Five super simple ways to reduce your plastic use

As the late, great Elvis Presley once sang – "A lil' more conversation a lil' less plastic". Pretty sure that was it.

Don’t worry. We're not suggesting you should live like a plastic-free hermit, nor that you should carry out a guilt-ridden audit of all the plastic in your home. But, and we say this a lot, small changes really can make a big difference.

Big business behemoths love to use lots and lots of plastic. Can’t get enough of the stuff. So the sooner we vote with our feet and switch to plastic-free alternatives, the sooner these companies will have to pivot towards more sustainable solutions.

Plastic Free July might be behind us, but the good fight continues on. Here’s a bite size round-up of simple changes you can make to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in your life.

1. Get a reusable coffee cup

We'll start with a really easy one – and back it up with some juicy stats (thanks Huskee!). 2.5 billion coffee cups are thrown away every year in the UK – and only 0.25% of them are recyclable. If you switch to a reusable cup and you enjoy just five tasty brews per week, in a year you’ll save 250 single use coffee cups. Which equates to 9.21kg of carbon dioxide (CO2e), 0.83kg of plastic, 236.95mj of energy and 5.63kg of timber. Best of all, most decent cafes will give you a discount if you use a disposable cup.

2. Join the refillable revolution!

The refillable movement has come a long way from the DIY-looking jars only found in niche health food shops. Now you can get beautiful refillable versions of everything from shower gel and deodorants to laundry detergent and lipstick – with brands like Fussy, Homethings and Mono leading the charge. Not everyone loves a subscription - but when it works and smells this good, we're converted!

3. Be a little more chewsy

True fact, Britons are among the world’s biggest masticators. We consume the equivalent of 130 pieces of gum, per person, every year. The crazy thing is, it’s just a minty lump of plastic! The amount of overlap on the ingredients list between chewing gum and, say, a bicycle tyre, is pretty alarming. Thankfully brands like Nuud have taken gum back to its natural roots, with fully plant-based alternatives to keep your breath super fresh. 👌

4. Keep it local

One good thing to come out of the pandemic was the emphasis on shopping within your local community. Whether it’s the grocery shop around the corner or a farmer’s market; buying loose fruit, veg, and other essentials cuts out a heck of a lot of pointless plastic. You could even get your milk and juices the good old-fashioned way, delivered in glass bottles that are reused and recycled.

5. Switch to a more sustainable toothbrush

How did that get there? 🤔 Shameless. If you still haven't tried our sustainable electric toothbrush, we need to have words! Billions of brushes will be thrown away this year, but not ours. Thanks to the plant-based materials in our replacement heads, we can recycle them for you, for free. And if any other problems arise, our unique modular design lets us take apart your brush to repair it. Much better than trying to take a hacksaw to your Oral-B!

If nothing else, remember the holy plastic-saving trinity: No bottled water, no plastic bags, no plastic straws. Oh and never ask for cutlery with your Deliveroo!

Right, that’s enough gentle preaching for one blog post, make sure you sign up to our newsletter or follow us on Instagram for more sustainable tips, exclusive promotions, and more.