It was about a year ago that I became aware of the excessive plastic consumption I was having; in absolutely all my purchases all the products I had came in non-disposable plastic. I think it is when you feel that the house is going to explode from so much accumulation that you realize what a serious problem it is. The most incredible thing is that in school they teach you ecology, however (or at least in my case) they do not encourage the student to look for alternatives so that from childhood he/she can contribute to something.
I have realized that even people are not fully aware of this when I go out to the street, they complain about the dirtiness of their streets, however, they continue to be participants in the consumption and disposal of these pollutants.
So among all this, a year ago I decided to reduce even a high percentage of plastic consumption and replace it with more environmentally friendly things, sometimes it is inevitable as when I order food for delivery, however I take care to find a useful life for these containers. And, some supermarket products already come hermetically sealed in their plastic, something that should not, they should always give you a choice. How have I reduced my plastic consumption?
I use reusable bags to buy fruits and vegetables: before I was given plastic bags every time I went to buy vegetables and fruits (and I consume a lot of these, so there were almost thousands of bags). So looking for alternatives on the internet, I discovered that with old shirts and pieces of fabric that you don't use anymore you can make reusable bags to store vegetables or, in fact, sometimes when I fill them up and still need to buy, I take out one of the old plastic bags and use them again in the shopping.
Plastic bricks: I learned this option recently and I am starting to do it, it is about putting all the wrappers and plastic bags in a bottle (also plastic) and fill it completely, but it must be as hard as a brick. Even here in Lima I have not discovered organizations that use these bricks, but I know that in Colombia there are some.
A single bottle of water: before I used to buy up to 3 times a day bottles of water, a total waste, as soon as it was finished it went to the trash, well, the best solution I found to this was to buy a bottle of about 2 liters and take it with me to not buy more bottles of water.
New life to plastic containers: with this I mean that sometimes we do not know what to do with so many containers, so I have decided to use the base of these as flowerpots (some plastic bottles and juice cartons). On the terrace where I live I have had to manage to get green spaces and that means, to solve myself, this has been a very nice option that brought nice pots.
Shopping cart: in supermarkets I never ask for bags, I always carry with me either my purse or a shopping cart where I can put things, so it is much better for me and more comfortable indeed.
Compost: before throwing away leftover vegetables, fruits and egg shells to be basically lost in a pile of garbage, I use them as compost for my plants, also, I use what we call in my country coffee grounds, which is the coffee left over once you have already strained it, for the plants.
Menstrual cup: no more sanitary pads in the trash, the use of the menstrual cup reduced much of this plastic consumption.
These have been the alternatives that I have found to reduce plastic waste and take care of the planet a little more. I'm not perfect yet and I tend to make some mistakes, but I'm learning. The important thing is that I have already made a start. I would like to know what are your ways to reduce plastic consumption.
Thanks for reading me, I send you lots of love.
Photos edited in Adobe Photoshop CC
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