World Oceans day is a global celebration that occurs on June 8th. It’s a day dedicated to educating and raising awareness around our oceans and the devastating damage plastic pollution is doing to the ocean wildlife and the ecosystem itself. Research is predicting that at the rate we are going, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050. Think about that. Our oceans cover more than 70% of our planet and it is critical to our survival. It Generates most of the oxygen we breathe Helps feed us, Regulates our climate, Cleans the water we drink. It offers a pharmacopoeia of medicines and provides limitless inspiration! Luckily, there are so many ways to make a difference and you can start today in your own home.
CHOOSE REUSABLE BAGS
Reusable bags have been around long enough that every household should have a few. You can grab Tote babes from places like H&M for like £1 or something and they are a decent size. Always keep one in your bag, the babies changing bag, Leave some in your car for that unexpected trip to the shops.
Did you know that Plastic bags are one of the biggest enemies to sea turtles? A sea turtle will often confuse the plastic bag as jellyfish and try to eat the bags. If they don’t choke on the plastic, digesting it can be just as deadly over time.
Many countries, are making efforts to ban plastic bags which brings hope that maybe one day, plastic bags will be a thing of the past.
DITCH SINGLE-USE WATER BOTTLES
Another huge culprit in the plastic crisis is single-use water bottles. Not only is the entire bottle consisting of plastic, but the plastic caps don’t break down in the environment.
Take a few moments and invest in a great reusable stainless steel bottlePersonally, my Klean Kanteen has changed my life completely . Not only do I drink much more water throughout the day, but I never use plastic bottled water. You can bring your reusable bottle with you everywhere and they are designed to keep your drink cooler, longer – which they do!
If you are out and about and have forgotten your water bottle, there are some alternatives to the plastic bottle! There is an amazing brand called CanO Water that was created in response to the damaging impact that plastic bottles have on the environment. CanO Water supplies water in a aluminium can instead of the usual plastic or glass containers. You can get sparkling or still in either 330ml or 500ml. They have also created a unique can lid feature that allows you to reseal and reuse your can but does not compromise the recycling process.
DON’T BE A BUTT
If you smoke, or someone you love smokes, I encourage you to work towards a smoke-free lifestyle. I’ll be honest, I smoked for about 8/9 years. I quit cold turkey when I was pregnant with Molly back In June 2017 and I’ve not looked back since. I completely understand that quitting does not happen overnight and that some find it more difficult than others. But, in the meantime, dispose of the cigarette butts properly. I’ve read that literally millions of cigarette butts have been collected from the oceans and beaches. Birds and marine life digest the toxin-filled litter and those same toxins can end up in our drinking water and fish that people eat.
SAY NO TO STRAWS
Plastic straws are a huge problem in our oceans. Have you seen that photo with that poor Sea turtle with a straw up its nose? Heartbreaking. Plastic straws are a part of the every-day litter problem and often end up in our landfills, not recycled. Many establishments in England are starting to lean towards using paper straws. Like McDonald’s for example. Whilst paper straws are grate for a quick drink, they do become soggy over time. Want to know the solution? Get your own reusable straw!
There are SO many reusable straws that you can get. Bamboo ones, ones that fold, steel ones, curved ones, ones that have a spoon on the end! There’s ones to suit every need!
Steel My Straws is a company that sell every type of reusable straw imaginable. They are affordable and ship world wide!
REDUCE MONTHLY ‘CYCLE’ WASTE.
Ladies, this ones for you! Until recently, I contributed to the insane amount of plastic waste because of my monthly period habits. This was until I came across reusable alternatives such as period pants and mensural cups!
Did you know that the conventional menstrual pad contains just as much plastic as 4 plastic carrier bags? The average woman uses 11,000 tampons in her lifetime. Together with pads and panty liners they make up 200,000 tonnes of waste a year. Those that are thrown away end up in landfills where they can last longer than the person who used them. Some are even flushed down the toilet and cause blockages or they end up in the rivers and oceans. Of course, we can’t stop ourselves from having periods, but we can use other products that don’t produce this much waste.
I side the Modibodi period pants and the Kind Organic cup. Both are fricking fab!! You can read more about having a plastic free period and my journey over on this post.
Get the plastic off your face
Much of the plastic that’s polluting the oceans is microplastics. They are tiny chunks that are next to impossible to filter out. These plastics can come from bigger items breaking down, but they are also commonly added to consumer products like face wash and toothpaste. These little beads are intended to be exfoliators, but many wastewater treatment facilities aren’t able to stop them. There are many biodegradable and natural alternatives! I know in the UK and I think USA, microbeads are infact banned which is amazing! I’m just not too sure about the rest of the world though.
Skip the disposable razor
Instead of tossing a plastic razor in the trash every month or so, consider switching to a razor that lets your replace just the blade or even a straight razor.
Switch from disposable nappies to cloth
It is predicted that a child will use between 4,000 and 6,000 nappies from birth the three years old. That’s adds up to about 8 million nappies heading to landfill every.single.day in the UK alone. We love our colth nappies.
I struggled to find out everything I needed to know at first. It wasn’t all in one place and everyone used different ones. I got quite confused at times if I’m honest. But here, I want to change that. I want to post a few posts on everything I have learnt over the last few months for anyone looking into venturing into the world of cloth nappies.
What changes have you made?
