10 tips to reduce single-use plastic
- Disposable Plastic Water Bottles
Buy a refillable BPA-free drinking bottle and take it with you everywhere. Or put 1 in the car, 1 at work and 1 at home. This will save you a lot of single-use plastic waste. The drinking water in the Netherlands is of very good quality. Yet, almost 21 million kilos of plastic bottles are thrown away in the Netherlands every year. This is estimated to be around 900 million plastic bottles. Isn't that a waste?
Find the best BPA-free drinking bottles here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/lifestyle/bewaren-meenemen/drinkflessen/
- Plastic sandwich bags
Buy a nice BPA free lunch box and take your lunch with you in this instead of using and throwing away plastic sandwich bags every day. Your lunch will stay nice and fresh in it and actually it looks much cooler than such a boring plastic sandwich bag? Or use the cheerful cotton lunch bags from Lunchkins if you prefer to take something smaller to work or school.
Find all cool BPA free lunch boxes here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/lifestyle/bewaren-meenemen/lunchboxen/
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/search/lunchskins/
- Plastic Straws
Disposable plastic straws are among the most commonly found items on the beach and contribute to plastic pollution and animal suffering. Straws cannot be recycled due to their size and end up in the ocean. Fish, dolphins, whales, birds etc. mistake them for food and can choke on the straws or be poisoned by them. Fortunately, there are very nice alternatives such as stainless steel straws and bamboo straws.
You can find them here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/search/rietjes/
- Plastic cling film
Do you use cling film or plastic film to keep things fresh or to cover them? There are such handy reusable alternatives. With the foodhuggers you can cover your leftover vegetables or an open jar/can well and beeswax cloths are sustainable alternatives to household and aluminum foil. It is excellent for storing bread, cheese, vegetables or fruit. You can use it to cover bowls and dishes and prevent the food from drying out. You can take sandwiches with you to work or school. Or to freeze food.
You can find food huggers & beeswax cloths here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/brands/food-huggers/
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/bijenwas-doekjes-3-stuks.html
- Disposable plastic cups for coffee and tea
No more plastic cups for coffee and tea at work. Get a trendy, reusable coffee cup and drink your coffee or tea from it. It also looks much nicer than an ugly, boring plastic cup.
You can find them here
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/search/koffiebeker/
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/search/Sistema+Twist+%27n%27+Sip+Tea+To+Go/
- Plastic shopping bags
An obvious one of course. Bring your own shopping bag and leave those plastic bags that you use once hanging in the supermarket. They all end up on the beach and in the sea. Just bring a nice bag for your shopping.
Here are some nice alternatives:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/search/berichten/
- Plastic bags for fruit and vegetables
We use quite a few plastic bags for our fruits and vegetables. Every day we use more than 1 million plastic bags that often end up in nature after use, where they pose a serious threat to animals. A plastic 'island' floats in the ocean just is as big as France and Spain together. That's why there are now organic cotton bags as an alternative to the plastic bags in the supermarket. Away with the plastic bags! Consider reusable fruit and vegetable bags. After use, you can throw the bags in the washing machine and they are clean again.
You can find the reusable vegetable, fruit and bread bags here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/lifestyle/herbruikbare-zaken-groenten-fruit-brood/
- Plastic Microbeads in care products & cosmetics
Many cosmetics and care products contain microplastics or microbeads. These are tiny plastic granules that are used as a scrub, emulsifier or as a cheap filler. The microbeads are found in scrubs and shampoos, but also in other cosmetic products such as toothpaste, sunscreen, day creams and make-up. Microplastics end up in the sewer via the shower drain or the sink drain. Unfortunately, they cannot be filtered out of the wastewater and so they eventually end up in the sea. Sea animals ingest microbeads and so they eventually end up on people's plates.
The alternative? Natural care products. These do not contain microbeads and are therefore safer for the environment and for you.
You can find the natural and organic care products here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/verzorging/
- Plastic casing of your deodorant
Deodorant comes in a plastic casing. When it is finished, the plastic casing ends up in the trash. The alternative? Buy a Loveli deodorant and when it is finished, you can buy a refill for your deodorant. The packaging and twist mechanism still work fine and so you reuse your deodorant packaging. Another alternative are the deodorants from Ben & Anna with a paper casing. See? That way you save plastic again.
You can find the deodorants from Loveli and Ben & Anna here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/brands/loveli/
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/brands/ben-anna/
- Cotton pads
Cotton pads themselves are not made of plastic, but they are packaged in it. So switch to washable cotton pads . You simply wash them with your towels, for example. You can use them up to 300 times. That saves a lot of waste and plastic.
You can find them here:
https://www.bewustpuur.nl/search/wasbare/
