Friends

For the love of oceans, let’s act now

While many of our New Year’s resolutions may not last, our imprint on the ocean will. Here are a few ways you can reduce your impact on the ocean and ultimately, on the planet itself.

1. You can recycle

Recycling is important in today’s world if we want to leave this planet for our future generations. The great thing about glass packaging is that it can be recycled and remelted into new glass over and over again – usually to make new bottles and jars. Glass produced from recycled glass reduces related air pollution by 20% and related water pollution by 50%. Glass is never rubbish – it’s a valuable resource.

2. Choose sustainable packaging alternatives

Wherever you live, the easiest and most direct way to reduce your impact on the ocean is by reducing your own use of single-use plastics. Single-use plastic straws are not just unnecessary but are in the top ten items found on beaches and are a hazard to sea creatures.

There is always a more sustainable alternative for your food and drinks – such as glass! Glass is a non-toxic material based on natural ingredients (sand, soda ash, limestone) and doesn’t release any chemicals into your food products. When recycled, glass is one way to help reduce pollution and waste.

Have you heard of Blisshaus? They make it easy for you to cut down on trips to the grocery store, throw out less food, and eliminate packaging waste. And they use glass!

3. Take on a positive challenge

Simply spend just two minutes doing a litter pick down on the beach, or if you can’t get to a beach then a litter pick anywhere will help to improve your environment. You can even document your efforts online using #2MinuteBeachClean and share your efforts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

If Blue Planet II has recently inspired you to help our oceans, check out some links and information on the issues our oceans face and how small changes you can make really can make a difference.

10 things you might not know about recycling

There’s no denying that recycling is having a moment right now: images of marine litter are a constant on our TV screens thanks to series like Blue Planet, ‘buy-in-bulk’ retail outlets and circular living shops are popping up in cities across Europe, and #ZeroWaste influencers are all over our Instagram timelines.

Tips to cut your waste – with the help of glass

We've all seen the images of waste building up on our planet and polluting our oceans - and we can all play our own small part in making a difference to our planet's health. Did you know there are several small, simple steps you can take to make a difference, even in a world that's constantly on the go? Read on...  

Friends of Glass support Recycle Week

It’s that time of year again as we celebrate recycling with Recycle Week and both Friends of Glass and British Glass are delighted to be supporting the campaign yet again.