update: Reusables to avoid plastic waste: a brief guide
Plastic is used everywhere, for everything. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, many of these products come wrapped in unnecessary plastic packaging that all too often ends up in our streets, oceans, or landfill sites when it can’t be recycled.
Reusable packaging and containers are central to a circular economy for plastic because it helps to eliminate waste and plastic pollution by replacing single-use items with longer lasting alternatives.
Opting for reusable alternatives to plastic is not only better for the environment, it’s also better for our health. Recycling has proven not to be a sustainable solution to combat plastic pollution, as it is expensive, energy-intensive, and requires specific infrastructure.
Additionally, many studies have found associations between plastic exposure and adverse health effects, including certain cancers and endocrine disruption.
Subscribe to our fortnightly newsletter
Get our top stories straight to your inbox every two weeks and stay informed about plastic pollution!
What makes reusable containers particularly useful is that they can be filled with anything, rinsed, and used again. Many food products already come in reusable containers, for example, jam, pesto, and pickles, so they can be washed and reused to store other items.
switching to a more sustainable option requires no extra effort at all.
Some examples of alternatives to plastic containers include:
Glass or stainless-steel coffee cups and water bottles
Fabric shopping bags
Beeswax food wraps
Mesh produce bags
One well-known reusable system is the deposit-return system in Germany, where citizens pay a deposit for the bottle they have purchased that is refunded once they return it. As of May 2026, they have achieved a 98% return rate on eligible single-use drink containers – a clear demonstration of how effective these programmes can be.
That said, plastic remains less durable than materials like glass and cannot be reused as many times. So while the deposit-return schemes are a step in the right direction, non-plastic reusable containers are the better long-term choice.
+++++++++++++++++
For more information contact: info@scarabtrust.org.uk
Image: TurnOffThePlasticTap - Image by Von Wong - (ST ref: 1310)
ID 250310-F
Comments