6 Easy Ways to Reduce Plastic Use and Save Money
Reading Time: 5 minutes Easy and affordable ways to reduce plastic use that save you money in the long run.
Why should we reduce plastic use?
After all, plastic is a handy tool that’s an excellent vessel for food distribution, medical supplies, and other societal necessities. So why should we reduce our use of it? Wouldn’t we be doing ourselves a disservice?
Plastic pollution is leaking into our ocean at astounding rates
For starters, The Ocean Conservancy estimates that each year, “8 million metric tons of plastics enter our ocean on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons that currently circulate our marine environments.”
In other words, imagine a dump truck unloading a full bin of plastic directly into the ocean every minute of every day of the year. That’s how much gets dumped into our oceans.
Yikes.
In predictable fashion, this plastic is having detrimental effects to the health of our oceans and beyond. In fact, a horrifying report released in 2015 by the World Wildlife Fund found nearly 50% of all the marine life in the world has vanished in the last 50 years alone.
A big contributor? Plastic pollution. Just see for yourself:
Reducing plastic use can save you money
What better motivation than to save money? It’s hard to argue: if reducing plastic-use was incentivized, everyone would do it. Luckily, innovative companies have come up with solutions so you don’t have to buy single-use plastic ever again – ultimately, saving you money in the long run.
Targeting single-use plastic
Notice the verbiage: single-use plastic. These types of plastics are used once and tossed away without much regard. But do they ever really go away?
Unfortunately not. The following infographic from Statista.com, with data originally from NOAA and Woods Hole Sea Grant, demonstrates the immense amount of time it takes for one of these single-use plastic items to bio-degrade in ocean environments:
Minutes of use leading to a lifetime of ocean destruction. Doesn’t seem very sustainable, does it? The good news is eliminating single-use plastic is super easy, and affordable too.
These easy solutions to reduce plastic-use will save you money
We’ve compiled a handy list of products that serve as great ways to reduce plastic use. The best part? Most of these solutions save you money in hte long run. Good for the oceans and good for your wallet!
1. Save on plastic water bottles by using your own eco-friendly bottle.
Hydro Flask makes the trendiest, most functional water bottles on the market. The design and production is eco-friendly while holding ice for days at a time – reducing the need to purchase plastic bottles ever again!
2. Get the coffee shop discount for bringing your own mug.
Many coffee shops give discounts to customers who bring their own mug – thus reducing single-use plastic or styrofoam cups. So be sure to cash in on your next coffee stop.
Backcountry.com has some great deals on Yeti Tumblers ideal for coffee use.
3. Never buy Solo plastic cups again with Silipint.
Silipint makes our favorite eco-friendly party cup – our cupboards are filled with them. The silicone base can accommodate hot or cold drinks while also reducing plastic cup use!
Oh and not to mention, they’re unbreakable!
4. Ditch zip-lock baggies for reusable silicone bags.
Two separate products, endless means of use. Honestly, we use our reusable silicone baggies for EVERYTHING.
Stasher is the premier brand, yet the most expensive. We own a few Stasher bags and a cheaper assortment from Qinline. We recommend owning both.
The amount of money, and plastic, we’ve saved over the years from these adds up. Zip lock bags are NOT cheap by any means.
5. Still using a plastic straw? Get with the times and get yourself a reusable one.
How else were you going to virtue signal to everyone else? Totally kidding. Although it may not save you money, reusing a metal straw is an easy way to reduce the amount of needless plastic entering the ocean!
6. Bring your own bamboo silverware pack.
These are actually super handy. Picnics? Beach days? Or lunch pack for work? We use reusable bamboo silverware for all of it.
Again, an easy way to reduce a significant amount of plastic being used. Say no to single-use forks, spoons, and knives. Why? Because you brought your own!
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Read More Sustainable Living Tips
We hope you enjoyed our post on reducing plastic use. Hopefully you’ll find it useful on your next adventure! Here are a few more ocean-loving articles we think you should read next:
- 10 Eco-friendly Alternatives to Single-use Plastic
- How to Help Save Sea Turtles: 16 Do’s and Don’ts
- 14 Ways to Have an Eco-friendly Beach Day
What other ways do you reduce plastic use? Leave a comment below!
