Look around you – how many of the things you do every day generate rubbish? Refusing is the best way to help prevent waste in the first place.
Saying ‘No’ to takeaway cups, plastic bags and other unnecessary packaging is a powerful choice. You are pushing away waste which is being pushed on you, most of which is not recyclable – you only want the product, not the silly packaging.
What can I refuse?
1
Plastic Bags
When a plastic bag blowing around on the beach ends up in the ocean, it often ends up killing the sea life. It’s easy to bring your own bag to the shops – you can even make your own tote bag with a cool old t-shirt!
2
Single-Use Plastics
It’s easy to say no to a plastic items that cannot be recycled. Let’s make sure single use plastic and other non-recyclable items do not end up in the ocean where they can be harmful to marine life.
3
Unwanted packaging
So many products we buy come in too much packaging. Look closely at how things are packaged and skip anything unnecessarily wrapped in plastic, such as shrink-wrapped veggies at the grocery store.
Did you know…
- Only 14% of the world’s plastic packaging is collected for recycling.
- Most of the plastic we use can’t be recycled at all.
- If we don’t change our habits, 30 years from now there will be more plastic by weight in the ocean than fish.
