Plastic Free July: Discover How to Go Plastic Free When You're Out and About

Plastic free July is in full swing and in this article we'll be talking about plastic free options when you're out and about.

Previously we've discussed about how to have a plastic free kitchen and a plastic free bathroom. We'll be discussing a lot of plastic free options this month.

Plastic Free Out And About

Shopping bags & reusable bulk bags

Getting rid of single use plastic is the key to starting a plastic free living. About 8 million tons of plastic waste leaks into the ocean every year. The equivalent of 15 plastic shopping bags for every meter of coastline on Earth. By getting rid of single use plastics, you are making a big impact to the environment. You can start by looking for reusable options like Onya shopping bags available in small, large, and reusable shopping tote bag. Ever Eco also has some awesome tote bag cotton net options.

Produce bags

Produce food bags are a necessity if you're looking to buy grains, sugar, and other produce. A good alternative to plastic shopping bags are Ever Eco and Onya.

Lunch and snacks

Lunch bags

You need a lunch bag to keep your lunch hot or cold until it's time to eat. While this is not obvious, most lunch bags actually uses plastic foam to keep your food hot or cold. An eco friendly lunch bag is one of the more difficult things to find. SoYoung Insulated Lunch Bags are made ethically from cotton/linen fabric, and are also BPA, PVC, and phthalate free.

Lunch boxes

Most lunch boxes comes in plastic form. If you're looking to move away from plastic, one great alternative is stainless steel. Stainless steel lunch boxes are actually more durable and sanitary. Aside from these, it's plastic free. Ever Eco has a wide variety of stainless steel lunchboxes and snackboxes.

Cutlery

Looking for cutlery that you can bring with you without it being plastic or disposable? Try Ever Eco Bamboo Cutlery Set With Organic Cotton Pouch.

Food wrap

Ditch that single use plastic wrap for your sandwich and switch to a more plastic free option. 4MyEarth has an amazing selection of reusable food wraps made from 100% cotton canvas.

Plastic bottle, cups, and straws

Every second 1,000 plastic water bottles are being added as trash in the US alone. The Great Pacific Garbage patch in the North Pacific Ocean is now twice the size of Texas. Most of the garbage there came from single use plastic like water bottles. The sobering truth is we need to drastically cut the usage of plastic. 

Water bottles

While we all need to be hydrated on the go, we also need to consider that a plastic water bottle's lifespan is 450 years. That trash we used, is going to be there a long time after we're gone. A tip to avoiding plastic water bottles is planning ahead. Before going out make sure to bring a container of your own. There are lot of options out there.

If you're looking for something lightweight, try stainless steel water bottles like Onya. Onya's Stainless Steel Water Bottles ranges from 500 ml to 1 Litre. Cheeki also has a wide variety of insulated water bottles, it's a little bit heavier but it will keep your drink hot or cold for longer. Going out for a picnic? Instead of using plastic cups, go for Ever Eco Stainless Steel Drinking Cups - 4 Pack. 

Coffee Cups

Too busy to have that cup of coffee at home? While it's tempting to just go out and order a cup of coffee, there are ways to avoid single use cups on the go. Get reusable coffee cups like Huskee Reusable Coffee Cup.

You can also ask your local barista to just put the coffee in your reusable cup instead. If you're looking for stainless steel options, Cheeki also has coffee cups. 

Straws

Do you know that about 500 million plastic straws are thrown daily in the US alone. That's a lot of plastic straws! What's more devastating is the fact that because plastic straws are so small some animals ended up digesting these and making them sick. A shift to more eco friendly straws will create a big impact to our environment. If you're looking for alternative options, you can use stainless steel straws or bamboo straws. Ever Eco has both stainless steel and bamboo straws.

Here's to starting your journey to a plastic free living!