It's officially Week 2 of Plastic Free July!
We hope you all enjoyed our blog post last week setting out your mission for Week 1. How did you go?
We've been implementing Change 1 (cutting the cling wrap) at home for over a year now, so that one was a breeze for us - we can officially say that we are a cling wrap free household! With a combination of plastic containers and beeswax wraps, we find it super easy to avoid cling wrap as a general rule.
Change 2 (avoiding plastic packaged fruit and veggies) was a little harder for us. We always avoid using the plastic bags in the fresh produce section, and bring our own reusable produce bags for loose produce, but sometimes there are things that you just can't buy without the plastic packaging (such as blueberries and cherry tomatoes). In saying that, when going into the supermarket with the view of avoiding produce packaged in plastic, it definitely makes a difference to the decisions we would usually make!
Last week, we promised you that each week during Plastic Free July, we would recommend to our readers a couple of simple changes to make for that week - so without further ado, our Week 2 changes are below.
YOUR MISSION FOR WEEK 2
CHANGE 1: Give up the bottle - switch to bar soap, shampoo and conditioner.
The problem: 80 billion plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles are thrown out globally every year. What's worse, the majority of these bottles are made from materials that can't be recycled.
The solution: Try making the switch to bar shampoo, conditioner and soap! Liquid shampoo and conditioner is typically made up of active ingredients, filled out with water. Solid/bar shampoo and conditioner contains the active ingredient, with no added water, letting the water you are already using in your shower (or bath) do the work. These bars are typically packaged in recyclable or compostable boxes, meaning that they are truly zero-waste.
Solid bars are also really economical - they can last up to six times longer than bottled products (depending on the product) because they’re super-concentrated.
We have tried and tested quite a few different brands - our favourites are:
- Ethique (based in New Zealand). So far, Ethique have saved over 11 million plastic bottles from entering landfill, and they have a goal to reach half a billion by 2030.
Our favourite shampoo bar from the Ethique range is pictured above. Shop the Pinkalicious bar here
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The Australian Natural Soap Company (Melbourne-based). An Australian company that makes solid beard shampoo? Enough said!
CHANGE 2: Swap out teabags for loose leaf tea.
The problem: Did you know that most teabags contain plastic? This means that they typically leach micro plastics into your tea.. and into the environment once disposed of in the trash.
The solution: Swapping out teabags for loose leaf tea is a better choice for your body and for the planet! Those of us who have a composting system at home can go even further with this one - once your tea leaves have been used, you can add the leaves to your compost or worm farm!
Image source: Teabliss.com.au
As always, keep an eye on our social media (Instagram and Facebook) for other easy swaps and sustainable living tips.
Until next time, we'll be here sipping our loose leaf tea.
