Reduce
Guides
- Everyday Plastic has provided this excellent guide: 52 Ways to Reduce Your Plastic.
- City to Sea's Plastic Free Living guide.
- Jen Gale's Sustainable(ish).
- Friends of the Earth's 'Living Without Plastic'.
- One Green Planet's '10 Life Hacks to Help You Cut Plastic Out The Picture'
Challenges
- Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's Waste Free February
- Plastic Free July
Businesses
- The Banking on Climate Chaos report shows that high street banks are funding fossil fuels. One of the most powerful things we can do to reduce plastic production and deal with ecological crisis is by using ethical banks, building societies, and investments instead. Learn more with Ethical Consumer.
- Ask businesses to to reduce plastic use. For deliveries, ask to receive items in sustainable packaging such as brown paper, paper tape, string, cardboard, and reused materials. See these helpful guides on sustainable alternatives to plastic tape / sellotape and plastic packaging.
- Support businesses offering plastic-free options. For example, Swindon's Refill / zero waste champions or an online business such as Peace With The Wild.
- The PlasticFreeFuture app shows whether there are microplastics in products.
- There are many good reasons to avoid Amazon, including that they won't share information about their plastic usage. Instead, buy from a socially and environmentally responsible business such as Bookshop.org or Ethical Shop.
- Give businesses their plastic back.
- Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's Real Nappy Network aims to help reduce the 8 million nappies that are thrown away each day. The scheme is good for the environment and good financially, with estimated savings of up to £500 per child.
Packaging
- Support the Refill scheme. Carry a reusable water bottle and food container. Use the Refill app, our local stations list, or look out for Refill stickers to find local Refill stations.
- Take a reusable bag(s) when shopping rather than asking for a plastic bag.
- Does a spud need another jacket? Buy wholefoods locally or from a market.
- Grow your own food. If you have no space to grow, you could get involved with a local growers' group or apply for an allotment.
- When is a treat not a treat? Crisps, sweets, and biscuits rot our teeth and make us fat. The wrappers add to plastic waste. Bags and bags and bags....
- Make your own products. There are a huge number of resources available on the internet.
- Use compostable carrier and dog poo bags. Don't mix them up!
- Vehicle tires shed enormous numbers of microplastics. Vehicles consist of many plastics, many of which are not reused or recycled. Reduce this plastic pollution by using more sustainable means of transport such as public transport, cycling, and walking.
Lend / Hire
- Join your local library.
- Hire from Swindon's Library of Things.
- Poppins is an app to facilitate the lending and borrowing of items.
- Join or start a toy library.
- Borrow rather than buy, from a friend, family member, neighbour...
Represent
- Contact your local MP. Ask them to implement strong legislation.
- Sign and share petitions.
- Share information with friends and family. Encourage them to make changes.
- Find a positive aspect to tackle plastic pollution such as creating a blog, making some art, handing out leaflets... The list's as long as your imagination.
- Get involved with Plastic Free Swindon! Check out our voluntary roles.
Reuse
Second Hand
- Take unwanted things that can be reused to a charity shop.
- Give and get stuff for free on Freecycle and Freegle.
- "Find what you need and share what you don't with local people" by using Olio.
- Buy from a clothes fair such as Lou Lou's Vintage Fair.
- Go to a car boot sale.
- Use alternatives to fast fashion.
Create
- Upcycle Swindon is a charity who receive donations and upcycle them. They provide skills for young and vulnerable people to help them into work.
- Join a local art group who reuse materials such as Artsite or Ipsum.
- Make ecobricks, building blocks made from reused plastic-filled bottles.
- There are a huge amount of online resources for upcycling all kinds of items. Pinterest, for example.
Repair
- How well designed is a product? Is it repairable? Will it last? Are parts available? If so, are they affordable? The Fairphone is a great example of a product which is easily repaired due to its modular design. This saves resources and money.
- Renew Swindon are an organisation who refurbish and repair, teaching valuable skills, and providing a friendly space to commune. It includes The Shed in Penhill, which is open to all, part of the UK Men's Shed Association.
- Repair Cafes have sprung up around the world in the last few years. Items are repaired for free with demonstrations so that people learn and pass on new skills. Swindon is blessed with a Repair Cafe and Free Shop, a very popular community event with local live music, food and a good atmosphere. Interestingly, the free shop in Swindon came about, in part, because of Food Not Bombs.
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Use a local repair service for all kinds of goods. Some examples:
- Electrical: Grace Electrical.
- Computers: SP Computers, Help Me IT, Computerhub.
- Shoes: Vince Ayris, Gorse Hill Shoe Repairs.
- Watches / clocks: Deacons, Iles Jewellers.
- ...and so many more!
- "iFixit is a global community of people helping each other repair things. Let's fix the world, one device at a time." Includes manuals, guides, parts, and tools. Plenty of other repair tutorials out there!
- Find places to repair electricals with Recycle Your Electricals.
- Software obsolescence is responsible for a huge amount of WEEE waste and (plastic) pollution. One solution is to use free / libre software instead of proprietary software. For example, GNU / Linux can be used as an alternative operating system for computers. See Help Me IT for more details.
- Fixits can be used to repair many kinds of items. They can be easily reused and are made of a compostable material. "Repair your broken things and save money by not having to buy a replacement. Kinder to your bank balance and to the planet."
- There are local craft groups to learn and hone skills such as Knit and Natter and Swindon Big Knit.
- Swindon Makerspace has excellent facilities to repair all kinds of items.
Recycle
- Swindon Borough Council have a Waste Wizard and recycling guide.
- Recycle Your Electricals shows where electrical items can be recycled locally.
- Here's a guide to understand recycling symbols.
- Blister packs can be recycled at Boots in Great Western Hospital.
- Wiltshire Air Ambulance work with Terracycle to recycle commonly used types of plastic packaging.