Quitting Plastic: The Basics

On my last post I was talking about sustainability and if Aragma as a business and brand could be called sustainable. To those of you who feel affected by the climate change and pollution on our planet, waste has become a very important subject. And, because I consider myself as one of those influenced by this topic, I wanted to continue talking about sustainable practices, specifically a few I started implementing a while ago in order to reduce plastic, with the desire of quitting it completely.

     

Before I begin to share how I've reduced some of my plastic waste during the past months, I wanted to share a lil' backstory. About three to four years ago I started following two instagram accounts of 'zero waste' influencers and it was incredibly surprising how their waste during the past 4-5 years could comfortably fit in a small mason jar. This actually made me account for a lot of my waste, which made me realize I was producing a lot of it. It was also during this time that the climate change conversations started to gain even more importance in the political arena, thus I was actually becoming more aware of the impact plastic and pollution had in our planet. I knew a 'zero waste' lifestyle is something you have to prepare yourself for and it isn't something that happens overnight. I knew I couldn't change that drastically so fast and I didn't want to pressure myself to do so either. Therefore, I began implementing small habits that would eventually have an impact in my environment (home, work, etc.). 

    

So, how did I began? I think one of the first things I started doing was purchasing a large reusable bag to go grocery shopping. I was living in NYC at the time and it was a common practice over there. However, it wasn't until I moved back to Puerto Rico that I started to actually implement a few other habits in my routine.

A few of the things I've purchased are:

• Small reusable produce bags.
• Pyrex glass containers for meal planning, which reduced my 'fast-food' purchases significantly (this actually contributed to a large reduction of my daily plastic waste).
• Stainless steel straws and metal cutlery.
• Stasher bags, which replaced the Ziploc bags I consistently used.
• Reusable stainless steel water bottle, this has allowed me to reduce my use of plastic bottles to almost zero.
• Naked shampoo bars and soap bars from Lush. They work exactly the same as regular shampoo and soap in plastic containers but they have no packaging, which also decreases plastic waste.

These practices are very few, but to my surprise, and maybe to yours, they have decreased my overall waste production significantly, enough to make a change.

         

When browsing for the Stasher bags website I stumbled across their no-plastic pledge, and felt the need to share it with you guys, because just implementing a few sustainable practices in our daily life can make a significant impact in our lives and planet. So go ahead and take the pledge!

     

"I will not purchase single-use plastic bags and containers.

I will drink from reusable water bottles rather than disposable bottles.

I will bring reusable bags when grocery shopping.

I will buy food in bulk as much as possible, and avoid single-serve packaging.

I will use reusable silverware instead of plastic utensils.

I will avoid plastic straws.

I will reuse garbage liner bags as many times as possible.

I will make conscious decisions in everything I consume: reducing first, reusing wherever possible and recycling when necessary."