Today, Wednesday 8th June, marks the annual World Oceans Day 2022 event. Officially hosted by the United Nations for Ocean Affairs, the theme this year is ‘Revitalisation’ and encourages us to turn our attention to the scourge of plastic pollution in our oceans. Findings from the International Union for Conservation revealed that at least 14 million tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean every year, with micro-plastics comprising 80% of all marine debris – with single-use plastic being one of the largest perpetrators.
Sustainable platform Save Money Cut Carbon, has outlined the easy and simple ways humans can reduce their plastic usage daily, and even offers sustainable alternatives that can easily replace plastic at home https://www.savemoneycutcarbon.com/
Reusable Bamboo Makeup Remover Pads
Single-use wipes are made from non-biodegradable materials such as polypropylene that pollute the environment. Save Money Cut Carbon, recommends using Bamboo Makeup Remover Pads. Made from a combination of bamboo and cotton, they are soft and durable and can be rewashed and used again and again.
Food Covers over Cling Film
Cling film is one of the biggest perpetrators of plastic pollution and is widely used with 1.2 billion metres of single-use cling film used by households across Britain every year. It takes 450 years to decompose HDPE through landfills. Save Money Cut Carbon as an alternative recommends their reusable, BPA free, food-grade silicone food covers – Non-Plastic Beach BOLL**KS to cling film. These reusable stretch lids for containers are designed to replace single-use plastic clingfilm, reducing not only your plastic waste but also food waste. They help preserve your food in almost any container and come in a range of 6 sizes.
Reuse your plastic bottles
We’ve all heard of Reuse, Reduce, Recycle – the simple rule that many of us use when trying to live sustainably. Rather than chucking out your bottles try them as a watering can for your plants or refill them with a new purpose, with your favourite shampoo perhaps. For more fun, Save Money Cut Carbon suggests transforming them into bird feeders. And remember, each time a plastic item is recycled, extra plastic is added to ensure durability (each piece of plastic can only be recycled two to three times), so try to reuse an item multiple times before recycling it.
SEA LIFE BEACH Clean-up
Global marine conservation charity, SEA LIFE Trust announced its biggest clean-up mission yet – a 24hr beach clean event.
As such, volunteers who take part in the beach clean across the UK and the world will be encouraged to spread this message across social media platforms; sharing their best ‘Global Beach Clean’ pictures with the hashtag #GlobalBeachClean to help raise awareness of the dangers pollution has within our waters and to our sea creatures.
Due to ongoing issues with plastic and contamination, the need for events such as the Global Beach Clean is crucial in creating a safer environment for sea creatures to exist in.
It is estimated that 8 million tons of plastic waste enter the world’s oceans each year and that by 2050, these waters could have more plastic than fish. Of all the plastic that has ever entered the ocean, it is estimated that just 1% is floating on the surface, whilst the rest sits below on the seabed or in the stomachs of marine animals.
Graham McGrath, the Head of SEA LIFE Trust, said: “Most of the littered plastic waste worldwide ultimately ends up at sea. The litter washing up on our local shores is not just unpleasant to look at; it also harms and kills our precious wildlife. Hundreds of species of marine wildlife including seals, seabirds, turtles and whales have mistaken marine litter for food resulting in starvation, poisoning and fatal stomach blockages.”
Lupe Technology aimING to help combat appliance waste
Lupe Technology’s aim is to help its customers combat their appliance waste, having discovered in 2021 that white goods make up almost half of all electrical goods thrown away. The data showed that the average household goes through 15 vacuum cleaners in their lifetime. Their new analysis has found that 60% of Brits agree that domestic appliance brands do not do enough to educate the public on how sustainable their products are.
Founded and engineered by two former Dyson engineers, the Lupe Pure Cordless is designed to be a cordless upright vacuum-cleaner for life, that can be easily repaired without costing the earth. Lupe Technology is well aware of the cost that comes from creating new products. Production of plastics contributed to more than 850 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere in 2019, with reports showing that white goods make up almost half of all electrical goods thrown away. Lupe Technology is also very aware of the carbon footprint mass consumer household appliances have and are the only vacuum cleaner brand committed to offsetting the carbon for each model sold, with the aim of becoming carbon negative during 2023.
To instigate greater sustainability and divert single-use plastic away from landfills, innovative tech start-up Lupe Technology is taking on the challenge to design hardware and domestic appliances that can be easily replaceable, and not discarded. The Pure Cordless is crafted from recyclable plastic and delivers high performance whilst far outliving the expected shelf-life for typical household appliances. https://uk.lupetechnology.com/
DITCH SINGLE-USE PLASTIC
Tap water isn’t as appealing as we all wish, that is until Zerowater came along. Now you can save money and help reduce single-use plastic waster by drinking tap water. Zerowater is a premium filter and reduces 99.6% of all total dissolved solids that are found in your drinking water. It delivers the purest tasting water in minutes. So good you can see straight through, no more limescale and other pollutants. Zerowater removes twice as many solids from tap water as leading filter brands in the UK. https://zerowater.co.uk
