We are using a lot of plastics, and we know that this is not the best element to waste in nature as they
remain in nature for hundreds of years. It will then accumulate over time and be everywhere.
Plastics are polluting oceans and fish, destroying vital elements of life for the planet. They are also ugly when left in nature and degrade everything.
Plastic is an incredible discovery that changes many products we use today in medicine for better hygiene, preserving food, security items, innovative and more efficient products, etc.
What we should do is look at what we are consuming and wasting and try to find alternatives. Those alternatives are sometimes simple things done by our grandparents.
The first one is plastic bottles.
I have been using mineral water plastic bottles for many years. My main objective was to drink water of good quality for my health.
Depending on your location, there are high chances that your tap water could be of concern. Indeed, there
could be elements that are not good for health in the long term. For example, in Hong Kong, the main problem is lead because of the old pipe system.
There are many more unhealthy elements to could be in tap water. What I did was to find a solution to clean the tap water sustainably.
What I use is a water filter system that will retain the harmful elements through different filtering
layers.
The best I tried is the Berkey water filter. They have different versions available and will last between 2 to 5
years depending on your consumptions. Essential pieces are the filters, which can remove almost 100% of 19 unhealthy
elements.
It is based on gravity to filter the water and don’t use electricity. It is very efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly.
Big Berkey from Amazon ideal for family usage
Of course, I still need to bring water with me. I will not fill a plastic bottle and instead use a bottle I can use again and again. I like the Embrava ones very much. I advise to go for the 1 litter version.
Embrava water bottle from Amazon
The second item is the plastic bag.
Plastic bags are used everywhere for shopping, to carry things. It is relatively easy to replace them with reusable ones. Always have a compact one with you that you can use for any small shopping you will do. I would recommend the use of cotton, jute, or non-woven Polypropylene bags.
Those bags must be cleaned regularly to avoid the risk of bacterial contamination.
The third one is the plastic wrap and containers.
The last one is to replace cling wrap or other plastic containers to keep and store food. The best natural replacement is the bee wrap.
Bee’s wrap assorted 3 pack from Amazon
For containers, you can use glass storage container instead. To replace plastic bags, I am using silicon ones that can be reused and cleaned easily.
Silicon reusable bags for food storage from Amazon
Note that there are many myths on plastic pollution, and one of them is coming from the fact that the main one responsible for such pollution is none of the above (or even plastic straws, which you can avoid without replacing).
Seaspiracy movie points to the fact that many plastics are coming from fishing, so don’t be misled by all the communication you can hear.
Yes, the film received some critics and is certainly not accurate on all points. But it highlights that those problems are not easy to solve and are not just plastic bags or plastic straw issues.
And we should never forget all the good innovations that came because of plastic. It is a question of balance and to limit their use for a single and limited purpose.
Long-term food containers to avoid waste.
Safety protection items such as helmets for construction workers.
Safe playgrounds for kids.
Many key products are used in hospitals.
As individuals, we can make many choices to contribute to a better environment and choose the brands that are not over-packaging their products.
In recent years, plastic has skyrocketed for processed food and food deliveries. Of course, health masks used in the Covid-19 context are mostly done using non-recycled materials. It again demonstrates the usefulness of plastics for hygiene usage and the problem it generates when overused.
Books to know more on the topic:
This book is a guide to removing plastic from our life.
Buy How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum on Amazon
Buy How to Give Up Plastic by Will McCallum on BookDepository
This book explains how our society evolved towards producing more and more trash and the impact it has and will have on us and the planet.