17 places where plastic can be avoided !

Plastic is the biggest cause of pollution, and waste today. Literally , everything around you is made from some or the other form of plastic and should be and can be totally avoided. 

A lot of new innovations have been coming in, where the intermediate use of plastic is being removed completely.

So, this post points out a lot of ways where plastic exists and where you can look out for it and even try to avoid it :

1. Plastic Bags :

Plastic polythene bags are the most common source of plastic, every time you go out shopping you are offered a plastic bag by the vendors. The Indian government had recently banned plastic in this form, but it is still used by a lot of shopkeepers. So, maybe you can be a little proactive about it and carry your own cloth bag or jute bag with you at all time, and have the courage to say no to unnecessary plastic.

2. Plastic Straws:

Plastic straws are everywhere - if it is your daily routine to drink coconut water, or juices, or milk from cans etc- switch to Stainless steel straws or Bamboo straws. They are easily available in the market today. A lot of restaurants are switching to paper straws, you can try those too if you are running a cafe. If you drink from Starbucks regularly, this could be a good switch.

3. Plastic Water Bottles:

Try to carry a water bottle wherever you go, so that you don't need to buy water. Also, try to influence your friends to do the same. Try to keep the purchasing to the minimum.

4. Plastic Coke/soda Bottles:

Avoid the bottle form, order coke or soda if available in the can form.

5. Plastic wrapping in online shopping:

Online shopping products are wrapped in plastic bags and bubble wrapping, with extra cartons one inside another. Avoid online shopping- it has a very high carbon footprint, switch to shopping in-store or shopping from companies which ensure that packaging is minimum and bio-degradable eg, Aldo is known for its minimalistic packaging,  Bare necessities,  Scentora , H&M - which delivers its stuff in paper wrapping.

6. Plastic bottles of shampoo , body wash and handwash:

Switch to soap bars and shampoo bars. These are all easily available now, and the change is so minute that you won't even be bothered with it and would be doing the right thing for the planet. Also, go for refills rather than buying new bottles.

7. Plastic wrapping/containers in online food delivery:

A lot of food items we order online come in plastic boxes, or are covered with plastic covering. Since, it is hard to substitute this as a consumer, you could rather go for ordering food items which are covered in paper or cardboard eg. burgers, wraps, tacos, pizzas.

8. Plastic cutlery:

In case of travelling , or when throwing a party - using disposable cutlery may seem very convenient. Instead use wooden cutlery which is quite cheap, or choose to go with reusable cutlery instead.

9. Plastic in tea bags:

Often tea bags come in bags which contain plastic, and they cannot compost fully. And a lot of people use up to 3 tea bags on a daily basis. So, the best option is to switch to brewing your tea using tea leaves, or processing tea from the tea machine. When at home especially with easy options to make it using loose tea leaves- prefer this option.

10. Plastic in sanitary pads/tampons:

Every sanitary pad that you use is 90% plastic and contains plastic equal to 4 polythene bags. The same goes for tampons which have plastic covering. A new invention called Menstrual cups is replacing these items , and if you are old enough to understand how to use them, then this could be quite beneficial for you and the environment. 

11. Plastic in clothes/shoes/bags:

Polyester, nylon and other synthetic fabrics contain high amounts of plastic - research shows the number to be close to 60%. Avoid buying such fabrics as they are not at all bio-degradable , and everything recycled is not actually recycled. Switch to organic cotton, hemp and linen.

12. Plastic food wrapping material:

Don't wrap or cover food items that you store or display in plastic, rather wrap it in reusable beeswax sheets. They are easy to use , cheap and reusable. The prices covers up the recurring cost of buying plastic covering or wrapping.

13. Plastic in processed food packaging:

A lot of processed foods have plastic wrapping, instead try to avoid buying such foods altogether, and cook these items at home.

14. Plastic containers used for storage/tiffin boxes/water bottles:

Don't use plastic containers for storing household items and spices, sugar , tea etc. Rather buy steel or glass containers , they have the same life and are eco-friendly. Similarly, I see a lot of people carrying Plastic water bottles of Milton , Tupperware etc, instead use steel or glass bottles. It can have a huge impact.

15. Plastic milk packaging:

After I moved to a metropolitan city , I found that milk used to come in cheap plastic packaging, and it is some thing we consumed daily- so it produces a lot of plastic. Although I have shifted to soy milk now, there are cow milk options for delivery directly from the farms. It is natural, no injected hormones, and they deliver in cans like they do in smaller towns. If you search around a bit, you may find options near you. Also, Mother Dairy sells fresh milk at their stores in cities, so you can get it directly without packaging, you can refill your cans at their stores.

16. Plastic toothbrushes:

A person uses close to 300 toothbrushes in a lifetime. When I realized this, I decided to switch to bamboo toothbrushes, they do take time to dispose of on their own, but at least they are biodegradable over time. The bristles of the bamboo toothbrushes are also not made of plastic. They are extremely eco-friendly.

A lot eco-friendly websites are selling this and the packaging is minimal and bio-degradable too. Some websites like Bare Necessities India sell these toothbrushes.

17. Plastic Take away Boxes/coffee cups:

If you are a regular coffee drinker, now you can even take your own coffee mugs to Starbucks and refill those. This was an initiative to save the environment by them. If you do a lot of tmake aways - how about rather eating at the restaurant, or choosing take away places which sell subway sandwiches, burgers or pizzas - they are usually wrapped in paper/cardboard. 

In my office space I have seen a lot of people carrying their own clean cups to Chai Point and getting them refilled instead of buying tea/coffee in a disposable cup/glass. Their inner lining has a coating of a synthetic material which might not be bio-degradable and should be avoided.

Plastic was originally invented keeping in mind the needs of the society- they wanted to create a material which can be used instead of metal, steel, iron , aluminium, paper and wood. And look now it is everywhere, even where it is not needed - like on people's faces (😜). 

If you have more ideas on plastic reduction then please suggest some below in the comments section.