If you really hate plastic, move to Wales. They’re second to Germany when it comes to the world’s top 10 recyclers
TURNING THE TIDE ON PLASTIC BY LUCY SIEGLE OUT 26 JULY (£12.99, ORION BOOKS) LUCY SIEGLE has travelled the world cleaning beaches and talking to manufacturers, policy makers and environmentalists about the plastic RCPFGOKE *GTG CTG ƂXG VQR VKRU HTQO JGT
1. SWITCH TO SOAP BARS
Many liquid soap bottles don’t make it into recycling because they are made from strange and difficult plastics, and some contain extra pumps and complicated dispensers. Move back to a bar of soap, and for some extra brownie points, buy an eco-friendly soap wrapped in paper rather than a plasticised wrapper.
2. WEAN YOURSELF OFF WET WIPES
Wet wipes contain plastic polymers that, along with cotton buds and contact lenses, cannot always be recovered in our wastewater treatment plants. Instead, they escape into our waterways with devastating consequences for the environment.
Conservationists in London recently found just under 5,500 wet wipes that had amassed and congealed to form a bank in the bed of the Thames. Switch to an old-fashioned damp flannel.
3. USE MUSHROOM BAGS FOR LOOSE VEGETABLES
At the supermarket, you can avoid plastic in the vegetable aisle by picking the loose fruit and veggies. Not all fruit and veg can be brought to the checkout completely loose, so nab some of the paper mushroom bags for things you buy in bulk, like salad potatoes, tomatoes and radishes.
4. TAKE INSPIRATION FROM LOCAL HEROES
Plastic warrior Dan Thompson spotted a plethora of abandoned buckets and spades in Margate following a sunny bank holiday, so he made a large wooden box and decanted the beach toys into them. Now visitors to the seaside can borrow a bucket and spade from the Bucket Box at The Bus Café instead of buying new ones. It’s a local solution from which we can all take inspiration.
5. RELOCATE TO WALES
If you want to up your recycling rate, head westwards. England, Scotland and Northern Ireland don’t appear among the top 10 world leaders in recycling, but Wales comes in second (narrowly beaten to the top spot by Germany).
Rather than shoving everything into one green ‘mixed’ recycling bin, Welsh residents sort recycling at home into lots of different boxes. The system results in higher quality recycling, which is easier to sell into the global market.