We have all become aware of the huge problems caused by waste plastics. But plastic is everywhere in our lives, so what can we as individuals do about it?
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Kerbside collections make it easier to recycle, but it is still only the third best option.
Reduce
Rather than deal with the waste, the best option of all is to avoid it in the first place. Sometimes we wrap things in plastic just because we’ve always done that, but does it need to be wrapped at all? Many things are made of plastic because it’s cheap, but today there are many alternatives made of a less damaging material.
Reuse
Much of our waste comes from single-use plastics; wrappings and boxes which are used only once for transit or storage and then discarded. If you can’t avoid using plastic, you can very often use the same item again and again rather than treat it as disposable.
Recycle
Some plastics can be recycled. Kerbside collections will take some of these, although it varies according to where you live. At present they will not take polythene, so we have started collecting and recycling at St Edmund’s. There is more information on our polythene page.
You can find lots more information on what can be recycled and where on the Recycle Now and TerraCycle websites.