My plan for the new year is to try and use less plastic.

Many people have been inspired recently after watching Blue Planet 2 which is great, we just need to keep that momentum up and get more people making changes.

I know it’s not always easy, but getting a reusable water bottle and coffee cup is a good way to start. I’ve been using them for a couple of years now but still used to buy bottles of water and have single use coffee cups when I forgot my reusable ones. This year I plan on making the reusables something I don’t leave the house without.

I already have metal straws in my house too, but I need to remember to ask for drinks without a straw when I’m out. Over Christmas I went to a pub and ordered a lemonade, which came with two straws in, totally unnecessary!

The more people that make the changes I’m describing, the better. Seemingly small actions like this can make a huge difference.

Another thing I saw today that spurred me to write this blog was an article in the news that Marks and Spencer are stopping selling some of their products that are ridiculously packaged. I’ve been ranting about products like this since I first saw them on supermarket shelves probably more than a year ago. Who wants to spend £2.50 on a slice of cauliflower wrapped in plastic and marketed as a cauliflower steak. Save yourself some money and the world another pile of plastic waste!

I understand that some people are unable to cut fruit and veg, but the packaging for this is a real problem. Plus it seems that the aim of these products isn’t to help people who are unable to cut veg, it’s to sell them to people following food trends.

These aren’t all even convenience products, some are a joke. Selling a coconut and a straw wrapped in plastic is ludicrous, a coconut comes in natural packaging. You’d be hard pressed to damage it on the way home from the shop, and if you did miraculously smash it up on the way home, some plastic film won’t help.

Hopefully something has inspired you to make changes towards your use of plastic products. Go on, find that reusable coffee cup out of your cupboard, treat yourself to a reusable metal water bottle and say “no straw thanks”!

Read more about the plastic waste problem in this article from the BBC.