Twenty Ways to Reduce Your Use of Plastics (plus a couple of extra)

If you are unsure that there is a Problem with Plastics let me entertain you with a little story. Today I took my children to the Science Museum, the oldest and I were able to attend a show on Petroleum and oil. In the show the presenter gave us a graphic demonstration of where oil comes from. In her memorable words it is dinosaur poo. The plastic fork you eat with, the toothbrush you use to brush your teeth they are essential made with dinosaur poo. EWW! 
So you now know about The Problem with Plastics what can YOU do about it?  After writing that post I had some guilt. Everywhere I looked in my house I saw plastic. But then I took a moment had a cup of tea and thought of all the ways we have reduced our use of plastic. I came up with twenty ways we have reduced our use of plastics (plus a couple of more). I am sure there are more. But let’s start here.

1. Use cloth bags when shopping. Or decline the bag for small trips – It just drives me crazy when the checker puts a jug of milk in a bag. I mean they have handles already. 
2. Replace you plastic cups with glass ones. But be kind and recycle them or send them to a thrift store.  I bought all of our kid friendly glasses at thrift shops. So far the only ones to break have been the ones they left outside in the hail storm.
3. Shop at local famer’s markets. The food there has little to no packaging.
4. – Mason Jars are my favorite ones.
5. Try Bento Boxes for lunches.
6. Ask for paper bags instead of plastic if given the option.
7. Get a reusable  BPA free water bottle.
8. Bring your own mug to the coffee shop.
9. Use real plates at home even for takeout.
10. Use your plastic bags to make one more durable
11. Buy food that is packaged in cardboard boxes or glass.
12. Compost – you will use fewer trash bags and enrich your garden at the same time.
13. Don’t use straws when drinking.
14. Use wax paper or aluminum foil instead of plastic wrap. I have found great natural wax paper bags
15. Don’t use plastic cutting boards. Plastic cutting boards hold onto bacteria. Wooden ones do not.
16. Use cloth diapers – diapers in a landfill take 550 years to decompose.
17. Choose products with less packaging.
18. Use real flat wear instead of plastic.
19. Use glass containers for storage – store dry goods and freeze in them, just leave head room.
20. Buy children’s toys made from wood.
21. Buy your food in the bulk bins, not only does this save you money but it saves on the packaging.
22. Make your own cleaners, you can reuse your spray bottles.

How do YOU reduce your use of plastics? Please share with us here.

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