From plastic straws to party food and virgin-plastic cups to cutlery, we’re aiming to reduce rubbish during The 2018 World Cup.
The competition historically generates a national boost in spending, and supermarkets are already well-stocked with everything spectators and fans will need while they enjoy watching their teams compete.
The volume of solid waste generated by world cities is expected to increase to 2.2 billion tonnes per year by 2025, and it’s our goal to encourage football fans to try and reduce the amount of rubbish they produce this summer.
We’ve ranked every nation by the amount of waste they produce here – and as usual, England doesn’t do very well!
Here’s a few ways you can enjoy this year’s World Cup, all while doing your bit to re-use, recycle and keep plastic out of the ocean and our landfills.
When stocking up on snacks for your party guests, try to go for homemade treats, rather than buying heavily-packaged items from the supermarkets.
However if you’re in a rush and you’re bulk-buying for a BBQ, try to purchase products that come in plastic-free or recyclable packaging.
Cut down further on waste by taking your own containers and bags to your local shops and asking them to put your purchases in them instead of throwaway carriers.
Apart from plastic bottles, disposable dinnerware can be the biggest culprit for creating unnecessary waste. For family gatherings and smaller parties, your usual crockery might be the greenest option, but if you’re looking for something disposable, try to choose biodegradable materials.
You could even look at natural options to serve food, such as dishing out sweet treats in hollowed out fruit like oranges or pineapple, adding tasty fillings to lettuce leaves and putting dips in edible tortilla bowls.
Our worldwide consumption of single-use plastic straws has a colossal impact on our environment. They take up to 200 years to decompose, and they can’t be recycled in most places.
Last month the EU announced that they plan to completely ban plastic straws by 2019, but until then, they’ll be available all over Europe.
Try to ditch the straws entirely, or look at alternatives, such as paper or reusable stainless steel.
If you’re lucky enough to have food left over at the end of a party or BBQ, keep it fresh with plastic-free wrap.
Reusable solutions such as beeswax wraps, bowl covers and glass jars are becoming increasingly popular for eco-friendly food storage, and are available in a surprising number of supermarkets and health food shops.
Single-use plastic isn’t eco-friendly, but sometimes it’s the only option. If you can’t find any alternatives, try to recycle any plastic you do have to use.
Do a bit of research on your local recycling centres and you might be surprised about what you don’t have to simply throw away.
For all of your re-usable goodies, don’t forget to thoroughly wash them between uses. Our Washing-up Liquid is perfect for removing dirt and germs from your eco-friendly straws, jars and bowl covers. Plus, we’re the only eco-friendly cleaning company to pass all the tests for use in professional kitchens!
