How to Stop Using so Much Single-Use Plastic
We are drowning the world in plastic. It washes away onto our beaches , remains buried in landfills for centuries , it floats around the ocean in a cloud of microscopic particles twice the size of Texas . Most of it – 75% in the US – is never recycled. Recycling it still takes 10% of the energy needed to make new plastic, not nothing. First, it would be nice to use a little less.
Reporter Jenna Worthham asked Twitter followers to talk about how to use less disposable plastic. You don’t have to follow all the suggestions in the answers; I certainly have no plans to bring my take-out containers to restaurants. Sorry. But would it be so awful to try one or two of these tips? No, it wouldn’t be scary. It might actually be nice.
Replace plastic bags with reusable ones.
“Bring reusable grocery bags to the grocery store,” says Emily MM . Store your bags in your car or purse. (Take the ones that fold up small.) Reuse your zippers, at least dry.
Here’s a big caveat: don’t buy a plastic replacement if you’re not ready to use it. If you don’t use them, then reusable grocery bags are just a novelty in the trash arena . Ditch the freebies, or find a good use. (I turn all the mediocre bags that inexplicably accumulate in my home into “gift bags” that hold all of my donations to the thrift store.)
Change other disposable plastic
Try some reusable food wrappers instead of Saransk wrappers like Kasia Mychajlowycz . Try bar soap instead of plastic bottle body soap like Aimee Louise Sison . Look for brands that sell the same thing in paper, not plastic. Next time you throw a party, see if you have enough real food to cover everyone.
When you do buy disposables, lean towards paper again.
Carry your own food containers
Easy level: make yourself a coffee and, if you like, use a thermos. One thermos that you keep for years. Keep a glass water bottle on the table and a collapsible water bottle in your bag.
Intermediate: Bring your own reusable silverware like Christine Friar . It’s a little weirder, but as a bonus, you never have to use a really crappy plastic fork again – one that seems to be zero-food.
Difficulty level: Bring your own takeout containers to restaurants, says Ana Cecilia Alvarez . Take your dog bag with you instead of having the staff bring you fresh trash for leftovers. It’s a little awkward and requires more planning, but hey, you can choose your own Tupperware.
Get less takeaway food
It’s not easy for me. While Alvarez is right that we go through tons of plastic with takeaway and delivery, switching to more homemade meals is the actual time. But of course I don’t think much about how much crap I throw away every time I order an Indian across the street.
Check local disposal regulations
Poor processing drives me crazy . Some of the people in the Lifehacker office are certainly not Lifehacker employees! – throwing damned plastic bags into the blue basket. You can’t do it! Not in most places! You create problems for the recycling center and spoil the good work of everyone else!
Yes, it is disappointing that different cities and states have different recycling regulations. But this is no coincidence – different recycling businesses have different capabilities and all you really need to know are the rules of where you live and where you work.
If you want to recycle plastic bags, you have to do a tiny bit of work: put them in your pocket or purse and toss them at the nearest grocery store or pharmacy chain. Many of these chains have a plastic bag dumpster directly opposite; several states authorize this. @Shityeahitscool on Twitter points to PlasticFilmRecycling.org where you can find the points of no return nearby. It’s not hard to develop a habit. In the worst case scenario, you end up with a few bags in your pocket when you forget your bag again at the grocery store.
These tricks will not save the world. Plastic makes up only 10% of our country’s waste, and our individual efforts to find plastic live in the shadow of huge corporate and industrial waste. But practicing and normalizing mindful consumption is great, and the decline in gasoline demand is another small blow to the power of these industrial giants.