Use paper-stemmed cotton buds
During the Great British Beach Clean last year, an average of 29 plastic-stemmed cotton buds were found every 100m (see point number 5).
Clean less!
Most of us have an array of cleaning products in plastic containers under our sink, but we really don’t need a different spray for each room in the house. Hot water and a bamboo wipe (£8.95 for ten, cheekywipes.com) are sufficient for most surfaces. Vinegar is great for streakfree glass, and toilets can be disinfected with oxygen bleach (Mangle & Wringer Natural Bleach, £3.50, mangleandwringer.co.uk).
Switch to bars of soap
Research from Recycle Now shows that in the UK, while almost 90 per cent of people claim to regularly recycle from the kitchen, only 52 per cent do the same in their bathroom. Reduce the plastic in the first instance by replacing bottles of hand soap (the pumps can’t be recycled) with paper-wrapped bars, such as Little Soap Company Olive Oil Soap (£2.95, waitrose.com). Lush (uk. lush.com) also sells shampoo, conditioner and body moisturisers in bar form.
Look for glass or paper in the supermarket
42 supermarkets and food companies might have signed up to the UK Plastic Pledge earlier this year but for a surefire way to reduce your useage, look for products such as olive oil, pasta sauces and cordial, which all come in glass bottles. Switching your breakfast cereal to porridge oats from a paper bag also helps to reduce plastic packaging.
Swap clingfilm for beeswax wraps
Wrap your sandwiches in these pretty beeswax-dipped fabrics, which can be washed and reused (Medium Kitchen pack, £20, beeswaxwraps.co.uk).
Buy washing powder rather than capsules
It tends to come in cardboard boxes. For an even greener alternative, try Ecozone Soap Nuts (£11.99 for 330 washes, ecozonedirect.com) – berries that have been used for hundreds of years to clean.
Look for refills
Ecover offers refill services of washing-up liquid and detergents in many health food shops. Refill pouches for Splosh washing and laundry liquids arrive through your letterbox – squirt them into your bottles and post back the pouch for refilling (splosh.com).