Zero-waste Challenge

Hi everyone,

Welcome back to Green World for our first post of 2024! As explained in our wrap up post, this year the monthly series will switch between challenges and book reviews. We're starting with a challenge and this month we're challenging you to cut down on your waste!

1. No single use plastic bags challenge

Plastic bags are a disaster for the environment and they're not always even usable for us. Some of the really thin plastic bags will just rip as soon as you put something in them which is a nightmare if you're out shopping and need to transport your groceries home. When these plastic bags are then thrown away, they cause significant damage to our planet. Plastic bags often clog waterways and sewers which is a massive problem. Waterways, such as streams, and their ecosystems depend on moving water and if they get too blocked, the migration of different species is hindered. If a dam starts to form with all of the sticks, rocks and more plastic that is being transported down the river or stream, then the area can flood, causing damage to surrounding ecosystems.

So what can you do? Our challenge for you this month is to replace the thin, breakable single use plastic bags with more environmentally friendly options. There are plenty of options here, reusable plastic bags are much stronger and can be used frequently for years without breaking. Paper bags are also an option if you don't have reusable ones (although the paper industry isn't that great either). For things like grocery shopping you could also take a cloth bag, tote bag or a rucksack. Especially if you're transporting heavier items then a rucksack might be a more comfortable option too - it's a win-win!

2. Plastic free kitchen challenge

We all know that plastic is bad for the environment, but lots of people don't think about it actually being bad for human health as well. And when we do think about that, we think about eating fish that has eaten and therefore contains plastic or about accidentally swallowing chewing gum (which is often made of plastic). But not so many people think about their kitchen. However, plastic in a kitchen can be really bad for you, as well as bad for the environment.

The most common example is microwaves. Most people know that you shouldn't put plastic in a microwave and should take the food out of the packaging before heating it up. But why? Plastics release microplastics when they are heated up (and even when they're not heated up). If you microwave your food while it's in its plastic packaging, then your food will be full of microplastics. This problem is found everywhere in the kitchen, one article from The Guardian even explains how the glue that holds a tea bag together releases billions of microplastics into your drink.

With that in mind, it makes sense to minimise the plastic in your kitchen. It's hard to get rid of it completely, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Things like using metal or wooden spoons instead of plastic ones, removing all packaging before heating your food up, wrapping food in beeswax wraps instead of cling foil or using a wooden chopping board are all realistic, reasonably easy steps you can take.

3. No plastic bottles challenge

Again, microplastics. When you buy a bottle of water, you assume that it's had any potential health risks removed and is completely safe to drink. But in reality, the water gets contaminated by the plastic packaging that's supposed to keep it clean. The water is full of microplastics. These plastics may (research is still being done) be endocrine disruptors, which means that they disrupt our hormone levels. Some companies use a different type of plastic which contains BPA. BPA exposure has been shown to correlate and possibly cause cancer, heart problems, brain development problems and fertility issues. Luckily, this has been banned in certain countries.

So plastic bottles are definitely not particularly good for our health, as well as being a huge problem when they end up in the environment. But again, there are some alternatives. When travelling or otherwise away from home, bringing your own (metal) bottle is always a good solution. Lots of places now offer schemes and programs where you can refill your bottle for free. The Refill app is a great way to find places which refill your water bottle for free, so it's also cheaper than buying bottled water. If you're at home and your tap water is safe to drink, then there is no need for some fancy bottled water because chances are, it tastes the same or better (depending on where you live obviously). Radford University did an experiment where bottled some normal tap water and asked people to drink both the tap water and the bottled water and say which one they preferred (not knowing which one was which). Most people actually preferred the taste of the tap water!

We hope you will try some of these changes and complete the January challenges! Let us know in the comments which ones you're hoping to complete, we would love to hear from you. See you next week!

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:

https://www.ehn.org/plastic-pollution-101-2646027569/how-does-plastic-waste-affect-the-environment

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/jan/04/how-to-reduce-plastic-use-kitchen-shopping-cooking-tips

https://cleanwater.org/2020/07/29/bottled-water-human-health-consequences-drinking-plastic

https://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home/news/releases/2018/october/sustainability-water-taste-test.html?cq_ck=1539780575350

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