How to Abandon Plastic - A Personal Recount

Abandoning plastic altogether may appear to be very difficult at first and because plastic-based products have become a staple when it comes to practically anything let it be offices or homes, there is no denying that. But this is a decision that has to be made for the survival of our planet and it is not impossible. Trust me I made this decision and it wasn’t difficult at all to stick with it.

In my personal opinion, the best way to get yourself to abandon plastic would be to first and foremost understand the need to do so. You need to fully educate yourself about the deadly consequences that will follow if you do not give up on plastic. Learning more about the current rate of plastic consumption and the deadly impacts that it is showing on our land's oceans, our animals, and our people will help you understand the gravity of this situation.

So to start let me share some troubling statistics regarding the destruction inflicted by excessive plastic usage. This will help you understand the need behind abandoning plastic and will then strengthen your fight against plastic consumption.

1. More than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine animals die each year due to plastic pollution. Doesn't this sound harsh? I mean it is us, humans, causing all the pollution yet animals are the ones having to bear the deadly consequences.

2. The majority of the baby sea turtles have plastic in some form or the other in their stomachs. This causes excruciating pain to them and many even die young.

3. There are a staggering 5.25 trillion macro and micro pieces of plastic present in our ocean that weigh about 269,000 tonnes. Experts predict that at one point there will be more plastic in our ocean than fish.

4. Each day around 8 million pieces of plastic are dumped into our oceans and each minute more than 1 million plastic bags are dumped in trash cans. Take a minute and just absorb this.

5. 381 million tonnes of plastic waste is produced on an annual basis. If that's not alarming enough, experts predict that by 2034 this number is expected to double if we do not rectify our plastic usage habits in plastic waste yearly.

6. 88% of the sea's surface is polluted by plastic waste.

7. The world uses over 500 billion plastic bags a year – that’s 150 for each person on Earth.

 The prime incentive behind sharing these triggering statistics is solely to invoke emotions that would assist you in wanting to help make a difference in this situation. I also believe that they will help strengthen your journey towards a sustainable plastic-free lifestyle because now you know what exactly you are fighting for and that in the end this would bring about a bigger change and would be worth all the hurdles.  

Here is my three-step guide that will hopefully assist you in this journey towards a plastic-free life.

First things first. Understand why you're doing this and tell yourself that every single effort that you make to reduce your plastic consumption is quite literally helping your planet survive a little longer. Also, understand that this is a process, you need to take it one step at a time. Plastic has become such a major part of our lives and it can be difficult to find products in the local supermarket that isn’t packaged in some form of plastic.

Once you have a clear mindset, sit down somewhere and grab a pen and notebook. List down all the plastic products that you commonly use and sort them into two categories. In the first category write down the plastic products you need to get rid of immediately. These are the single-use plastic products such as shopping bags, single-use plastic straws, plastic disposable cups and eating utensils, etc and the second category can contain all those plastic products that you can slowly cut off from your life. 

As it is rightfully said, knowledge is power. It is very important to educate yourself in this regard too. You need to learn more about the plastic products you need to get rid of immediately as discussed above and research about alternatives readily available in the market. To make this task easier for you, I have come up with a list of all plastic products you need to give up and I have also mentioned its sustainable alternatives.

So lets dive right in, shall we?

1. First and foremost, you need to ditch plastic bags altogether. Take your own reusable ones to the store. You can even get those super cool customizable tote bags that are available online and in stores. Many people have even taken it a step further and creatively made their own by repurposing suitable items around the home.

2. Plastic straws are a big no-no. They are incredibly awful for the environment. Use metal stainless steel straws or other reusable types of straws that can also be very easily found in stores. Not only are they sustainable but also very good for your oral health and are medically recommended.

3. Give up plastic bottles. Nearly a million plastic beverage bottles are sold every minute across the globe. Make sure that you are not contributing to this million and invest in refillable water bottles. You will easily find them in stores and online.

4. Avoid plastic packaging. You can request for plastic-free packaging in stores and even when you are shopping online. Most places are really appreciative of their customers’ sustainable choices.

5. Recycle as much as you can. Sound cliche but it helps more than you think.

6. Give up gum because believe it or not it is also made of plastic! I was really shocked when I learned about this, after all a piece of gum doesn't sound too dangerous, does it?

7. Purchase food, like cereal, pasta, and rice from bulk bins and use a reusable bag or container for filling them. This way you can save money too and avoid the unnecessary hassle that comes with plastic packaging.

8. Going to your favorite coffee shop, to grab your favorite drink? Cool. Just make sure to take your mug with you.

9. Bring your own containers when dining in restaurants because sadly many restaurants still use plasticware to box up your food to take home.

10. Make sure to request your local grocer to bring in your vegetables and fruits in reusable plastic-free containers. Many people have started doing this so it won't be much of a problem. Just talk to them about it and discuss your options. I am sure they will be really helpful about it.

And that is it. These were some of the few tips I had, a product of my own experience with this journey towards sustainability.

Goodluck! I am sure you will thoroughly enjoy a plastic-free lifestyle or at the very minimum a highly reduced plastic lifestyle.