Since there is so much plastic floating around in the oceans, rivers and lakes, trash mountains grow until they may reach at some point the sky and pollute more and more the environment it is upon us, and only us to stop it. Therefore, I thought it may be good to tell you some little tips and tricks how to avoid plastic at least a bit. Because a bit is already more than nothing.
#1 GET YOUR OWN TRAVEL MUG Best would be a material that is not out of plastic, but out of metal, ceramic or bamboo. With that you already avoid one of the biggest mistakes how we use plastic these days. We just love to get a coffee or tea on our way to work, visit a friend, shopping or whatever you like to do while you are outside and in the modern jungle so called city.
Even I realized how many times I went to a coffee shop or a cafe just get something hot while I am on the road. Nowadays I have my travel mug always with me and feel much better when I order tea or hot chocolate.
Often bigger brands have even some reduced prizes when you bring your own travel mug! And who does not love to enjoy an amazing cup of coffee for half of a price.
#2 GET YOUR TRAVEL CUTLERY Specially on a plane you use lots of plastic, because all the meals are wrapped in it. Sometimes doubled. The same for the cutlery, cups, little bowls… everything. And guess what? On a long distant flight everyone gets up to three meals. Now just think about how much plastic each of them uses. I would like to use the word: Disgusting. Maybe you feel a bit awkward to tell the steward/ess that you don’t need an extra cup for your drink nor cutlery. Specially the first time. But when you tell them you have your own with you they often smile and give you a thumb up, because you care for the environment.
Oh! Guess what? You can even ask them to refill your travel bottle with water. With that you don’t always have to ask the stewardess if they could refill that little cup you got earlier. Specially on a plane it’s important to drink a lot to stay hydrated and not to get a sore nose, throat or even headache.
#3 STOP BUYING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES COVERED IN PLASTIC And in case you have a Sunday’s Market go there and buy your veggies and fruits from there. They are often organic, from your region and not surrounded by a plastic wrapping. Did you know that most of those wrappings are not recyclable? Yep, SINGLE USE ONLY and that means you throw them away and it’ll be burnt… Maybe. More likely not.
EVEN WORSE!!!
They fly around like little plastic birds, rolling from one side to the other like tumble weed and at some point you’ll find them in the ocean where they will be eaten by seabirds, fish, smaller mammals like dolphins or big as whales, sea turtles are tangled in swimming debris and even cows that live in India. By the way, not only them are filled with plastic. We are consuming micro plastic day by day because we pollute the environment.
PHOTOS BY http://www.reusethisbag.com
I added a video of BBC News India. It is in English. Just to show you what we do to animals that are supposed to be HOLY in that country. Plastic is bad and not to recycle it properly even worse. Sadly, that's only one sample of how we destroy lives and the only home that we have. Planet Earth is saying thank you.
THE TRUTH WHERE PLASTIC MEET ITS END
I saw that problem for myself when I was there. Didn't look good at all...
#4 GET A PROPER PLASTIC-FREE SHOPPING BAG That means you use your bag pack or a shopping bag out of paper or better a reusable fabric. In every single supermarket you get those plastic free bags for a couple cents and Euros. Good thing is you can carry it with you all the time.
#5 STOP BUYING FIZZY DRINKS IN PLASTIC BOTTLES Most of the fizzy drinks you buy can be bought in a glass bottle or a can. When I was a child I really liked to drink sweet fizzy lemonade, coke and so on. But after I figured out how much sugar and extra ingredients are inside of only one bottle I felt very bad. Sure now you think why don’t you buy Zero or Light?
DID YOU EVER HEARD OF ASPARTAME?
There are PRO and CONS about it. And there are some studies. Fact is that even though you need less of it, because it is way sweeter than regular sugar it is not really organic… Only sort of and here is why:
Aspartame is made by joining together the amino acids aspartic acid and phenylalanine. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and are found naturally in many foods. – American Cancer Society
I found at least from my side a trustworthy article about Aspartame and in case you are interested in it I share the link down below: The review suggests sweeteners may increase appetite by disrupting the signalling process that usually occurs when foods with more calories are eaten. I still like lemonade. But I only get some in glass bottles, with natural and less sugar. Since I stopped to consume lots of sugar I feel better and everything seems sweeter than before. It is the same with salt. You are too used to it, but after you stop eating it for a while you figure out that you ate way too much of it. Of course there are more ways to use less plastic. But somewhere you need a beginning and these little information are easy to follow. Except the last one, because that means you need the will to do it. In the end it is about your own body and to make the world a better place. And for that it’s worth to change at least a bit.
I hope you enjoyed reading the article and that it has been helpful. Don't forget to share this post on Pinterest or visit me on any other Social Media pages.
Give me a shout, in case you need some more advice and leave a comment below to let me know! I am always happy to help out. :)
Thank you so much and see you in the future,
Sina
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