Plastic Reduction
1. The Solution
Now that we have defined our problem let’s look for an alternative to it. Reducing (or ideally cutting out altogether) your consumption of plastic water bottles, plastic bags, and straws can also make a huge difference.
2.Alternatives to plastic
The following are some easy switches that you can make in your daily life-
Change plastic straws to steel/paper straws.
Switch to Bamboo toothbrushes.
Cotton/Jute bags for shopping. About one trillion plastic bags are used and thrown away each year around the globe.
Switch to Beeswax food wraps
Menstrual Cups 90% of pads contain a huge amount of plastic and over 12.3 billion disposable sanitary pads are generated and used every year.
Steel Containers instead of plastic ones.16 billion disposable coffee cups are discarded each year. That’s 500 disposable cups every SECOND!
3. Benefits of Reducing Plastic
Reducing our plastic waste boasts numerous benefits, not the least of which include preserving natural resources, protecting the environment, and saving us money.
The benefits of reducing plastic consumption include:
Preventing pollution by lessening the amount of new raw materials used
Saves energy
Reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change
Reduces the amount of waste that needs to be recycled or, in developing countries, sent to landfills/incinerators
Saves money, since reusable items work out cheaper than constantly purchasing more plastic
4. A fun DIY
Everybody loves a simple fun DIY, Right?
So scroll down to see a DIY that can save the environment
4.1 Making a wax food wrap
What is a wax food wrap??
We often use cling wrap(thin plastic wraps) to cover different things like sandwiches bowls etc. But the wraps are thrown after use resulting in environmental pollution. A wax wrap is an eco-friendly wrap made
by coating cloth with Wax.Steps to make your own wax wrap–
1. Material Required-
- Cotton cloth
- Beeswax
- Iron
- Newspaper
Procedure
- Step-1 Cut the piece of cloth into a square
- Step-2 Heat your iron
- Step-3 pour the grated beeswax on the cotton cloth(Make you don’t overflow it with wax as
you always add more but can’t remove the one already melted) - Step-4 Cover the cloth with a newspaper
- Step-5 Now melt the wax by moving your iron through the newspaper
- Step-6 Let the wax wrap dry and voila you have your very own wax wrap.
Advantages
- Beeswax wraps last ages & save you money
- Beeswax wraps help food stay fresh for longer
- Beeswax wraps are home compostable!
- Beeswax wraps reduce waste & protect wildlife
- Beeswax has antimicrobial properties
