I got sick of washing up my cats dinner plate every night (I don't run my dishwasher every day so the things i use daily need to be washed by hand). I retired some old rice bowls to be used for this purpose instead of buying a new item. It feels great to be avoiding an unnecessary purchase and to give a use to something that would otherwise be collecting dust.

It was mind blowing for me to learn that we have had 'biodegradable' plastic bags since long before i was born, and we still get fooled by this marketing.
The war on waste and plastic in particular seems like a new thing sometimes, but it seems we have been aware of the impact of plastic waste for such along time. It makes me wonder how after all this time, plastic is still such an issue for us, and why so many of us still don't care.

My biggest concern is that the 'sustainable switches' I make fix one problem by creating another. (eg. I switched out animal proteins for plant proteins and learnt about the impact of soy farming on the amazon. Or switching to an EV and learning about what lithium mining for EV batteries is doing to communities and environments around the world). My biggest concern is that I have done something with good intentions and created more issues. I think the answer is to research extensively before making any switches or decisions.

I learned that bioplastics aren't necessarily better- the best option is to avoid plastic altogether.

It is crazy that the invention of plastic was spurred by billiard balls. While it is good that innovations away from ivory reduced elephant poaching, it is very sad that it has lead to such a destructive material. It is important for us to remember when considering new environmental innovations that we don't lean on alternatives that are equally or more damaging to the environment in the long run.

I have started collecting any bottles or jars to be reused to be travel friendly. I recently switched out my liquid body wash for a bar of soap, and it has revealed to me how much less space it takes. I will continue to bring my bar soaps and fill up jars/bottles I have with shampoo and conditioner to avoid having to buy any more. I think I will keep doing this from here on.

I learned about how plastic has health impacts for humans. I also learned about the negative impacts for the environment, and something that I've never heard of before, 'cracker plants'. I had no idea that most plastic manufactured goes towards single-use containers, and I also didn't realise that only 9% of plastic gets recycled.

I never thought to look into the history of plastic and am surprised by how rapidly it was produced and how much it has been introduced in our day to day life. From aiming to replace billard balls to being used in fabrics for clothing... it has really taken over. The fabricated demand and marketing behind single use plastic items, such as bottle water has damaging effects on our environment and society. Learning about the history of single-use plastic is going to make me think twice before purchasing, or to find alternatives.

It hasn't changed our day-to-day routine too much, just with the additional task of removing and cleaning the filter

Natural fibres break down much more easily than synthetic fibres, plus they don't require plastic materials/by products to be created.