Skip to main content

How to Reduce Plastic Pollution

Share this:

Because of the Covid-19 pandemic:

  • there has been an unprecedented demand for masks, gloves, and gowns;
  • plastic-free swaps like reusable grocery, produce bags, mugs, and food containers have been banned;
  • the plastics industry is using this moment to stoke fears about reusables and lobby to reverse single-use-plastic legislation;
  •  oil prices have plummeted, making plastic — a petroleum product — cheap to make; 
  • municipalities around the world have curtailed their recycling schemes since it’s cheaper to make virgin plastic;
  • the locked-down masses have been panic-buying, online-shopping, and consuming home deliveries from restaurants in record numbers — adding to plastic pollution. 

What’s a conscious consumer to do? Is it possible to reduce our plastic consumption when we’re in the middle of a deadly pandemic? Can we still aspire to be low-waste or zero-waste (which was already aspirational in the best of times)? Take a listen to this episode for tips on reducing your plastic consumption when it comes to: 

  • Restaurant Take-Out
  • Grocery Shopping
  • Hand Sanitizers
  • Cleaning Products
  • Ordering Online
  • Properly Disposing Plastic Waste

Enjoy some ideas for reducing plastic waste at home and in your own life.

AFFILIATE PARTNERS

Nama Juicer — Use this link and coupon code COLLEEN10 and get 10% off my favorite juicer.

Plaine Products — Use this link and coupon code “compassion” for 15% off my favorite zero waste bath and body products.

Complement — Use this link and coupon code “joyfulvegan” and get 10% off my favorite supplements.


HOW TO LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

  1. Click PLAY on the player above.
  2. Listen and subscribe through Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsStitcherSpotifyiHeart RadioSoundcloud, or wherever you listen to podcasts. 
  3. Subscribe to the RSS feed

Food for Thought Podcast is listener-supported. Please join other supporters by going to Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau and becoming a patron.



Related Posts

My Client is Innocent: The History and Significance of Protecting Animals Under the Law
The first animal anti-cruelty law in the United States was passed in 1867, and though there is much work to be done, much work has been done to pr…
Vegan Travel: Vietnam
Rich in history, sophisticated cuisine, stunning scenery, pulsating cities,  fascinating culture, Vietnam is consistently rated one of the to…
Food and Feasting: The 12 (Vegan) Days of Christmas
First comes fasting, then comes feasting! Whereas the period BEFORE Christmas has historically been about fasting, contemplation, and self-refl…

About Colleen

Hello, and welcome. I’m Colleen, aka The Joyful Vegan, and I’m here to give you the tools and resources you need to eat, cook, travel, and live compassionately and healthfully. 

Donating = Loving

For over twenty years, my work and podcast have remained free (and ad-free) and vibrant thanks to support from listeners, followers, and readers. I have no staff, no interns, and no assistant. What you see (and hear and watch) is a one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has impacted your life in the past year (or the past decades), please consider aiding its sustenance by becoming a patron or by making a one-time donation. Your support makes all the difference.

Favorite Things

Joyful Vegan Messageware

Wear your compassion on your sleeve (or chest or head!) by choosing any number of my message products.