Originally published May 2020.
Hello, welcome back! Today I have another low waste post for you, but with this being something I actually wrote as part of my third year Final Major Project for university! Part of my FMP idea was creating a Low Waste website which educates on how it can save you Money too (which isn’t too far away from what I’m moulding this blog to be now!) So, this was an article on five Low Waste items to save you a few pennies! It may be a little obvious, some of the items suggested, but most still don’t realise the money you could save with a bit of effort and a low waste switch, so I hope it’s helpful for you!
“When it comes to starting to lower your waste, the best mentality is to start small and beginning to incorporate swaps little by little. The world of Low Waste can seem incredibly scary and incredibly pricy with it to. We all know that picture portrayed on Pinterest of perfectly placed glass jars on a shelf, filled prettily with delicate rices and pasta, and yes this may be what we should aim for in a sense, but to me its not realistic. Lowering your waste should be an individual process that is cost-effective and doable for you. SO, with that said I want to tell you how to start, how these 5 things can both help reduce plastic waste and save you a fair few pennies in the process. It’s all about what to do and how to do it, and that’s what I’m here to tell you!
No. 1 Water Bottle: This may be the most obvious of all, getting yourself a water bottle but it really should be something everyone owns in 2020. Ditch the plastic water bottle guys and get yourself a refillable! To think every water bottle you buy is between £1 – £2, if this is something you’re buying daily you could be wasting more than £365 a year! Whereas refilling from a tap costs nothing! Even when you’re out and about, if you need to refill, a recent discovery of mine is the REFILL app; a handy little app that tells you where your nearest water refill station is, whether this be Costa, Starbucks – it’s all on there.
No 2. Coffee Cup: Again, incredibly obvious but yet still so many haven’t thought to own a reusable coffee cup. There is a multitude of colours and designs, some even fold into a convenient disc (check this out!) for your bag. Every time you fancy a quick takeaway coffee, bring your cup and you can save up to 40p at some coffee chains!
No 3. OLIO: Now this is an even more recent app discovery; OLIO. A incredibly genius app that lets your advertise any unwanted items that you’d happy give away for free (and you can also receive things for free off other people!). It saves items of food or non-food from going to waste, and give them a new home; Genuis yet so simple.
No 4. Straws: We’ve all seen recent places swap their straws for paper straws, but for any even better experience (and save you the hassle of a soggy drinking straw) swap to Aluminium straws; they’re durable and pretty in the process.
No 5 Tote Bag: Need I tell you about this?! plastic bags are a thing of the past, cotton tote bags are incredibly durable and you’d be surprised how much you can fit into one. Save you’re self the stress of a ripped carrier bag a switch to a cotton bag; they are as cheap as a couple of pounds and will last forever!”