How to reduce your plastic waste
Recycling is important, but it’s not the only thing we can do to keep our borough green. We also need to reduce the amount of waste we produce in the first place. You don’t have to make drastic changes to reduce the amount of plastic you throw away.
How you can reduce your plastic waste
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Use a reusable water bottle.
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The carbon footprint of a reusable water bottle is much lower than that of a plastic bottle.
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We’re piloting a Refill London scheme in the borough, where local businesses can sign up to let people refill their water bottle for free.
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Download the Refill app to see where you can refill your water bottle.
Say no to plastic straws
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Single-use plastic straws make up a lot of our plastic waste.
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Some studies have estimated that the UK throws 8.5 billion plastic straws away every year.
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Ask your local businesses to switch to paper straws.
Use reusable shopping bags
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Carry reusable shopping bags with you.
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The 10p charge on plastic bags has hugely reduced the use of plastic bags in England. Switch to reusable bags to help reduce single-use plastic carrier bags – and the litter associated with them – even more.
Avoid buying black plastics
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Most black plastic trays, such as those in ready meals, can’t be recycled.
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They can’t be detected by the recycling sorting machines, so they go to landfill or are incinerated.
Use a reusable coffee cup
Using a reusable cup cuts down on waste. Some coffee shops will give you a discount if you use them.