2021 was the year when media made plastic pollution a major issue for the planet. Despite this the amount of plastic produced and consumed increased by about 4%.<\/p>\n
Eliminating single use plastic is really hard for most people. Most products we buy every day are wrapped in plastic in some way (vegetables, snacks, coffee, tea, etc).<\/p>\n
To reduce plastic waste we need to make it easy and convenient. Therefore we\u2019ve focused on 3 sources of plastic that anyone can avoid without a complete lifestyle change.<\/p>\n
For 30 days, I pledge the following<\/p>\n
1. Avoid buying bottled water<\/strong><\/p>\n 2. Not use plastic bags from stores<\/strong><\/p>\n 3. Avoid single use cups and straws<\/strong><\/p>\n [yikes-mailchimp form=”19″ submit=”I make the pledge”]<\/p>\n Note: Your email address will only be used in connection with the pledge and you will not receive any e-mails unrelated to this.<\/em><\/p>\n If you live in Barcelona like we do or somewhere else in the world where the water tastes poorly it\u2019s not so easy to give up bottled water. It\u2019s available for a small amount of money in every store and restaurants don\u2019t offer any alternative.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how you can make it easy: To be fair a lot of progress has already been made in reducing plastic bag use thanks to government regulation and grassroot movements such as Bye Bye Plastic Bags<\/a>. If you haven\u2019t already then get some strong compact shopping bags\u00a0(nylon<\/a> or organic cotton<\/a>) that you can always carry in your pocket or handbag.\u00a0And note that these bags also require natural resources to be made, so treat them well and they will last for years!<\/p>\n For your household waste use biodegradable bin bags such as All-Green.<\/a><\/p>\n Most people think that paper cups at their local coffee shop are made of paper. Unfortunately this is not the case as they have a plastic lining which makes them impossible to recycle.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t want to interrupt your daily coffee or tea fix so thankfully there is an easy fix. Bring your own refillable cup and straws and the problem takes care of itself. Or, if you have a little bit of extra time one day, sit down for 5 min at your local coffee shop enjoy drinking from a porcelain mug.<\/p>\n These are the rules of the game:<\/p>\n Who do I compete with?<\/strong><\/p>\n Challenge 3 friends to participate. Just tag them in the social media share to make the pledge.<\/p>\n Start date:<\/strong> Tomorrow<\/p>\n How long:<\/strong> The pledge is for 30 days from tomorrow but you can continue for as many days as you want afterwards. Hopefully the rest of your life.<\/p>\n What about an emergency:<\/strong> Accountability:<\/strong> Now let\u2019s get started. No more excuses.<\/strong><\/p>\n For every share of this blog on social media we will donate 1 euro to the Plastic Oceans<\/a> charity.* Plastic Oceans works with education, scientists and businesses on programmes to reduce plastic waste.<\/p>\n * Up to 5,000 euro to start with although are ambition is to match whatever the number of shares\/likes are.<\/em><\/p>\nYour pledge<\/h2>\n
3 tips to make it easier<\/h2>\n
Bottled water<\/h3>\n
\nUse a water filter such as TAPP<\/a>, Brita or PUR at home for better tasting and clean tap water
\nAlways carry a refillable water bottle of your choice and use apps such as Refill<\/a> (Europe), Tap<\/a> (North America), RefillMyBottle<\/a> (Asia) or MyTAPP<\/a> (Europe) to locate refill stations of fountains if you run out
\nAsk for tap water or use your refillable water in restaurants and coffee shops<\/p>\nPlastic bags<\/h3>\n
Single-use cups and straws<\/h3>\n
The rules of the pledge<\/h2>\n
\nEmergencies happen. Even the strongest individuals may forget to bring their reusable bag, refillable bottle or cup. Therefore you have 3 get out of jail cards during the 30 days.<\/p>\n
\nYou are supposed to share updates on your accomplishments and failures with the friends that you tag. We will stay in touch after one month to see if you were successful and to measure the collective effort from the pledge.<\/p>\nOur pledge<\/h2>\n