Ten ways to cut down on plastic that will save you cash as well
BEING green doesn't have to be more expensive and sometimes it can even save you money.
More people are getting fed up with businesses selling products with unnecessary plastic packing.
And thankfully the tide seems to be turning against plastic with nearly 60 top firms agreeing to get rid of single use plastic bags.
So why not make a bit of money while doing your bit for the environment.
Here are our 10 top tips on how to reduce the amount of plastic you use and save you money.
has a longer list if you need more, but here are a few to get you started.
1. Supermarkets will pay you for your plastic bags
You can do more with your plastic bags than just recycle them - you can even make money by handing them back.
If you buy your shop online with either Morrisons or Ocado they will actually pay you for your plastic bags.
Both supermarkets will give you 5p for every single use plastic bag you hand to the delivery driver when your order arrives.
You won't get cash but Morrisons will deduct the funds from your next order, while Ocado take away the money from your current order.
Morrisons will only accept their own plastic bags thought but Ocado will take bags from any supermarket.
2. Replace your bags for life for free
Tesco, Sainsbury's or Co-op will offer to replace your bag for life at no extra cost if it is damaged or broken.
Normally, the bags cost 10p each, apart from Sainsbury's who sell a smaller reusable bags for 5p.
If you want to know which bag for life will last the longest here is the strongest bag for life, and it can hold the same weight as a German Shepard.
3. Get money off your hot drink with a reusable cup
Here are all the places you can get a discount when using a reusable cup:
Pret A Manger will give you 50p off any hot drink if you bring along your reusable cup.
Starbucks, Costa, Paul and Greggs will all give you 25p off hot drinks when you don't use a single use plastic cup, the same deal applies to cold drinks in Costa and Starbuck.
The only catch at Costa is that the drink has to be made by a member of staff, so you can't pour a can of something into your reusable cup.
Caffe Nero won't give you discount for using a reusable cup, but you will be given double stamps on your loyalty card.
4. Shop around for packaging free fruit and veg
It can require a bit of shopping around but fruit and veg without plastic packaging can sometimes be cheaper than the packaged versions.
An investigation by MSE found that it was 5p cheaper to buy three loose onions in Asda rather than the 50p packaged ones.
Tesco's loose carrots cost 60p a kg but a 700g of packaged pack for £1, which works out that it's 83p cheaper per kilogram when you go plastic free.
But it's not always cheaper. On average they found that it can cost shoppers 54 per cent more to buy loose veg.
5. Refill your water bottle for free
Holding onto your water bottle rather than chucking it away could save you cash.
It costs around 50p to buy a bottle of still water, but many places, like Costa a Premier Inn, now offer to refill yours for free.
By downloading the Refill app you can find somewhere that will refill your water bottle for free at more than 1600 locations across the UK.
Morrisons also plan to put free water fountains in all their newly built supermarkets, but as they are only building one store this year it might be a while before this becomes really useful.
Soon shoppers will pay an extra charge for every single use plastic bottle or aluminium can they buy.
The charges come as part of a plastic bottle deposit scheme which will also give shoppers their money back when they hand back the finished bottles to the shop they bought it from.
This government scheme could start as early as spring next year, so it is good to get in the habit of not buying plastic bottles before you have to pay an extra charge.
Here's how to cut the cost of your grocery shop
SAVING on your shop can make a big difference to your wallet. Here are some tips from Hannah Maundrell, editor of Money.co.uk, about how you can cut the cost of your shopping bills:
- Write yourself a list – Only buy items that you need. If it isn’t on your list, don’t put it in the trolley
- Create a budget – Work out a weekly budget for your food shopping
- Never shop hungry – you are far more likely to buy more food if your tummy is rumbling
- Don’t buy pre-chopped veggies or fruit – The extra they’ll charge for chopping can be eye watering
- Use social media – follow your favourite retailers to find out about the latest deals
- Be disloyal – You may want to go to different stores to find the best bargains
- Check the small print – It’s always worth checking the price per kg/lb/litre when comparing offers so you’re making a like for like decision as a bigger box won’t necessarily mean you get more
- Use your loyalty cards – Don’t be afraid to sign up to them all. They all work slightly differently – work out what bonus suits you better and remember to trade in your points for additional rewards
6. Refill your coffee and spices for cheap
Buying refills and decanting them into reusable packaging will save you money.
Obviously it isn't going to be completely plastic free as the refills will often come in plastic packaging.
But, if you are buying coffee granules for example it is better not to be buying the big rigid plastic containers every time you buy your coffee.
Asda sell a 150g refill pack of Nescafe Gold Blend for £4.50 and a 200g plastic container of the same coffee for £7.49, the refill is cheaper by 75p per 100g of coffee.
A normal 11g shaker of Schwarz thyme costs £1.50 from Tesco, but a refill pack of two 11g sachets of the herb costs £1.45. That is better than half price.
7. Switch your shower gel for a bar of soap
This one is a bit of a no brainer as a bar of soap will last you longer than a bottle of shower gel and they're usually a fair bit cheaper.
Morrisons sell four bars of Simple soap for £2.50 or you can buy a 500ml bottle of Simple shower gel for £3.
Shower gels full of microbeads can be particularly damaging to the environment so it's best to avoid those ones before they're banned from July this year.
8. Make your own
Okay, you need to put in some effort for this one, but it really can save you money.
You can buy a bag of flour for around £1, and with it you can usually make around three loaves of bread - but of course you'll need to factor in other ingredients like yeast too.
You'll easily make your money back once you've made a few and you can even make your own soaps and toothpastes aswell.
More on money
9. Don't chuck it out, reuse it
Here are some supermarket purchases that you can reuse for other purposes.
Yoghurt pots and other small plastic pots can be used to start growing fruit and veg from seed before moving them to your garden.
Jars with plastic lids don't need to be thrown away and can be used to put refills of herbs and spices in, or to hold nails, screws, bolts etc
You can reuse the mesh bags that come with packs of onion and garlic or other fruit and next time you go to the shops.
10. Buy in bulk
Buying larger packs is often cheaper than buying several small packs - plus you'll be using less packaging.
So it really pays off to buy essentials like washing powder, toilet roll, washing-up liquid, kitchen roll, batteries, canned foods and rice in bulk.
For instance buying a 96 pack of Pampers new baby nappies from Morrisons costs 8p per nappy, while buying a 44 pack costs 11p per nappy.
Here are 15 more tips on how to ditch plastic and save our oceans.
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