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July 7, 2020 by admin
In 2018, my sister and I made a resolution to reduce our plastic use. To achieve that goal we made a year-long plan that worked really well for us. It worked so well in fact that I reduced my plastic use by 91% and Mary managed to reduce hers by 73%!
Here’s how we did it…
We suggest that you start with a plastic audit too. Save all of your plastic waste for at least a week – a month is ideal. We guarantee it will surprise you how much you collect. The first thing to remember is not to beat yourself up about this. Yes, it’s shocking to realise how much you have personally been contributing to the plastic problem. But, congratulate yourself of becoming aware of it and making a concerted effort to break free of your hidden addiction to plastic!
Reducing plastic is hard and it can be overwhelming. So, start by getting rid of the easy stuff first. Get some early wins under your belt to boost your confidence. Set yourself simple, achievable goals:
We spent the first month of our plastic diet starting with the easy stuff. In that time I reduced my plastic waste by 32%! So it shows how the simplest of actions soon add up. The best thing about focussing on quick wins is that they transform into good plastic-free habits and become lifestyle changes.
The best thing about creating Sisters Against Plastic was taking on such a difficult challenge with a friend. We took it to the extreme and battled against each other to see who could reduce their plastic the most (in a friendly, sisterly way of course). It was wonderful to share the journey. We spent hours chatting about what we were finding tricky, coming up with ideas together and we had great fun celebrating our wins. Your eco-buddy might be your own family, your best mate or it could even be an eco Facebook group. There are so many wonderful communities online encouraging and helping each other in their mission to reduce plastic. Take a look at our blog and you’ll see just how many people are out there!
Now its time to pick something a little harder to tackle. Laundry? Cleaning? Shampoo? With a little bit of digging, you can find plastic-free alternatives for almost everything! We have road-tested a lot of products along the way and have been very pleasantly surprised by what is available to us.
We made a year-long plan that worked really well for us. It worked so well in fact that I reduced my plastic use by 91% and Mary managed to reduce hers by 73%!
It’s important to remember; this doesn’t have to be an ‘all or nothing’ situation. You might decide to use a shampoo bar just once a month. You might decide to halve the amount of fabric softener you use in each load. Don’t shy away from something because you feel you can’t do it all. It’s surprising how much you can reduce your plastic use by introducing a little change. You’ll surprise yourself at how much that little effort can grow.
Keep going! By taking it slowly you’ll find all the changes you make ‘stick’ rather than just a flash in the pan.
Finally, don’t be disheartened if you fall off the wagon. It happens to us all. Even us sisters cave into the temptation of the plastic-wrapped biscuits! We still make mistakes and occasionally find our drinks served to us in plastic cups. Dust yourself off, try again. Nobody can live entirely plastic-free, but everyone can absolutely try to reduce their plastic consumption!
Find out more about the Sisters Against Plastic via their Facebook page and on Twitter
For more information about Plastic Free July, viist the Plastic Free July website. Will you take on the Plastic Free July Challenge?
