We are all becoming a lot more aware of the amount of plastic we use in our every day life and the effect is having on our environment.

In a society that seems to revolve around plastic it can be daunting knowing how reduce your plastic usage. Just being aware of the issue is a great first step and we are here to help with a few ideas.

A study carried out by YouGov found that half of UK consumers would be willing to pay more money to avoid plastic packaging. Half of the people asked said they would pay a higher price to buy goods in biodegradable packaging. 81% of shoppers are focusing on the produce aisle as a place where plastic packaging can be reduced. This was followed by cleaning and household products; homewares; health, hair and oral items; and cosmetics.

Many people asked largely want to see the government taking bigger steps to control plastic packaging. Nearly 70% felt companies should be legally obligated to produce packaging that is environmentally friendly. 80% were in favour of a bottle deposit return scheme like that seen in Germany, and 71% believed the mandatory 5p plastic bag charge should extend to smaller retailers as well.

Britain is still struggling to recycle most of its plastic waste, although a recent government initiative seeks to improve that in the years to come. A report by the World Wildlife Fund last year showed that Britain produced nearly 5 million tonnes of plastic waste in 2014; just 1.2 million tonnes of it was recycled. They estimate that little has changed since then, with less than a third of plastic waste in the country being recycled.

Aswell as looking at how we can recycle our plastic, we also need to be mindful of reducing it in the first place.

Reduce - Re-use - Recycle.

Here are a few simple ways to switch up single-use plastics

Reduce 〰️ Reuse 〰️ Recycle