“Plastic Free July” is a global movement aiming at encouraging consumers to reduce the use of plastic and hence help in the restoration of environmental balance. Here are some ways you can be part of this movement, in your daily life throughout the year:

 Use non-plastic containers
Carry a reusable water bottle and travel mug wherever you go. Pack your lunch in glass or stainless steel containers, cloth sandwich bags etc. Also when you go shopping for fruit and vegetables, carry with you mesh bags to store then as these can be easily washed and most importantly you won’t have to use plastic bags.

Go for bamboo
Items made from bamboo can be found in Cyprus for example cutlery, toothbrushes, earbuds and of course straws. Bamboo is easily biodegradable, is hypoallergenic so good to use with your small children and of course, it is a great plant, as it naturally regenerates easily and it absorbs twice as much CO2 than trees.

Avoid bottled water
Tap water in Cyprus is not of the best quality, so it is inevitable that most of us buy bottled water. However, although plastic bottles are recyclable it’s best to avoid them as much as we can. We can do so by installing a filter system under our kitchen sink, or use a water pitcher with a filtering device and so on.

Shop in bulk
The more items you can buy in bulk, the more you’ll save in packaging. You’ll save money in food costs and in the fuel used for extra car trips to the store. For example, search for items such as large wheels of cheese, cuts of charcuterie, without any plastic packaging, and stock up on those whenever possible.

Buy refills
Rather than buying a new product each time, start buying refills for your cleaning supplies. If you use one spray bottle a month then that’s 12 spray heads a year that you don’t need. Reuse your spray head wherever possible. This also applies to laundry detergents and fabric softeners. Always refill rather than chuck it away.

Use recyclable bags
Since the law in Cyprus of the ban of plastic shopping bags has been implemented, there was a great shift towards the use of recyclable bags. In case you don’t have one, next time you visit one of METRO supermarkets buy a couple of METRO Earth-Friendly Shopping Bags!