Emily Harling

So recently I’ve been trying to considerably decrease my consumption of new plastic. Avoiding anything that is unnecessarily wrapped up or anything that has an alternative recyclable option. I have not managed to completely stop buying new plastic yet, it is a process and a bit of a learning curve, but I’m trying my best!

(I say “new” plastic because I want to get rid of plastic items that already belong to me, things that I can continue to and are not furthering any of my negative environmental impacts)

This list is helping me consider things that I can switch up now (easy category), in the near future (hard category), and hopefully sometime ASAP but I’m not sure (seemingly unattainable category).

The hard and seemingly unattainable category exist for items that I cannot yet afford to purchase plastic free, or things that I can’t seem to find accessible alternatives to. They will probably shift around as alternatives become more available and cheaper. Hopefully each item will eventually become replaceable by a plastic free alternative.

I think it’s a good start, it lays everything out clearly and I can tick off items as I find solutions to them. I can also add more items as I think of them.

This is obviously very focused on plastics, but I am trying to cut down my general consumption of…stuff. Even recyclable materials are a problem when in excess.

Give this a try if you’re wanting to ditch new plastics too! Would love to see people’s lists on Instagram, DM or tag me @emily.harling