3 Ways to Reduce Your Plastic Consumption

Plastics in the oceans is one of the leading threats against marine life on earth.

100 million marine animals die each year from plastic waste alone, while at least 8 million tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year. One of the greatest solutions on a personal level to help these endangered marine animals is to reduce your plastic consumption.

Here are 3 easy ways to reduce your plastic consumption:

1. Replace Plastic Produce Bags for Reusable Cloth Bags

The average American family takes home almost 1,500 plastic shopping bags a year, while according to Waste Management, only 1 percent of plastic bags are returned for recycling. Reducing this unnecessary use of plastics bags and replacing them with reusable cloth bags would have a great positive impact on the environment. Not only is it good for the environment it is also, in the long term, cost effective.

2. Over Packaged Items

As a consumer trying to buy sustainable products it's also important to pay attention to the way it is packaged. Large quantities of plastics are often used unnecessarily in packaged items, so picking the more sustainable options will encourage companies to rethink their choices of how they enclose their products. This simple and easy trick will reduce the amount of plastic that is released into our environment.

3. Stop Using Plastic Straws

Approximately 57 million straws are used daily in Canada. Plastic straws are almost completely avoidable and so is all the plastic they use. Next time you are grabbing fast food instead of using a plastic straw, opting out would be beneficial to the environment. In case that a straw that is absolutely necessary, using a reusable metal straw could also be considered a eco-friendly option.

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