How not to swim in plastic sea

New Year started just a month ago and the majority of us made a classic New Years's resolutions.

I wanted to avoid the cliche of sporting or eating suddenly extremely healthy. Do something I'll keep doing for more than few weeks, something which would also make me proud.

That is why I chose to avoid as well as refuse plastic bags/packaging as much as possible.

It's alright you can say it aloud- It's a good idea but you are just one in a thousand doing this... it's not going to make any difference.

Not true.

You are always doing something that helps if it's meant to help. Although you might not stop the Global warming or mass plastic industry let me say one thing- you are definitely helping a bit making a difference. If you find some idea of yours (doesn't have to be related to plastic refusal) you might inspire others to do it too! How do you think the recycling manners appeared? Somebody had an idea to make something different. Now most of us recycle simply because of the feeling of doing something good for the environment. *

Why not try this new thing then?

Before you start considering anything do a research. Find the core or the main purpose of the idea and make notes. I personally suggest you to be aware of the financial side of the thing.

Since some of the tendencies or new life approaches can be draining your bank account.

Alright, but what if I am a student or a person with a tight budget? How can I balance my expenses and be at the same time helping the planet?

The ultimate answer is fairly elementary though it may seem complex at first.

Think twice cut once. All of your decisions depend on you and nobody else. It is up to you whether you want to bring your own textile bag and don't take the offered plastic one. Same goes for food wrapped in plastic. You can make/ cook/ bake majority of the products at home. Yes, I agree, this way is as challenging as time- consuming yet it is truly worth a try! Nothing will change except the quality since you will be having a full control over your dishes.

Some stores are currently replacing their plastic bags with paper ones or at least pricing up the first mentioned so people wouldn't buy them. If you are familiar with the Zero Waste idea then you already know that there are stores offering a large variety of products wrapped in paper or even some goods without packaging.

The money question comes up at the moment when you are about to pay. From my experience, it is slightly expensive to buy ecologically wrapped goods yet the quality is invaluable.

Really, If you are afraid to try this new approach because of the stress of affecting your budget don't be. You'll do much more from the food you buy than you expect and I can guarantee you'll be feeling proud of yourself afterward. (and you won't buy a lot of things)

To sum this up, you don't have to be so well of to make a plan of reasonable grocery shopping or to change the way of using things you already have. In bulk, it really depends on your personal opinion and thinking process.

As an example, I can simply use my condition. I am a person who is paid a minimum wage around 290 pounds a month. After deducting the cost of health insurance I'm left with 235. I'm saving for university so the price changes again and then in the very final phase I have just something around 20 sometimes 30 pounds a month. (If I wasn't saving for uni so intensively I'd definitely have more! Living at home with parents is another factor too.)

I don't use plastic bags because I purchased a net bag and textile bags which work perfectly fine.

I've also recently invested in a sustainable water bottle so there's no need for me to buy beverages in plastic. As for grocery shopping, I usually do 2 in one month including the visit of the farmer's vegetables/ fruit market.

This all might sound like nothing but for me, it's something more than a good feeling.

Think about doing something you'll be proud of ! :)

Terry

*At some point it is beneficial to recycle in the other it is nothing more than a fraud. Not everything you put into paper/plastic/ glass container can be recycled. Especially plastic recycling is not an ecological action because the whole process is very energetically demanding. The final percentage of recycled plastic coming from one container is 30%. Now that's a shocker, isn't it?