Popping Pills That Could Save The Planet

Over the past decade, globally, many countries’ households have improved remarkably concerning eco-sensibility. The issue created by climate change and the need for sustainability has been ramped up thanks to movements to educate mass consumers. Although, there is still lots of room for improvement.

Plastic is one of the biggest polluters on Earth and is made to last hundreds of years. Plastic creates greenhouse gases, which have considerably contributed to global warming and climate change. Over time, the degrading of plastic has been poorly-regulated, polluting our seas and oceans and negatively impacting developing nations, creating health threats to humans and the environment.

Our oceans provide us the largest natural carbon sink of greenhouse gases on the planet, and plastic is directly responsible, because chokes and smothers marine life. The sunlight and heat cause plastics to release powerful and harmful greenhouse gases. This bad news, as out planet gets warmer the plastic breaks down into methane and ethylene which increase the amount of climate change.

The UK currently uses 13 billion plastic bottles per year. Unfortunately, only 7.5 of these bottles are recycled, a very small portion in consideration to how much is used. The remaining bottles are taken to landfill, incarcerated or littered across the country. With this in mind, here a look at a few small changes you can make in the products you use to help increase sustainability.

Blueland

Most household cleaning solutions are stored at one time used plastic bottles. Although many brands have tried their very best to successfully create a formula that does not need a plastic bottle, very few have succeeded, until now. Blueland has created stylish dissolvable capsules along with glass refill bottles. Their foaming hand soap, glass and bathroom multi-purpose cleaners are sold in a tablet form.

The tables contain no volatile organic compounds, parabens or phthalates. They are also 300 times slighter and are considerably smaller than traditional packaging. Using the capsules also eliminates the need for single use plastics.

OceanHero

OceanHero pays for the collection of ocean-bound plastic.

The plastic that pollutes our oceans comes mainly from countries where people live in extreme poverty and near rivers or oceans.

When people live in extreme poverty, their main goal isn’t recycling. This is the reason why OceanHero along with PlasticBank pays people in need to recover ocean-bound plastic.

People living near rivers and oceans are paid to collect ocean-bound plastic, image source: unsplash.com

Brushd Toothbrushes and Tablets

Sometimes we don’t consider the recyclability of the products that we use everyday. Some products are easy to spot like plastic bottles and some are less like toothbrushes. We never consider that most of our toothbrushes are made of plastic. Brushd is a British designed toothbrush that is entirely made out of biodegradable bamboo.

Recycling it is simple and can be done by popping it into your computer when the toothbrush is worn out. The brand also sells toothpaste tablets which again helps to reduce the amount of plastic used. The tablets are vegan friendly and are made in the UK. Customers can choose between a fluoride or non fluoride tablet, they work by chewing them to get the paste action.

ByHumankind Mouthwash

Thinking about one time plastic use again, ByHumankind have created mouthwash tablets that are made of all natural ingredients. The tablets are available in lemon, ginger and peppermint and include grape based tartaric acid that help to naturally balance the pH levels in our mouths.

The product comes with a glass that holds enough water for one tablet. A silicone tablet holder which sits in the glass makes the product ideal for travelling sand light packing. The brand claims that by using their product and refilling the glass consumers will save 8g of single-use plastic. The tablets are also shipped in a compostable pouch, leaving no trace behind.

Although there many more products on the market, thinking about how we use plastic has to be one the biggest concerns going into the new decade. The use of plastic has already affected our planet and impacted the marine life in many ways.

Small steps that we take can have big changes as a whole. There are also many smartphone apps that can help you calculate how to best recycle your plastics as well as helping you think about how you use plastic in your daily life.

Conclusion

Many local shops have also begun to sell refillable household items such as laundry solutions and hand wash liquids. What this means is instead of buying a new bottle you can take your old bottle and refill it multiple times.