First I'll set the mood of urgency around this topic using this lovely infographic (I've started to LOVE infographics - appealing, visual, informative, condensed. Great communicators) about the whale in Indonesia that recently died, plus a nice lil tweet:
The following two images are great infographics by lessplastics.co.uk on hassle-free, less-plastic lifestyle tips:
My personal add-ons:
- All the above tips are a LOT easier to follow than one might think. Every morning before leaving my place it hardly takes much at all to check that I have in my bag: 1+ folded tote bag, a water bottle, a coffee mug if I feel like I might buy coffee later on, a metal food container (it's actually light), and my reusable bamboo cutlery set. This lil shopping haul was my personal first step towards breaking away from plastic :
- ^If you cook, that beeswax food wrap is amazing by the way; it made me realize how ridiculously much plastic cling wrap I could start avoiding.
- ^To be honest those bamboo makeup remover cloths are a bit extra; now I just use tissue paper to get the job done. Once again cotton is a really thirsty crop taking up huge amounts of water through its production and cotton pads always seem to come packaged in plastic.
- Tip 6 in the first infographic is one of the easiest. Why wrap fruits and veg at the grocery in plastic before placing them in the cart when they can just be washed at home before cooking? If I'm buying smaller produce like shallots or mushrooms, I tend to use either compostable brown paper bags or mesh produce bags like this.
- To elaborate on Tip 8 (first infographic), not just leftovers, but nearly everything can be stored in glass jars (this is easier if you don't eat or cook meat). I get almost all of my food (from rice to sugar to chickpeas to spices to beans) from the bulk section at groceries like Save-Ons, putting them into the plastic bags that they provide at first, but then afterwards at home transferring them into glass jars, and washing the plastic bags to bring them back for reusing on my next grocery trip - this way the plastics never become single-use!
- I also try my best to avoid basically any manufactured food that is sold packaged in plastic, including things like sliced soy cheese, frozen raspberries, snacks, chocolates, etc.
- Skincare: Glass jars don't only have to be used for food! I recently used this cleaned-out yogurt container to store this unscented, all-natural, chemical-free face cream (made of a blend of organic herbs and it's actually super hydrating!! Highly recommend.) that was sold in bulk at Nada, the Zero-Waste grocery shop.
- Skincare #2: DIY products are fantastic. They save tons of unnecessary packaging, and your body from chemicals. My latest DIY was a toner solution (that I also store in a jar), made by mixing together just water, witch hazel and apple cider vinegar with a ratio of 2:1:1 and it works great (Google the skincare properties of these natural ingredients!). I next plan to make my own makeup remover!!
- With reference to Tip 2 (second infographic), besides using soap bars instead of bottled liquids, I love refilling my cleaning products (both household and body) with none other than Castille Soap (read more on this amazing product here!). Castille soap is highly, HIGHLY multi-purpose, such that depending on the concentration you can make different dilutions of it to serve various uses, ranging from face wash to shampoo to dishwashing soap to fabric detergent to floor cleaners! Sounds too good to be true but it's legit. Best of all, if you purchase the Dr Bronner's brand, it is "made with organic and certified fair trade (workers producing them are not exploited and get fair pay) ingredients, packaged in a 100% post-consumer recycled bottle". Castille soaps are sold either plain or already containing essential oils; if bought plain, they can be diluted with any specific essential oil to cater to the desired purpose! For example, I'd dilute plain castille soap with lavender essential oil if I'm making a body wash. One huge bought bottle of castille soap lasts a long time too, since to make even a floor cleaner it only takes about two tablespoons or so of the soap to make up an effective dilution.As for the face wash I currently use, it's this mini bottle of castille already mixed with tea tree essential oil, since tea tree is an antibacterial ingredient. All it takes is two drops of this liquid in a wet palm to work up a good lather for your face! This soap is a life changer for one's plastic-free dreams and can be bought in Malaysia too I believe! There are 'dilution cheatsheets' online if you search for them as well.
- With reference to Tip 6 (second infographic), such plastic-free deodorants can be bought from Nada, but for those who don't have a package-free grocery nearby, DIY-ing one is really simple!
- As for Tip 7 (second infographic), I've only just started on that, by recently buying these compostable bamboo toothbrushes (from Nada once again), along with this great set of organic plastic-free hair ties which surprisingly are some of the best hair ties I've ever owned!
- (for whom this applies to) I've also only recently started using Lunapads instead of single-use sanitary pads. Plastic menstrual products have just been ranked the fifth most common ocean trash. If you're more into tampons, diva cups are the more sustainable and completely reusable option!!
- And of course, easiest of all, saying no to any sort of plastic straw or cutlery offered by food businesses.
Clearly I'm not 100% plastic-free though I really hope to someday be, but I just wanted to share my progress on that so far, which may or may not be helpful to you!! Also would just like to emphasize that all this did not happen overnight and that things like these always start from the first baby step. Trust me, it's not at all as daunting as it seems :) Message me anywhere if you happen to have recommendations, questions or just anything (including disagreements) to point out! Thanks for reading as always
