How to avoid plastic contamination

Currently, more than 75% of the plastics consumed by societies around the world become difficult to manage waste, being responsible for the contamination of countless ecosystems. Therefore, we must choose to directly avoid their consumption, beyond recycling or reuse. In the following list you will find many initiatives that you can follow as solutions for plastic pollution :

• Use our own alternative bags and packaging when shopping.
• Eradicate the consumption of single-use plastic products.
• Use alternative cosmetics: reusable and without plastic packaging.
• Manufacture and consume our own products to avoid unnecessary consumption of plastics.

Let’s see in more detail in the following sections what advice and solutions we can follow to deal with the harmful plastic pollution suffered by the planet. In addition, we suggest you take a look at this other post with more Tips to reduce the use of plastics and packaging .

The number of plastic products that we consume is directly related to the type of products that we buy in supermarkets, so following a series of initiatives when we go shopping can favorably change the level of plastics that end up polluting nature .

We must always carry our own bags , both when shopping and when ordering take-out, whether they are cloth, cotton or cardboard bags and we can even reuse the plastic ones that we still have at home.

It is also very important to bet on the purchase of bulk products, for which we can use glass jars and reusable bags. Failing that, we should prefer the purchase of products packaged in cardboard or glass, thus avoiding plastic ones.

In this other post we will talk more about the Alternatives to replace plastic bags .

Carrying our own thermos or coffee mug, as well as a stainless steel or glass water bottle will save us the consumption of a large number of single-use plastic containers. In addition, there are more and more biodegradable products as alternatives to single-use plastics , so take note of the ones we offer you in the following list:

• Plates, glasses and cutlery made of bamboo fiber or biodegradable plastic .
  
• Wooden, silicone or stainless steel kitchen utensils.
  
• Drinking straws made from bamboo, paper, stainless steel, and even edible materials.
• Cloth or natural beeswax wrappers for wrapping food.
• Tuppers and glass containers.

Still not using solid soaps and shampoos? Without a doubt, these are one of the products that most help reduce the purchase of hygiene products packaged in plastic . They are more durable and prevent us from throwing packaging and more plastic packaging into the trash every time we have to buy them. Keep knowing more reusable hygiene items and without plastic packaging in the following list:

• Solid deodorant.
  
• Bamboo toothbrushes.
• Reusable swabs.
• Solid toothpaste or made with natural products.
• Menstrual cup, pads and cloth diapers.
• Reusable stainless steel razor blades.
• Natural sponges (luffa or esparto).
  
• Natural or mineral makeup.

In addition, in these other Green Ecology articles we explain How to make natural homemade deodorant and How to make homemade ecological makeup .

Investing in imagination and time, while saving money with the unnecessary purchase of plastics , we can make endless crafts and produce our own resources. Let’s see some concrete examples that are part of the Zero Waste or Zero Waste lifestyle :

• Cook and make homemade products to avoid buying packaged juices, pre-cooked food, frozen, etc.
• Natural cosmetics and preparing soaps. Here you can see several recipes to make natural herbal soaps .
• Make toys with recycled materials and with wood.
• Make crafts and decorations for the home with wooden pallets and bamboo.
• Manufacture our own furniture with recycled materials.

The environmental impacts caused by the presence of plastics in nature are truly catastrophic, since the natural cycles of ecosystems and the survival of plant and animal species are seriously affected.

Gigantic masses of floating plastics, called islands of plastics , are responsible for the pollution of the oceans , while all kinds of single-use plastics appear in cities, forests, rivers, beaches and even inside animals.

The social and environmental costs resulting from plastic pollution have put governments and large companies around the world on alert. Several “Plastics Pacts” have been proposed by countries around the world, so that, step by step, and together with the individual collaboration of citizens, we can accelerate the transition towards a sustainable management of plastics, reducing their production and favoring the efficient collection, classification and recycling of the same.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to avoid plastic pollution , we recommend that you enter our Pollution category .