Day 17: It Is Easier To Live Without Plastic Than It Ever Was!

A lot of arguments in the last month begun with "...but what can we do, it's all that we get" to which I countered saying "that's not true".

We think that plastic is the only option that we have when we go outside to shop and when we buy products. To be honest, it has never been easier to live a plastic-free life.

The UK¡¯s first, bestest, coolest, most deliciousest and ONLY, plastic free nut M*lk delivery company have some great news for all our non-London followers and fans coming soon ?? ? We mean, it¡¯s fairly bloody obvious what it is right but we need to play the game and build up the hype cos that¡¯s what you do on here isn¡¯t it? ? . ???????? . #dontbeawasteman

A post shared by M*lkman (@mlkman_uk) on Jun 17, 2018 at 12:17pm PDT

On 1st June, I attempted to live plastic-free life and here are a couple of revelations I experienced. With the government pledging to crack down on plastic waste, it has become easier. During the warm summers, our kitchens usually reek of the sour scent of plastic milk bottles and yoghurt cartons.

But have you ever thought about the zero-waste lifestyle? The one that demands you to buy in bulk, bring your own containers for purchase, give away plastic that you own for upcycling, use the same upcycled products and then pump the system over and over?

We were lucky to meet Laura the founder of zero waste store @hetu_uk last May and hear all about her passion and vision of creating an accessible way to live a zero waste lifestyle ??. We are so proud to see how far Laura has come and what she has achieved with Hetu ?. Laura's passion and enthusiasm shines through when you meet her and we know her talk at our environment event on Tuesday will leave everyone feeling inspired ??. Be sure to give @hetu_uk a follow and check out the store in South London ??

A post shared by Vevolution (@vevolution_) on Apr 5, 2018 at 1:31am PDT

Not just in UK or US, a plethora of zero waste ventures, shops, cafes and services have popped up for people who tout to have more awareness than others. These individuals who are putting their money where their mouth is are the ones who have reduced their carbon footprint drastically.

These free/bulk/unpackaged/refill/zero waste shops are dedicated to urban heroes who are not contributing in the plastic repertoire and taking responsibility of what they use and how they use. These stores allow you to refill your own bags and containers, saving on food and packaging waste. Living a zero waste life is a very big battle closely linked to living a plastic-free life since, in a zero waste, you are majorly fighting plastic only.

I love being able to tare my jar (write the weight of my jar so this weight can be then deducted at the cash to calculate the weight of the bulk food I am buying) at a station @nugrocery . This zerowaste store in Ottawa has the perfect model to avoid packaging. Clients just bring their own jars to the store, tare them, and then select the food that they want. I wish every grocery store could follow this model. At the ¡°standard¡± grocery store near my house I can bring my jars and the person behind the counter has gotten used to taring my jars for me for when I buy some of their prepared salads. In Gatineau, however, a client wrote in the paper that she was told at a grocery chain that she couldn¡¯t use her own jars because of health reasons. I guess some store managers believe everything near food should be sterilized! Grocery stores should encourage clients to bring their own containers and I believe the more we do, the more store managers will get used to this way of doing which reduces our impact on the planet! What has been your experience using your own jars? Does your store allow you to tare them yourself? ???#zerowaste #zerowasteliving #tare #zerowastestore #reuse #nopackaging #nopackagingrequired #bulk #noplastic #plasticfree #plasticfreeliving #noplanetb #environment #sustainable #sustainableliving #nugrocery #ottawa

A post shared by Monique (@labelle_eco_life) on May 23, 2018 at 4:49am PDT

We contribute to estimated 12m tonnes of plastic entering our oceans, polluting marine life, on a yearly basis, and that's just one part of the billions of tonnes of debris that we throw out every year. If we lived a zero-waste life, we would be helping to reduce that damage greatly. Simply put, a zero waste life is where you consume less, you discard less, you own less and you waste nothing.

I wrote a blog on how you can switch to a zero waste life and what are the things you need to do to ensure that.

The idea to go plastic free is simple at this age, given our options are endless. It is not only in the most obvious things we invest in but also the places where it is hidden and mostly go unnoticed. Our next major is caused by clothes, which are thrown away in millions of tonnes every month, which too contain plastic. Then comes the sanitary napkins and more.

With recycling, upcycling and total abandonment of plastic by erudite like us, we can fight a battle that has always been ours.