Much of the plastic we produce has an incredibly brief life cycle. Most single use throw away items are plastic. We all have plastic items around the home that are perfectly usable, and reducing our use of plastic doesn’t mean we should suddenly throw away all our plastic items. It’s about making making good, sustainable choices from now on and thinking about how we can re-use what we already have. Reuse is about taking old items that you might consider throwing away and finding a new use for them. There is no limit to the reusable options for unwanted plastic. This is great for the environmental as it saves unwanted waste being sent to landfill sites. We need to get creative and reuse items for secondary purposes. For example,
- unwanted plastic cartons can be used for organising nuts and bolts, storing frozen produce, planting seeds etc.
- worn out toothbrushes can be used for cleaning rather than thrown away
Buying non-plastic items once the plastic ones wear out means that they can be sustainably recycled/composted once they are no longer usable. It should be about buying less, not more. Use up what you already have and buy non-plastic alternatives where you can once the plastic items wear out.
People who have moved towards reducing buying new items say that they have saved money, become less dependent on a consumerist culture, and have made good connections within their community through swapping goods and lending items.
Here are a few ideas for re-using plastic items that you may like to try:
In the kitchen
- The mesh bags that some fruit and veg come in can be useful when buying loose fruit and veg, or for wrapping around sponges to use as scourers
- One pint plastic milk bottles are handy for storing homemade soup in the freezer
- Large plastic milk bottles can be used to store dry items such as washing powder under the kitchen sink, keeping them dry and making them easy to dispense
In the home
- Bubble wrap is not easy to recycle but can be used to pack fragile or breakable items
Garden
- Use yoghurt pots and other small plastic pots to start growing fruit and veg in before moving them to the garden
- Plastic bottles can be re-used for capillary plant watering – put one end of an old shoe lace in the water and the other end in the plant
- Cut up large yoghurt pots into strips to make plant labels
Make money
- Sell unwanted plastic items online, for example on Ebay, Facebook, etc.
Many areas have Facebook “Sell or Swap” groups.
- Take unwanted plastic items to sell at a car boot sale or table top sale
Share things with your neighbours
- Streetbank is a charity that helps people give things away and lend things, resulting in less items wasted and going to landfill
You may not need to buy a new lawn mower if the person in the next road owns one.
Make do and mend
Electrical goods can often be repaired – look out for local groups with training sessions to give people the skills to do simple repairs.
Donate
- Donate unwanted plastic items to local charity shops
- Use local recycling groups like Freecycle to offer goods to your local community for free – a great way to re-home things that are too good to throw away
- Unwanted toys can be donated to charities or friends who would appreciate them
- Look out for Give and Take days, where you can bring along your unwanted items as well as potentially provide a new home for things that other people have brought along
Up-cycle
- Up-cycling – look online, for example on Pinterest, for creative ways to transform unwanted products or waste materials
Cleaning
- Cut up old clothes to use as rags rather than buying new cleaning cloths, which often come wrapped in plastic
- Toothbrushes can be reused for bicycle, shoe and general cleaning
Over to you. I am sure you can add to this list – use the comments section below to add your ideas.