1. Bring Your Own (Non-Plastic) Bag
This might be one of the easiest things you can do to significantly cut down your packaging use and plastic waste.
Grab a tote bag, a net bag, a cotton bag, pretty much any reusable bag not made from plastic, and bring it with you whenever you go to the shops. Every time you do this, you’ll avoid needlessly consuming another bag.
2. Buy Loose Fruit and Veg (Or in Your Own Bag)
Buying fruit and veg in the supermarket?
Always best to go for the loose option instead of the pre-packaged option. The pre-packed carrots in the plastic bag are usually the same price by weight as the loose ones, and this is the case for most of the other pre-packed items too.
Most fruit and veg have their own natural protective layer anyway, and you’ll be washing them before eating right? So just leave them loose, or bring your own bags to put them in if you prefer. This will have an incredibly positive impact by greatly reducing plastic waste.
3. Buy More, Less Frequently
For anything that won’t expire in the near future, buy the largest option available. Multiple smaller units usually always involve more packaging than a single larger unit.*
4. Use Reusables
Grabbing a coffee on the go, or in need of a bottle of water to re-hydrate? If you bring a reusable along with you, you can fill it up without the need for packaging.
Preventing the need for single-use plastics is a key factor to dramatically reducing your plastic waste. Find out more on ways to eradicate single-use plastics from your life.
Our reusable coffee cups and reusable water bottles go a step further when it comes to reducing packaging, as we make them out of discarded single-use coffee cups and plastic bottles.
And no need to stop there! If you’re picking up food at the deli counter, why not bring your own tubs and enjoy a packaging-free meal? You could also use reusable beeswax sandwich wraps if you’re grabbing (or making) a sandwich.
And when it comes to cutlery, your cutlery drawer at home has all the packaging-free answers. Pop a knife and fork in your bag every time you go out, and you’ll never have to use single-use cutlery again.
5. Reconsider ‘Best Before’ Dates
When a food item passes its best before date, it might have moved past its ‘optimal condition’, but it’s still perfectly safe to eat. So don’t throw it out!
Less food thrown out, means less food bought, means less packaging used. Ultimately resulting in less plastic waste being sent to landfill.
(If something’s past its ‘use by’ date, don’t eat it, as it may not be safe. There’s a big difference between ‘best before’ and ‘use by’.)
6. Actually Empty Containers Fully
There’s often a little bit of toothpaste left in the tube when we throw it out, or a little ketchup left in the bottle. So roll the tube from the bottom, take the top off the ketchup bottle and get scraping. Do whatever you can to use the full contents of every item you buy.
It all adds up. Over time you’ll end up buying less, which means less packaging used. You’ll notice that the best ways to reduce your plastic waste are often the most simple ones!
7. Cook With Local Produce Instead of Ready-Made Meals
Ready-made meals are usually heavy on the packaging, local/fresh produce, not so much. So whenever possible, cook with local produce.
Not only will this help you cut down on your packaging consumption, it will benefit you and your community in other ways too.
Local produce is usually always better for your health, because it’s fresher, and therefore is likely to contain more nutrients. Buying locally is also better for your community’s health because it helps to support your local economy.
When it comes to your carbon footprint, local produce doesn’t have to travel as far, so there are carbon-related benefits here as well.
8. Use Your Local Refill Shop
Of course, by far one of the most effective ways to significantly reduce your packaging consumption is to shop at your local refill/zero-waste store.
These stores offer a packaging-free solution for goods like pasta, cereals, cleaning products, cosmetics and many others. Just bring your own reusable container with you, and get what you need without all the needless packaging.
9. Buy Less Stuff, Buy Circular
By taking any of the actions mentioned above, we can all quite easily reduce the amount of packaging we go through in day-to-day life.
But the truth is, if you don’t buy the thing in the first place, you won’t have to worry about the packaging at all.
So another great way to minimise your packaging use is; only buy what you really need. Also ensuring that you repair products where possible is a fantastic way to extend the life of your products, preventing the need to buy more. Find out why repairing products is so important.
Do your bit for our planet and think about how what you’re buying could affect our plastic waste, buying responsibly and eliminating single-use products is the way forward. Like changing out your plastic bottles for our Circular Water Bottle, or your takeaway coffee cup for our Circular NOW Cup.
And if you do really need something, searching for circular alternatives like our reusable water bottle is never a bad idea.
