Plastic Free - 20 Ideas to make a start in reduction or replacements
I have been sharing a lot recently with anyone who will listen on how proud I am of mine and my families start to reducing our plastic consumption and aiming to even being plastic free.
I say start because when you sit and start evaluating all the Items in our house that are plastic like many traditional house holds there is an awful lot that is made from or contains plastic! There were even things I found had plastic in that we didn't know contained plastic.
This can seem really overwhelming and even the most motivated can lose hope in the fact that they can make a change, when faced with the sheer amount of plastic. I decided that to help inspire others I would share some of our swaps and ideas along our journey. So whilst this is only the start, my hope is that it will inspire others to start to reduce plastic and think more Eco friendly.
So to set the scene let me introduce you first to the household. We have myself, a 37 year old holistic health practitioner, loves nature and first in the family on board with making changes. My husband who's not so keen on change and not so sure if he can or should? be the one making a difference. My son 16 years old, student, likes being inside, quickness, convenience and getting out of chores. My daughter aged 8 likes anything Youtube advertises to her, loves animals and being outside and then my dog a 5 year old Cockerpoo, confused and always hungry. I jest (a little) in my descriptions of them but it gives you a quick idea of who is involved in this process.
For me being more Eco conscious, living a more sustainable life and helping repair and or protect the plant is really important and so I am the driving force behind us all. I totally understand that reducing plastic alone will not solve the worlds problems but I am 100% sure that I can make a difference to not being a ongoing contributing factor to it.
I started by calling a family meeting, a tradition in our house where we all sit down at the table with no distractions , a moment used for important communications and life events only, so they know I'm serious and mean business!
I explain to them why I want to start making changes, ask them of their concerns and we talk and then get their commitment. It took a bit of coaching and understanding to why I wanted to do it, the internet is a valuable recourse for this as was the BBC recent series WAR ON PLASTIC. Expecting many battles ahead, at this stage I easily get their commitment once they understood why and the scale of things.
I personally had started myself with straws and cups and bags but had also started looking for inspiration online and there was so much everywhere but one of the most valuable resources has been a Facebook group called Saving the Earth One tip at a time, I urge you to go check them out.
In this weeks blog post I am covering some of the changes we have made as a family in the hope they may inspire other families like ours. When you look at the numbers I quote along the way, you will I am sure, understand why I use the word 'proud' of the start we have made. Although I am totally aware this is just a start and requires much more this, it is about starting , it is about doing something rather than doing nothing.
When writing this blog I shared the numbers with my husband who is very supportive and sometimes goes along with things just for 'an easy life' but he too can see the impact everyone can have and this has inspired him and the others to do more. I heard a quote recently 'we need everyone doing something rather than one person doing it perfectly'
So here our are swaps and suggestions so far:
Ear buds - One of the first things we changed and an easy one so we thought! , we replaced the plastic earbuds we were buying with 100% cotton earbuds only later to have a realisation that we had been duped by marketing and that these Eco buds were in a plastic tub! So we tried again (NEVER GIVE UP) and this time went with bamboo ear buds in a cardboard tube (we estimate 4 plastic boxes a year saved for the future, doesn't sound a lot but on same assumptions and I am 37 years old. I've already contributed to at least 148 plastic tubs in my lifetime, so still a win, plus each tub has say 100 buds in there, so when they were plastic that's a past contribution of 14800 plastic buds out there! Saying no to this has to make a difference! ) These are available in lots go heath and Eco shops but I bought mine off amazon and they came deliver in no plastic this is the link
Milk - We go through 4-8 pints of dairy milk and nut milks in this house. The diary milk was always in plastic and the nut milk varied. We had previously had milk delivered by Milk and More and found them reliable and the milk came in reusable glass bottles, whilst more expensive (mainly because of delivery and supporting local farmers) we decided this was one thing we could afford to change.
Cleaning products in plastic bottles - I wrote a whole blog post on this recently and will link that here Not only have I reduced a huge amount of plastic bottles, I have reduced the chemicals going into my and my family body and the environment. There is a lot of information here so do go check it out.
When I am not making my own products I have found a great alternative to purchasing lots of individual cleaners and that is KOH. 'Our mission, is to help eliminate the use of toxic chemicals used in cleaning products.' This one system is non toxic and really really good at cleaning the whole house, it is safe to use around children and animals and will reduce waste as it is refillable. I would like to estimate how many this is saving me but looking at past receipts lets say I was buying a conservative 5 bottles a week, that's a minimum of 260 bottles a year and if I'm honest I think it was historically a huge amount more! If you use my Link you will gain a £5 discount.
We have also replaced honey, mayo, salad cream, pickle, jam, marmalade and mustard ( I think this saves around 75 plastic bottles a year and we are trying to purchase local budget depending)
Fruit and veg we are choosing unwrapped - kids love it at the supermarket when they get to pick their own 9always a competition on who can find the 'best'
Drinks on the go and straws - If we do purchase drinks on the go we us a reusable cup, straws and if we are buying soft drinks we choose options in aluminium or glass and check the recycle symbols.
Washing up soap and laundry - We have made two changes here, hand washing we have switched to soap (there really is no need for plastic dispensers, but if you like a dispenser try and find a local refill station) or you could use a company called Splosh, they offer refill pouches of lots of products , we have been using them for our washing up liquid and fabric softener but they do lots of other products too. If you quote 3AEYA6JWOH you will get a discount. They also have an awesome app that tells you how many bottles you have saved - since may 2019 , so 4 months we have saved 10 bottles , so we estimate that could be another 30 bottles a year saved) They offer a return service for the pouches which they say 'By refilling with a concentrate in a pouch, you’re cutting plastic waste by around 90%. To go one better – return the pouches to us in the refill box (it’s free) and we’ll manage reprocessing of the material into other products.'
Wet Wipes and Hand Tissues - Both my children are older now but sticky fingers can still be a problem, we were using wipes and kitchen roll for this and other things around the house. I made myself some reusable wipes. I added some essential oils and witch hazel and water to a jar and soaked a few for cleaning and it works perfectly. There are many great sellers out there who make these professionally if you don't want to make them but I just cut up an old towel and some cotton scraps, sewed them together and wash them in the washing machine when dirty. Others I keep dry, all over the place, in a box in the living room, in the car, kitchen, the kids rucksacks and even my handbag. (It is difficult to say how many plastic wrappers and actual wipes we have saved, but it could be 100's? its at least one wrapper a week so that's 5200 wipes and 52 packets!)
Cotton Wool Pads and Face Wipes - Like the tissues and wipes, cotton wool and face wipes we raised we had the same usage and plastic problem. I told you you can literally find plastic everywhere when you start looking! So we swapped to these which I did purchase and love them , super soft, easy to use, wash really well and come with a little wash bag so they don't get lost in the machine. Here is the link. We estimate this saves similar amounts as the wipes so 52 packets and maybe 5200 cotton clouds!
Sponges and plastic dish scrubbers -
The most recent change I found these bamboo scrubbers for dishes to replace the previous sponge that most certainly would contain plastic and comes wrapped in a plastic packet. So far I am really pleased as it seems to be fairing better than the sponge for durability, is easier to clean and looks pretty to. I bought mine from Eco Vibe and am currently waiting on these (link) as well. My son is our dishwasher at home, its one of his chores and he prefers a sponge so to keep the peace I am trying to compromise. I am sure there are other options as well (we estimate this might save 4 packets and 16 non sustainable plastic sponges a year.)
Dog Food - Previously purchasing dog food in little foil pouches that can be difficult to recycle we would use 2/3 a day for our small dog that's a massive 1095 pouches a year! I met a friend who introduced me to a company called Tails, they make tailor made dog food based on a questionnaire you complete, my friend recommended it to me and gave me a referral link which gave me the opportunity to try it for one month for just £1!
I was really impressed it came in one large bag that is recycle locally by my council , lasts a month, worked out cheaper (even at full price) than the food we were buying before and has much better ingredients for the furry person in my life. This is a great swap rather than plastic free option and still really convenient. If you use my link you to will get the offer that my friend gifted to me. Quote LINDAVTP
Razors - This is another swap we have changed plastic disposable razors to a metal reusable razor. The option I went for sends blades as a monthly subscription by a company called Friction Free Razors , they have a very good recycling scheme where you can send the blades back. They say 'Did you know that of the 260 million tons of plastic that the world produces each year, around 10 percent ends up in the Ocean? Over a million sea animals lose their lives each year due to the plastic content in the sea.
So there it is the first 20 replacements, reductions or removal of plastic we have made at home.
I have tried to link as many things as possible to make your shopping experience easy, if you choose any of these options, lots of the links are affiliate or referral links which I may earn rewards or credit from. That's not my reason for writing the blog this week, I would still share all of these links even if that was not the case. I only recommend things I have tried and tested. I could write a whole blog post on the fails too! ( I wouldn't include any links there!!!)
I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions in the comments below, there will be more posts coming on this subject along with my other content of helping others live healthy , live happy and live a fulfilled life. To register your email address you can click here: KEEP IN TOUCH
We think we have made a good start by reducing plastic , our one household has stopped:
I say start because when you sit and start evaluating all the Items in our house that are plastic like many traditional house holds there is an awful lot that is made from or contains plastic! There were even things I found had plastic in that we didn't know contained plastic.
This can seem really overwhelming and even the most motivated can lose hope in the fact that they can make a change, when faced with the sheer amount of plastic. I decided that to help inspire others I would share some of our swaps and ideas along our journey. So whilst this is only the start, my hope is that it will inspire others to start to reduce plastic and think more Eco friendly.
So to set the scene let me introduce you first to the household. We have myself, a 37 year old holistic health practitioner, loves nature and first in the family on board with making changes. My husband who's not so keen on change and not so sure if he can or should? be the one making a difference. My son 16 years old, student, likes being inside, quickness, convenience and getting out of chores. My daughter aged 8 likes anything Youtube advertises to her, loves animals and being outside and then my dog a 5 year old Cockerpoo, confused and always hungry. I jest (a little) in my descriptions of them but it gives you a quick idea of who is involved in this process.
For me being more Eco conscious, living a more sustainable life and helping repair and or protect the plant is really important and so I am the driving force behind us all. I totally understand that reducing plastic alone will not solve the worlds problems but I am 100% sure that I can make a difference to not being a ongoing contributing factor to it.
I started by calling a family meeting, a tradition in our house where we all sit down at the table with no distractions , a moment used for important communications and life events only, so they know I'm serious and mean business!
I explain to them why I want to start making changes, ask them of their concerns and we talk and then get their commitment. It took a bit of coaching and understanding to why I wanted to do it, the internet is a valuable recourse for this as was the BBC recent series WAR ON PLASTIC. Expecting many battles ahead, at this stage I easily get their commitment once they understood why and the scale of things.
I personally had started myself with straws and cups and bags but had also started looking for inspiration online and there was so much everywhere but one of the most valuable resources has been a Facebook group called Saving the Earth One tip at a time, I urge you to go check them out.
In this weeks blog post I am covering some of the changes we have made as a family in the hope they may inspire other families like ours. When you look at the numbers I quote along the way, you will I am sure, understand why I use the word 'proud' of the start we have made. Although I am totally aware this is just a start and requires much more this, it is about starting , it is about doing something rather than doing nothing.
When writing this blog I shared the numbers with my husband who is very supportive and sometimes goes along with things just for 'an easy life' but he too can see the impact everyone can have and this has inspired him and the others to do more. I heard a quote recently 'we need everyone doing something rather than one person doing it perfectly'
So here our are swaps and suggestions so far:
Ear buds - One of the first things we changed and an easy one so we thought! , we replaced the plastic earbuds we were buying with 100% cotton earbuds only later to have a realisation that we had been duped by marketing and that these Eco buds were in a plastic tub! So we tried again (NEVER GIVE UP) and this time went with bamboo ear buds in a cardboard tube (we estimate 4 plastic boxes a year saved for the future, doesn't sound a lot but on same assumptions and I am 37 years old. I've already contributed to at least 148 plastic tubs in my lifetime, so still a win, plus each tub has say 100 buds in there, so when they were plastic that's a past contribution of 14800 plastic buds out there! Saying no to this has to make a difference! ) These are available in lots go heath and Eco shops but I bought mine off amazon and they came deliver in no plastic this is the link
Milk - We go through 4-8 pints of dairy milk and nut milks in this house. The diary milk was always in plastic and the nut milk varied. We had previously had milk delivered by Milk and More and found them reliable and the milk came in reusable glass bottles, whilst more expensive (mainly because of delivery and supporting local farmers) we decided this was one thing we could afford to change.
We buy less milk than we did before as we decided we would use and waste less (helped with the cost) and we now support Steve our local milkman. Milk and more say 'At Milk & More, we are passionate about encouraging people to eat well and live sustainably. We do this by championing smaller suppliers who we trust to provide the very best products for us to deliver to your doorstep. Our mission is to deliver a positive impact on local communities, the environment and ultimately you.' (We estimate 42 plastic bottles a week , saves 104 bottles a year minimum!
Toothbrush - This required trying lots of different ones until everyone in the household was happy with their swaps. We now managed to replace the standard mixture of plastic brushes to from_earth_to_earth bamboo toothbrushes. They come in a paper and card tube and are made of bamboo which is incredibly fast growing and sustainable as well as being biodegradable. They come in different colours important with a family (don’t want anyone else using your brush!) The bristles are derived from 63% plant material (castor oil) and nylon, making them partially biodegradable. Which is a step up from lots on the market. You see I recently found out there are no fully biodegradable plant based bristles on the market unless you use animal hair which is 100% not for me. But they are committed to keep investigating new options. So this is the best option I can find at the moment and certainly reduces our family’s plastic waste from toothbrushes over the years. Another Eco win I feel! Again you can purchase them online in many places and some stores but I ordered mine again on amazon this is the link. (We estimate 4 plastic toothbrushes every 3 months that 12 a year saved for the future, again you might think this doesn't sound a lot but on same assumptions and I am 37 years old. I've already contributed to at least 148 myself alone as a family 392! so still a definite win)
Plastic bags - Something we have been doing for a while but is a great reminder , using our own bags when we go shopping , saying no to plastic bags every time. Keeping one folded in my handbag is a top tip for those of us who are forgetful, keeping some in the car so I can run back and get them if I need to or so they are just not left at home. ( We estimate we save at least 208 bags a year by doing this) These are my favourite supermarket bags Link
Cleaning products in plastic bottles - I wrote a whole blog post on this recently and will link that here Not only have I reduced a huge amount of plastic bottles, I have reduced the chemicals going into my and my family body and the environment. There is a lot of information here so do go check it out. 
When I am not making my own products I have found a great alternative to purchasing lots of individual cleaners and that is KOH. 'Our mission, is to help eliminate the use of toxic chemicals used in cleaning products.' This one system is non toxic and really really good at cleaning the whole house, it is safe to use around children and animals and will reduce waste as it is refillable. I would like to estimate how many this is saving me but looking at past receipts lets say I was buying a conservative 5 bottles a week, that's a minimum of 260 bottles a year and if I'm honest I think it was historically a huge amount more! If you use my Link you will gain a £5 discount. 
Juice - We have swapped our old juice choice for a different one in a glass bottle. (We estimate this saves us 52 plastic bottles and lids a year)
Food Products - Not yet finding a replacement for everything , when we finish a product in plastic we have been looking to find a suitable replacement in glass, paper or unwrapped. This includes
butter (wrapped in paper (saving 52 plastic tubs a year)
Ketchup (now in glass , gonna try making my own soon, saves around 30 a plastic bottles a year. If you like squeeze condiments just keep your old bottles and decant)
butter (wrapped in paper (saving 52 plastic tubs a year)
Ketchup (now in glass , gonna try making my own soon, saves around 30 a plastic bottles a year. If you like squeeze condiments just keep your old bottles and decant)
We have also replaced honey, mayo, salad cream, pickle, jam, marmalade and mustard ( I think this saves around 75 plastic bottles a year and we are trying to purchase local budget depending)
Fruit and veg we are choosing unwrapped - kids love it at the supermarket when they get to pick their own 9always a competition on who can find the 'best'
My reusable straw options are by a company called Bare Kind. They offer a set of 4 with a cleaning rod for £6.99 , this is the link if you quote magickmummy for 10% discount
My cup is from Neon Kactus here is a link
(we estimate this is saving lots if we didn't use them but we have been doing this for a long time, it was one of the first plastic free things we did , even before I called the recent family meeting!)
Washing up soap and laundry - We have made two changes here, hand washing we have switched to soap (there really is no need for plastic dispensers, but if you like a dispenser try and find a local refill station) or you could use a company called Splosh, they offer refill pouches of lots of products , we have been using them for our washing up liquid and fabric softener but they do lots of other products too. If you quote 3AEYA6JWOH you will get a discount. They also have an awesome app that tells you how many bottles you have saved - since may 2019 , so 4 months we have saved 10 bottles , so we estimate that could be another 30 bottles a year saved) They offer a return service for the pouches which they say 'By refilling with a concentrate in a pouch, you’re cutting plastic waste by around 90%. To go one better – return the pouches to us in the refill box (it’s free) and we’ll manage reprocessing of the material into other products.'
Toilet Paper Roll - A family of 4 we go through a lot! I was probably was buying at least one packet a week, wrapped in plastic. We researched and decided to give a bulk buy company a go called Who gives a Crap If you use this link you can benefit from a £5 off refer a friend discount. We chose the premium bamboo option (like in the picture) they are soft, last longer than the other brand we were buying, we ordered 48 and they lasted 3 months. And worked out 22.5p per 100 sheets , including delivery!
(We estimate then that we have saved around 21 plastic bag outsides a year)
Wet Wipes and Hand Tissues - Both my children are older now but sticky fingers can still be a problem, we were using wipes and kitchen roll for this and other things around the house. I made myself some reusable wipes. I added some essential oils and witch hazel and water to a jar and soaked a few for cleaning and it works perfectly. There are many great sellers out there who make these professionally if you don't want to make them but I just cut up an old towel and some cotton scraps, sewed them together and wash them in the washing machine when dirty. Others I keep dry, all over the place, in a box in the living room, in the car, kitchen, the kids rucksacks and even my handbag. (It is difficult to say how many plastic wrappers and actual wipes we have saved, but it could be 100's? its at least one wrapper a week so that's 5200 wipes and 52 packets!) 
Cotton Wool Pads and Face Wipes - Like the tissues and wipes, cotton wool and face wipes we raised we had the same usage and plastic problem. I told you you can literally find plastic everywhere when you start looking! So we swapped to these which I did purchase and love them , super soft, easy to use, wash really well and come with a little wash bag so they don't get lost in the machine. Here is the link. We estimate this saves similar amounts as the wipes so 52 packets and maybe 5200 cotton clouds!
The most recent change I found these bamboo scrubbers for dishes to replace the previous sponge that most certainly would contain plastic and comes wrapped in a plastic packet. So far I am really pleased as it seems to be fairing better than the sponge for durability, is easier to clean and looks pretty to. I bought mine from Eco Vibe and am currently waiting on these (link) as well. My son is our dishwasher at home, its one of his chores and he prefers a sponge so to keep the peace I am trying to compromise. I am sure there are other options as well (we estimate this might save 4 packets and 16 non sustainable plastic sponges a year.)
Dog Food - Previously purchasing dog food in little foil pouches that can be difficult to recycle we would use 2/3 a day for our small dog that's a massive 1095 pouches a year! I met a friend who introduced me to a company called Tails, they make tailor made dog food based on a questionnaire you complete, my friend recommended it to me and gave me a referral link which gave me the opportunity to try it for one month for just £1! I was really impressed it came in one large bag that is recycle locally by my council , lasts a month, worked out cheaper (even at full price) than the food we were buying before and has much better ingredients for the furry person in my life. This is a great swap rather than plastic free option and still really convenient. If you use my link you to will get the offer that my friend gifted to me. Quote LINDAVTP
Razors - This is another swap we have changed plastic disposable razors to a metal reusable razor. The option I went for sends blades as a monthly subscription by a company called Friction Free Razors , they have a very good recycling scheme where you can send the blades back. They say 'Did you know that of the 260 million tons of plastic that the world produces each year, around 10 percent ends up in the Ocean? Over a million sea animals lose their lives each year due to the plastic content in the sea.
That's why we're making a stand and saying NO to plastic disposable razors forever with our blade recycling scheme! '
You can get 25% off their first purchase if you use my link and spend over £9. My husband went for a metal safety razor like this one link. (We estimate we might be saving 24 plastic razors minimum a year)
So there it is the first 20 replacements, reductions or removal of plastic we have made at home.
I have tried to link as many things as possible to make your shopping experience easy, if you choose any of these options, lots of the links are affiliate or referral links which I may earn rewards or credit from. That's not my reason for writing the blog this week, I would still share all of these links even if that was not the case. I only recommend things I have tried and tested. I could write a whole blog post on the fails too! ( I wouldn't include any links there!!!)
I would love to hear your ideas and suggestions in the comments below, there will be more posts coming on this subject along with my other content of helping others live healthy , live happy and live a fulfilled life. To register your email address you can click here: KEEP IN TOUCH
We think we have made a good start by reducing plastic , our one household has stopped:
148 plastic tubs of earbuds (14800 sticks)
104 milk bottles a year
12 toothbrushes
208 plastic carrier bags
260 cleaning bottles
52 juice bottles
52 plastic butter pots
30 ketchup plastic bottles
75 squeezey condiment bottles
30 laundry bottles
12 washing up liquid bottles
21 plastic toilet roll wrappers
52 plastic outsides for tissues and wet wipes
5200 wipes
52 plastic bags for cotton clouds and or face wipes
5200 cotton clouds and or face wipes
4 plastic sponge wrappers
16 plastic sponges or scourers
Dog food 1095 pouches
24 plastic razors
Remember everyone can make a difference ! You just need to start.
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