2018 BREAK THE PLASTIC HABIT!

The Mail’s 10-year campaign against plastic has captured the world’s imagination. Now, a series by two experts who’ve devoted their lives to studying the plague reveals how YOUR family can make a huge difference — with just a few tiny changes

Ten years ago this month, the Mail launched a trailblazing campaign to rid Britain of the scourge of plastic supermarket bags — prompted by a heartrending, shaming picture of an endangered turtle entangled in one, which was used on the front page.

The success of our Banish The Bags initiative has been nothing short of phenomenal.

Today, no one thinks twice about bringing their own bags to do their weekly shop. The Mail’s campaign, together with the 5p compulsory charge per bag we argued for, has resulted in an astonishing 85 per cent reduction in the number of bags being used. That’s more than seven billion fewer bags every year.

But it’s not enough. We have a moral imperative to do more, for our sake and that of our children. everyone’s seen shocking images such as the baby albatross on Blue Planet II which died after its stomach was pierced by a toothpick it had been fed by its mother.

The birds mistake plastic debris such as this, as well as lighters, toothbrushes and bottle caps floating in the ocean, for food. Some starve to death with their bellies full of plastic. We recall the tiny whale potentially poisoned by its mother’s milk after it ate plastic, too.

But most of us just don’t know where to start in order to tackle the crisis. When nearly every conceivable aspect of our lives is swathed in plastic of some sort, it is easy to feel completely overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem.

Many will wonder how a single individual’s actions can make such a seismic difference to a global challenge.

NOW, in a landmark series that could have just as big an impact as that front page a decade ago, we’re here to assure you that you really can make a difference — and your actions can help save our beautiful world and its animals.

Together, we can turn the tide on plastic, one small step at a time. The Mail has teamed up with husband and wife duo Chantal Plamondon and Jay Sinha, two of the world’s leading antiplastic campaigners, to show you how.

They have spent the past 15 years investigat-FEARS ing the best ways to reduce your plastic use, and now they have put that knowledge in a groundbreaking new book, Life Without Plastic, which we are serialising all next week.

They were not only concerned about the environmental cost of plastic, but its potential impact on our health, too — from its effect on our hormones to the potential toxicity of chemicals from plastic getting into the food supply.

When they started their crusade, scientists were often sceptical. But the couple, both trained lawyers (Jay is also a biochemist), were ahead of their time. experts are now beginning to corroborate many of their fears — see the box below to learn how plastic may

be harming your health. But don’t despair. Today and all next week, we will open your eyes to the tricks you can use to start slashing your plastic use right now.

Take our quiz to find out just how much plastic waste you accumulate in a year. After following our series for a week, take it again and you’ll be astounded at how the tiny tweaks we suggest really

can help solve the problem. The Mail’s Turn The Tide On Plastic campaign isn’t intended to make you feel guilty about plastic you depend on. Instead, this series will guide you through small daily steps you can take — with little expense or effort — to make dramatic inroads into reducing the amount of plastic you use.

JAY explains: ‘ We have developed a cultural mindset that ranks convenient disposability above quality and durability.’

‘It was only 50 years ago that a razor, cigarette lighter or fountain pen were robust metal objects, designed to last, which could be repaired relatively easily. But now disposable pens, lighters and razors have little meaning in our lives and are tossed in the bin when they are no longer useful.

‘We need to stop thinking of plastic as a disposable waste product, and start thinking of it as a valuable — albeit potentially toxic — resource to be carefully recycled and reused in safe nonfood, non-polluting applications.’

Chantal and Jay admit that despite their best endeavours, their lives are not zero-plastic. But they are hyper-aware of the plastic that surrounds them, and never stop looking for ways we can all decrease our plastic footprint.

They are convinced it is far better to do something, no matter how small, to reduce your plastic use, rather than nothing at all.

Even simply changing one habit — such as using the reusable coffee cup we’re giving away today, instead of a throwaway cup — will help decrease the demand for new plastics. If every Daily Mail reader uses their cup just once a day in place of a takeaway cup, millions of plastic-lined paper cups will be saved from landfill in a year.

It’s simple maths. Use a plastic bag twice and you halve your plastic footprint. Buy one bar of soap and you may spare the planet two or even three pump-action hand wash bottles. Inspire someone else and the impact is doubled.

All next week we’ll tell you how to double your recycling efficiency overnight, banish plastic from your kitchen and dodge food packaging. Better yet, you can even shop to save the planet with gorgeous — and reusable — plastic alternatives.

It’s never too late to start…