INSPIRE Third Edition: June 2020 | Page 8

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Saying Goodbye to Single-use Plastic

By Charlie's chapter

Charlie is a food lover, fitness fan and passionate environmentalist based in Cardiff. Her love of nature stemmed from a childhood in the English countryside, before moving to Wales in 2012 to study Physical Geography at University. Since then, she has been working in the water sector for several years and began her blog as a creative outlet, which aims to support local businesses and promote sustainable lifestyle choices.

The Problem

Plastic’s popularity started in the 1960s and the eagle-eyed among us noted its inherent issues many moons ago. But for the majority, it wasn’t until Blue Planet 2 hit our screens that we became painfully aware of the real problems and the severe consequences for our environment. Declining wildlife, microplastics in seafood, littered landscapes and polluted ecosystems are everywhere. This sparked the “Blue Planet effect”, a ripple which has run through society and forced us to look at what we use, how we use it, how it's disposed of and demand change.

The problem is, it’s hard. There’s plastic associated with most things we use regularly, so picking a time and place to start reducing our own consumption habits can be tricky. That’s why I started my Saying Goodbye to Single-use Plastic blog series back in 2018 to document my plastic free journey, the successes and the failures, in the hopes of inspiring others to do the same.

Why do we have to change, not the system? Well unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. If we want change we have to ask for it; markets respond to what consumers want. That’s why things like bamboo toothbrushes and lunchboxes have made an appearance in even the smallest of supermarkets. Because we asked. There’s still a long way to go to rectify this globally, many critics will blame developing countries with corrupt governments and little-to-no waste regulation; however, if we focus on what we can control and strive to lead the way for others that’s what will make a collective difference.