Why should we ALL go plastic-free?
We’re sure you’ve heard a lot of talk about ‘zero waste’ in discussions about being more eco-friendly, but that just doesn’t do it for us.
It’s a mammoth task to be completely zero waste, and no one wants to feel like they're fighting a losing battle.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
Here at Goodfind, we want to start small: we’re fighting the good fight towards tackling plastic waste, with the help of some great brands.
But in order to achieve this, we need to understand why we’re doing it in the first place, right?
In the UK it’s estimated that about 5 million tonnes of plastic is used every year, almost half of which is plastic packaging. And life with that much plastic isn't so fantastic.
Plastic waste doesn’t decompose, meaning it can last in landfill and soil, rivers and oceans for centuries- continuously harming the environment as well as wildlife.
It’s a team effort to tackle plastic pollution and save our planet, so the power is in all of our hands!
How harmful is plastic? Here are some facts for you
Photo by Naja Bertolt Jensen on Unsplash
Plastic waste doesn’t just mean the overuse of plastic bags and bottles when you’re out and about, although, more than 1 million plastic bags end up in the bin every minute, and it can take anywhere from 20 to 1000 years to break one down!
We all know that plastic bags in the ocean can be a hazard to sea creatures, but toxic substances can be released when plastic bags perish under sunlight, too.
And, with about 500 billion plastic bottles used each year, there are about 66 times as many bottles as humans on the planet- surely we don’t need that many?
It doesn’t stop there. Microplastics can end up where you least expect them, finding their way into our ‘drinkable’ tap water, and 1 in 3 of the fish we eat.
Even when reheating food in the microwave, teensy pieces of plastic can end up in our meals too…
Bon Appetit!
Needless to say, our health can be impacted by plastic just as much as the environment.
Can there be a plastic free world?
Photo by Jan Piatkowski on Unsplash
In short, it may not be 100% plastic free, but if we work to reduce plastic use as much as possible, we will start to see a semblance of a ‘plastic free world’.
We hope that’s given you a bit more insight into life with plastic, and you’re realising how much of an issue it is.
It’s a lot to consider, and most of it is unfortunately out of our control.
However, we believe that changing our personal consumption habits can make a big difference to how we feel, actively making us part of the solution.
Goodfind is on a mission to get us all closer to a plastic-free life, and informing ourselves about the harms of plastic is the first step in achieving that.
In our next article, we’ll share some easy ways you can change your plastic consumption habits, including how to reduce, reuse and recycle better- so stay tuned!
Edited by Jasmine Alakija