Your guide to waste reduction

We live in a plastic, disposable world. This is particularly clear when we go to the grocery store and see whole isles dedicated to ‘on the go’ items, all coated in extra, unnecessary plastic. It might seem permissible or even necessary as we all live busy lives, constantly on our way to our next meeting or next class. Yet the convenience of breakfast you can grab on the way to work has lifelong consequences for the planet.

You only have to go for a walk along the beach or down the street to see the effects of this lifestyle. Litter can usually be found no matter where you are and these wrappers or plastic straws can be years old. Depending on the type of plastic, it can take from 10 to 1,000 years to decompose and will never completely biodegrade. This is far longer than the five minutes that we spend eating our sandwich or drinking our morning smoothie on the go. It is clear that we need to completely disconnect from the lifestyle that we have adopted to make a real, lasting change.

“Researchers estimate that more than 8.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced since the early 1950s. About 60% of that plastic has ended up in either a landfill or the natural environment”

(United Nations Environment Programme)

While plastic waste isn’t the only issue threatening the globe and its ecosystems today, it is a critical element to combat in the fight for a more clean, liveable world for all of the earth’s inhabitants.

Over 99% of plastics are made from chemicals derived from oil, coal and natural gas, meaning that plastic originates from fossil fuels. Plastic is carried to the sea through rivers and is a core contributor towards ocean pollution. The main areas of impact on marine life include:

• Physical effect: marine-life face entanglement, ingestion, and starvation because of plastics in the ocean
• Chemical impact: pollutants accumulate in the oceans which can poison the food chain and potentially be consumed by humans

It is clear that something needs to change, but how can we as individuals tackle this huge issue? Here are some ideas to reduce waste in your own daily lives:

Bathroom

• DIY toothpaste (can be made easily using bi-carb soda)
• Shampoo bars, conditioner bars, soap bars: these are one of the easiest ways to cut down on plastic
• Menstrual cup: not only do these cups last years and save you a lot of money, they also prevent a whole year’s supply of menstrual products from going into landfill!

Kitchen

• Bring your own produce bags to the supermarket
• Avoid produce packaged in unnecessary plastic: farmers markets can be great for this
• Think avocados, oranges, mandarins and bananas! They come in their own natural packaging, as do many other fruit and veg
• Bring your own container to the deli or bakery to pick up items free of packaging
• Avoid picking up breakfast on the go: make your own muesli bars or muffins to take with you if you are in a rush
• If you have time in the mornings, cook up a breakfast with fresh ingredients which limits the need for plastic
• Set aside a few hours a week to cook lunches to take to work and snacks for the week ahead: this prevents the need to buy ‘convenience snacks’ during the day

Wardrobe

• Keep in mind that our clothes are full of plastic microfibres and synthetic materials which come loose while washing and make their way into our waterways
• Also keep in mind the sheer scale of clothes which end up in landfill – according to the ABC, in Australia over 500 000 tonnes of textiles end up in landfill per year
• Shop second-hand, rent a dress for a special occasion, or borrow from your friends
• Rethink the purchases you make – do I need it? Do I love it? Will I look after it, respect it and re-wear it? Too often we are buying poor quality clothes for cheap which we wear once and throw out. This isn’t sustainable.

It is clear that we, as humans, need to make drastic changes to our lifestyles in order to reduce our plastic waste, yet it can seem like an insurmountable task. The way I see it is not everyone has to be perfect in their approach, but if everyone is imperfectly trying to better the world then change is bound to happen.