Do you know how much plastic you use every day?
We've started The Plastic Diaries to help us track how plastic has crept into our lives and make us more aware of what we;re using, and look for alternatives to every day plastic items. We'd also like to see what your own experience of plastic is like, and we welcome you to join us with keeping a diary. If you're interetsed, please take a look below and get in touch with us!
Beach clean
DIY toothbrushing - without plastic.
Jiesiang's first plastic diary
Get involved with our plastic diaries.
Do your own Plastic Diary!
It's a great, simple way you can get involved in reducing plastic and working towards a cleaner planet and a more sustainable lifestyle for you. There are no real rules about how you do it, but we've got some rough guidelines below to help you out. Questions? Ideas? Just drop us a line!
The aim is to review how much plastic you use in everyday life and look for ways to reduce it, especially with more sustainable alternatives other people could apply to their own lives.
Step One: Pick an average day and, from when you wake up to when you go to bed, keep track of what items you use through the day that are made of (or are partially made of) plastic. If you use one item more than once thorughout the day, like a plastic bottle, record each time you use it. Make sure you take some photos, and include any reflections or thoughts you'd like.
Step Two: Get in touch with us! You can directly email us your diary (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) or drop us a message on Facebook or Twitter and we'll help you get your diary up on our website.
Step Three: Over the next month or so, think about ways you can reduce the plastic you use and try putting it into action. If you want, you can do a diary about the changes you're trying to make - or any other reflections, research, challenges or moments of enlightenment you have. Ideas for more sustainable and practical alternatives are especially welcome!
Step Four: Do your next diary about a month on from the first one to update on any changes you've made and what they are, particularly where you've found alternatives to plastic items. Tell us about your challenges and successes!
Suggested structure
You're welcome to set up your diary however you like, but if you're stuck for ideas you could try the following basic format:
Your first diary
- Intro - A little bit about you, where you are, and any thoughts you might have initially.
- Recording - Break your day up into time periods (like breakfast to morning tea, morning tea to lunch, and so on) and list every item you use that has an element of plastic to it. If you use one item more than once in a day, like your shoes or a plastic bottle, you can count it twice.
- Photos - Take photos of the plastic you use as you go, and include them in the time segements.
- Grand total - Total up how many times you've used plastic throughout your day.
- Reflections - Got any thoughts about changes you could easily make, what's going to be difficult, or where you might start looking for ways to make changes? Write it down!
Diary after you've made some changes
- Intro - What kind of changes have you made? How challenging or easy did you find it?
- Recording - Using time periods, list all the items of plastic you use - and if it's an alternative, tell us what you've used this time instead.
- Photos - Take some more photos!
- Grand total - Total up how many times you've used plastic throughout your day - and compare it to your previous total.
- Reflections and resources - Put more info here about making changes. If you found any useful resources, like wesbites or books, include the links. It could be a useful resource for others trying to reduce plastic in their own lives.
Scottish Charity: SCO46819