Every year, the Earth yields billions of tons of natural resources that we as humans use and transform into consumables, however, at some point those resources will run out.
Global Recycling Day was created in 2018 to help recognise, and celebrate, the importance that recycling plays in preserving our precious primary resources and securing the future of our planet. It is a day for the world to come together and put the planet first.
For for those like me who strive to live a more sustainable and plastic-free lifestyle, making conscious purchasing decisions and recycling and up-cycling existing goods is a good place to start.
But often recycling is not as simple as it is often made out to be. It's only when you are mindful of your actions and measure what you actually do rather than what you think you do, that you realise that reality is often different to your perception.
In May 2020 I attended the final session of first ever Everyday Plastic Survey where I received own personal plastic footprint for my household. I was shocked to learn that of the 111 bits of plastic that my household threw away in one week, 78% was non-recyclable.
Even more shocking was that if you factor this up nationally, assuming that all households in the UK threw away the same amount as me, the UK would be throwing away 157.4 BILLION bits of plastic a year. Factor this up globally and the problem becomes clear......
So what have I done about it?????
Well firstly I instantly started to change my behaviour:
1. As per the advice on my plastic footprint above, I switched to shopping at my local greengrocer instead of the supermarket during lockdown for my fruit and veg which cost a little more, but I saved a lot on plastic containers.
2. I planted a lot of vegetable seeds in the garden and ordered some blueberry bushes online.
3. I started to ditch pre-bought snacks and now snack on nuts and bake my own.
4. I ditched plastic milk bottles by ordering my milk in glass bottles from a local milk delivery round and have managed to avoid buying supermarket milk in plastic bottles for good.
5. I stopped buying single-use plastic and reused the plastic I already have in my household.
6. I set up Strictly Sustainable to help others to do the same.
To help get you started on making some eco-friendly changes to your household, check out our latest discount codes @ https://www.wethrift.com/strictly-sustainable.