–In today\’s world, there are obvious problems with the excess amount of plastic and its disposal. Islands made of plastic are forming in the ocean, destroying marine life. What can we as individuals do to change this situation? There are several habits that can help.

–The first one is to think about what we buy and its packaging. If it is a necessity, we can often find alternatives with minimal or no packaging at all. For example, fruits, vegetables, and baked goods are easiest to buy without packaging. Simply buy a canvas bag and fill it with the necessary ingredients. Bags can be sewn at home or bought at the supermarket, in which case they must be properly labeled. The habit of taking my own cloth bags to the supermarket instead of disposable plastic bags is the easiest thing anyone can do. This habit can also be easily encouraged by changing my mindset. In other words, when I head out shopping, I only go in if there is food to put in. If I have to buy something in a plastic bag, I just don\’t go shopping. It\’s easy, and I myself got used to it after a while.

–Another way you can help reduce excessive waste when shopping is to buy directly from markets and local growers and producers. With these suppliers, nothing is unnecessarily packaged, and furthermore, the cost of importation is saved. In fact, most of our country\’s food is imported, which is also not something we should encourage too much. Therefore,

–the most ideal is to buy from local producers and carry your own grocery bags. Shopping without packaging is also promoted at certain stores where you can shop completely trash-free, such as reusable bottles.
It makes sense and costs less.