With research into the effect of plastics on the body bringing up concerning details, such as an increased risk of reproductive problems and cancer, it's understandable that families are looking to keep as much out of the home as they can.
One Redditor has expressed their frustration with finding plastic everywhere they turn, from food items to household appliances and bathroom products.
"Why do I feel like everything is in plastic?" they titled the post on the r/moderatelygranolamoms community page.
"More than half the produce in our grocery stores, wrapped in some kind of plastic," they said. "It feels like unless I'm growing and making everything at home (which is just not something I can accommodate), it's completely unavoidable."
It's a concern shared by many, but avoiding plastic is far easier said than done. Indeed, as the original poster alluded to, some supermarkets unnecessarily wrap fruits and vegetables in plastic — though solutions are being explored to avoid this in the future.
As the OP noted, growing your own fruits and veggies can avoid this issue, but not everyone has the space to cultivate a small-scale produce farm. Growing herbs on a window ledge or potatoes in a deep pot or grow bag, however, are space-efficient solutions for folks with little room to garden.
The OP is also making at least some progress with living a plastic-free life, such as using beeswax wrap instead of plastic wrap and avoiding plastic plates and containers. But they still wanted to do more, which is why they sought the advice of Redditors.
"I find using a stainless steel water bottle and glass Tupperware a pretty easy swap," one Redditor said.
"Would you be able to make your own yogurt?" another suggested. "You can buy yogurt culture that you can use over and over again, and culture the yogurt in your own mason jars."
Both are handy suggestions, though the OP noted the latter would probably rob them of the little time they have.
It's hard to go completely plastic-free, but taking even small steps will help to prevent the material from entering landfills, breaking down into microplastics, and finding their way to water sources — and it might also encourage companies to make progress in offering sustainable alternatives.
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