Easy Steps to Reduce Plastic Consumption
According to a 2017 news report in The Guardian, the annual consumption of plastic bottles is set to top half a trillion by the year 2021. It also said that around the world, a million plastic bottles are bought in one minute. These are scary numbers. With such huge amount of plastic bottles being used, it is very difficult to recycle and reuse each of these bottles. As a result, most plastic bottles end up in landfills or in the ocean. Environmentalists say that very soon, the ocean is going to have more plastic than fishes. Being responsible citizens living on this beautiful planet, it is our duty to reduce plastic bottle pollution wherever we can.
One easy way to keep plastic bottle pollution in check is to reduce their usage in our daily lives. It is important to create awareness of plastic bottle effects among today’s generation. If more people know about their harmful effects on the environment, it can be hoped that more people will start reducing the use of plastics in their daily lives.
It is the first step towards achieving a cleaner environment. Replace plastic bags with cloth or paper bags. When you go to the market, carry your own cloth bag instead of taking a plastic bag given by the shop owner. Make it a habit of always carrying an extra bag with you. Choose something that can be folded and kept easily in your normal bag that you carry everywhere.
When we are outside and feeling thirsty, buying that bottle of mineral drinking water seems like the easiest solution. But after drinking, when this bottle gets thrown away, it ends up contributing to the planet’s overwhelming plastic waste. An easy way to avoid this is carrying our own water bottle wherever we go. If we can reduce the buying of bottled water, then we can also hope to reduce plastic bottle pollution.
Use of plastic straws is bad news for our oceans. We should all try to avoid using plastic straw as much as we can. In most restaurants or coffee shops, straws are served with a beverage even when they are not needed to drink it. Chefs use the straw as a garnishing item for aesthetic appeal. This is plastic waste that can be easily avoided. Next time you order lemonade at a restaurant, clearly mention you don’t need a straw to go with it.
Aerated drinks, canned juices, cooking oils, sauces and syrups, dairy products, frozen foods, instant food mixes, cut vegetables or fruits – all these food products come in some form of plastic packaging. By avoiding these products at the supermarket, we can reduce our plastic bottle pollution. For example, if there are two brands selling tomato ketchup, one in a plastic bottle and other in a glass bottle. The environmentally responsible thing would be to choose the ketchup brand in glass bottle.
One easy way to keep plastic bottle pollution in check is to reduce their usage in our daily lives. It is important to create awareness of plastic bottle effects among today’s generation. If more people know about their harmful effects on the environment, it can be hoped that more people will start reducing the use of plastics in their daily lives.
Some simple steps to reduce our plastic consumption are:
- Say no to Plastic Bags
It is the first step towards achieving a cleaner environment. Replace plastic bags with cloth or paper bags. When you go to the market, carry your own cloth bag instead of taking a plastic bag given by the shop owner. Make it a habit of always carrying an extra bag with you. Choose something that can be folded and kept easily in your normal bag that you carry everywhere.
- Carry your own Water Bottle
When we are outside and feeling thirsty, buying that bottle of mineral drinking water seems like the easiest solution. But after drinking, when this bottle gets thrown away, it ends up contributing to the planet’s overwhelming plastic waste. An easy way to avoid this is carrying our own water bottle wherever we go. If we can reduce the buying of bottled water, then we can also hope to reduce plastic bottle pollution.
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| Plastic bottle pollution |
- No Plastic Straws
Use of plastic straws is bad news for our oceans. We should all try to avoid using plastic straw as much as we can. In most restaurants or coffee shops, straws are served with a beverage even when they are not needed to drink it. Chefs use the straw as a garnishing item for aesthetic appeal. This is plastic waste that can be easily avoided. Next time you order lemonade at a restaurant, clearly mention you don’t need a straw to go with it.
- Avoid Packaged Foods
Aerated drinks, canned juices, cooking oils, sauces and syrups, dairy products, frozen foods, instant food mixes, cut vegetables or fruits – all these food products come in some form of plastic packaging. By avoiding these products at the supermarket, we can reduce our plastic bottle pollution. For example, if there are two brands selling tomato ketchup, one in a plastic bottle and other in a glass bottle. The environmentally responsible thing would be to choose the ketchup brand in glass bottle.
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