A plastic free life sounds pretty great. But this does not happen overnight! It’s a slow process, and it’s not always going to smoothly. That’s okay! What matters is that you are trying.

Why Do You Want to Go Plastic Free?

Before beginning this new lifestyle, ask yourself why you want to decrease your plastic consumption, and possibly lead a plastic free life. This isn’t going to be easy. Sometimes you will question why you are doing this, so write your answer on a post it and hang it somewhere you will always see it. This way, when you are having day where you’re really question your decision, you can look back at your reason to do this.

Prioritize

Lauren Singer from Trash is for Tossers recommends going through your trash, so to say. See what you dispose of the most. Plastic bags? Coffee cups? Beauty containers (ex. shampoo bottles)? Whatever it is, focus on switching out these products first. This may take you the longest time to do, so starting early will help you get a handle on things faster. Focus on one area of trash at a time. Don’t just wake up one morning and say you are never going to plastic. This will probably only last you a couple of days.

Take it Slow

Do not jump right into being plastic free. It takes time. You have been in the habitat of using plastic your whole life, this won’t change overnight.

Unless you have a lot of money laying around that you want to spend, finish using the products you have and then buy the reusable alternative. If you buy plastic materials and then just throw them away without use, you bought them for no reason. Use them up and then buy a reusable option.

         Kathryn from Going Zero Waste has tons of products to swap out for your plastic ones. This includes bottles, bags, nap

kins, storage containers, and much more. Think about things you don’t necessarily use everyday to swap out as well. For example, I have a normal plastic phone case, but as soon as it breaks I plan on buying a Pela Case, which is a plant based phone cases.

 

Learn How to Properly Recycle

Every town has a different recycling protocol. Check out my previous blog post to see some recycling tips!

 

Challenge #8: Think about what you want to start finding plastic free alternatives for

In the coming weeks, I will discuss specific swaps you can make and alternative products you can make at home!