The Benefits of Going Plastic Free

While we may not long for the days' milk used to come in glass bottles, and purchasing fruits and vegetables involved long walks to the market, some of our daily use items that are covered in plastic can definitely count as more harmful under the guise of convenience.

As we speed towards our own extinction, global warming is a very real danger that plastic is a definite contributor towards. Our world depends on our ability to regulate our lives in order to protect the plants and animals on this earth.

1. Environmental Impact: Plastic is made from crude oil, and creates microplastic as it disintegrates over time. Not only does the entire process of creation, usage and disposal pollute our soil, but also harms animals, plants, and damages our oceans. Did you know that marine life has been found to have pieces of plastic inside them, and humans have been known to eat a credit-card sized amount of microplastics too?

2. Better Bodies: Plastic is hidden in a lot of common household items and food including chewing gum, glitter, clothes and even tea bags. Ingesting the chemicals produced by plastic is detrimental to our bodies- creating various health and hormonal problems.

This also works when you are shopping for food- loose produce often allows you to select the best items for your kitchen, and local markets allow you to enjoy organic products that have little to no plastic involvement especially if you take your own bags too! This allows you to eat better, nutritious food while protecting the planet from excessive plastic waste that will remain on earth for aeons.

3. Reduces Expenses: Purchasing single-use plastic items ensures that you have to dispose of them at a certain point. This is also true for daily use items such as toothbrushes, water bottles and containers. Purchasing (and using what you already own) reusables is a great way to reduce your own waste and get value for money.

So while it may be easy to think that the plastic problem is the amount already inside our soil and sea, it is also more urgently in front of us, in our shopping carts, on the side of the road and impacting our health in various ways, effects of which we find out when it is too late and we are already sick.

And while it isn't completely possible to avoid all kinds of plastic, choosing to use other materials and paying attention to the kind of plastics you are using will definitely benefit you economically and healthwise, with the great by-product of protecting our planet.

What are your tips on living plastic-free as much as possible?