Reducing the use of single-use plastics

I have purchased reusable straws and cutlery for eating on the go. I try to carry my own containers for shopping trips.

Ban straws and single-use plastic bags

Promote the fact "bring your own straw". Why would we need a straw? Hygienic reason? Wrong! We don't need it anymore; it is just a old habit... Concerning the bags, if there are no bags anymore, the problem is solved. We need to change and as consumers, we have the power to choose what we want and what we don't want. Not using plastic straws or bags isn't difficult when we think about it. If you are a parent, you can't refuse to make this small, tiny little effort for your kid(s)... It is your responsibility and we can do that together for a better tomorrow.

Public campaign teaching REDUCE, REUSE, then recycle

Recycling has been taught as the solution, when it's supposed to be the last step in the process. We need a public education campaign that gets through to people that we need to make different consumer choices that take us away from dependence on plastic. This must go much deeper than eliminating plastic straws, plastic bags, and plastic water bottles. So much of our food and personal hygiene products come in plastic. We need a different approach to those products.

cut down on as much use of plastic as possible, single use and otherwise

-use own bags to carry shopping home -take small textile bags to carry home loose vegetables, fruit -don't buy plastic straws; turn down use in restaurants, encourage restaurants to use paper straws or none -encourage complete ban on plastic shopping bags in Kingston -encourage substituting purchase of plastic garbage bags with paper or compostable -encourage stores to sell produce packaged only in non-plastic packaging, as a grocery franchise in Great Britain recently did successfully -signed petitions to stores to discontinue plastic packaging -store food/beverages in glass or tin containers -purchase beverages in glass, none in plastic -use metal water bottle, travel mug, food containers -discontinue use of ziploc bags; substitute with cloth, metal containers, glass, wrap food in cloth covered with beeswax -buy loose vegetables and fruit rather than bagged or packaged in plastic -don't buy plastic plates, cutlery -carry metal travel cutlery and use non-plastic lunch containers -use bar soap, shampoo, conditioner rather than liquid in plastic -use cosmetics in glass containers versus plastic -replace plastic dental floss when have used up the plastic I own -make own toothpaste rather than purchase in tubes -don't buy soaps with beads in -use metal ice cube trays versus plastic -use metal bowls versus plastic when cooking -store home items in baskets, cloth/wire containers versus plastic -use/purchase wood versus plastic utensils -use reusable/washable panty liners versus those with plastic -buy cloth versus plastic shower curtains -buy metal versus plastic shower curtain hangers -purchase metal versus plastic garbage cans, waste paper baskets, home articles -encourage others to read "Life Without Plastics" by Chantal Plamondon & Jay Sinha - has excellent easy to use suggestions -recycle any plastic products that were unavoidable to purchase -encourage donations to organizations helping with discontinuation of plastic use -continue to live without plastic -buy wooden toys versus plastic -don't buy bottled water in plastic -don't buy plastic footwear -don't buy plastic purses, wallets, etc. -buy second hand clothing; it will have already off-gassed, and involves no further use of chemicals, energy, in manufacturing more -encourage return to selling beverages in glass bottles and reusing the bottles as done before - will also create jobs to wash/sterilize bottles prior to re-use -find every way possible to avoid use of plastic and find alternatives at home, in hotels, restaurants, airplanes, trains, buses, stores

Make restaurants and businesses more accountable.

There is not even a bin for plastics at McDonald's. Take away containers in Europe in many places are cardboard or paper. There should be a significant charge for a throw away cup.