covers
• produce bags

Some big changes are coming in NSW with the government banning single-use plastics in June to phase out all single-use plastics by November 2022. This is exciting news for all the people that would like to help reduce our impact on the environment but let’s take it one step further by replacing all single-use items that we can with reusable products instead to reduce our overall waste.

So you have some options to get you started on your plastic-free lifestyle. What steps are you going to start taking to take better care of yourself and your environment? If you have any questions or even other eco-friendly products in mind that you would like to see more of, please do not hesitate to contact us!