Why is single-use plastic a problem?
Single-use plastic is being produced faster than it can be disposed of. According to an article from National Geographic, single-use plastic makes up 40 percent of plastics produced every year. Eight million tons of single-use plastic makes its way into the ocean every year. Most single-use plastic is only used for about 15 minutes but stays in our environment for several years.
Though we’re only one family, we’ve found ways to help reduce and reuse single-use plastic that doesn’t cause much of a disturbance in our daily life.
I’m hoping that by sharing simple ways we’ve reduced plastic, you can feel motivated to take simple steps to reduce your plastic intake as well.
1. Reusable Water Bottles
As a family, we all travel with our own water bottles whenever we leave the house. We all have our own reusable water bottles that we’ve each decorated to show our personality. It’s become second nature for us to fill up our water before stepping out of the house. By bringing our own water bottles wherever we go, we avoid the issue of using single-use plastic water bottles.
The only places we haven’t been able to infiltrate with our water bottles are movie theaters, but maybe someday! Obviously, we don’t take our water bottles to restaurants, but luckily most restaurants use glass cups. Whenever they do give us plastic cups, I take them home to recycle them. Although sometimes they do collect in our car, and my husband has the fun job of constantly reminding me they are there.
If you’re looking to purchase a reusable water bottle, make sure to find one that’s insulated to keep your water cool throughout the day. You also want to look for one that’s easy to wash on a regular basis. Make sure you consider the size of the spout and if your arm can fit inside for ease of cleaning. We love the Yeti brand water bottles or anything similar to those models. The handle on the lid makes them easy to carry and the removable lid makes filling up a breeze.
2. Reusable Bags
Reusable bags are easy to come by nowadays. It used to be difficult for me to remember the bags before I went shopping. However, I found a great hack that has saved me whenever I found myself on a last-minute grocery run. I leave a bag of reusable bags in the trunk of each of our cars, and every time I get to the store I think, “Dangit, I forgot my bags!” and then “Oh wait they’re in the trunk!” It feels great to remember to plan ahead sometimes.
When I purchase fresh produce I make sure not to take a bag to wrap my produce in whenever I can. I place the fresh produce together in one reusable bag. I also try to look for produce that isn’t already wrapped in plastic. Also, if you do purchase things that are in plastic containers, there are now recycling stations for these particular types of plastics! Visit your local Sam’s Clubs to recycle your plastic containers.
3. Bottle Bricking
Unfortunately, using single-use plastic is almost near impossible in our day-to-day life. I’ve learned of a couple of great solutions that would help put single-use plastic to good use. Single-use plastic is normally used for no more than 15 minutes; however, there are a couple of methods that can help expand the life just a bit.
I’ve learned of a method of building and creating called bottle bricking. In other countries, bottle bricking has taken off and is used to create affordable housing for residents.
With bottle bricking, you stuff plastic bottles with soft, single-use plastic. Make sure the bottle is stuffed to the rim, and use a stick to make sure you compress the plastic bag down until you can’t compress anymore. Then you close the bottle. You have to make sure you use a stronger plastic bottle like a Coke bottle as opposed to water bottles. After your bottles are done, you use them as you would regular bricks and start building. I’ve developed quite a collection of bottles and I can’t wait to start building!
4. Plarn
Another way to reuse single-use plastic is to crochet. That’s right, crochet! One of my first plastic projects was making sleeping mats for the homeless using plarn . . . yes, plarn. Plarn is plastic bags turned into yarn. You create plarn by cutting the plastic diagonally and then connecting the pieces together through this very simple interlocking method.
I’m not going to lie. I never completed the sleeping mat, and it’s still sitting in my garage. It’s large enough to fit a child, but definitely not a grown adult. I did keep plenty of plastics out of the ocean with this method though!
Believe it or not, plarn is sold on Etsy for about $6-12 for 150 to 200 yards. So even if you can’t crochet, you can make a hobby out of selling plarn as a side hustle.
Let’s do our part!
There are so many creative ways to keep single-use plastic out of our oceans, and I believe the first step in doing so is to reduce our consumption. But because there is so much plastic out there in the world already, might as well put it to good use! I want to make sure we do our part for the sake of our kids’ future, and I hope you can join me!
What other ways do you reduce your use of single-use plastic?
Originally published August 2022.
The opinions expressed in this post are those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of El Paso Mom, its executive team, other contributors to the site, its sponsors or partners, or any organizations the aforementioned might be affiliated with.
