DID you know that only nine per cent of the plastic ever made has been recycled? With most still ending up in landfills or in the natural environment, we need urgent action from individuals to influence the amount of plastic waste produced.

One area where we can use a lot of plastic is the kitchen. As well as recycling plastic washing up bottles, you can refill them – three shops in Wellington do this: Sunseed, Nurtured by Nature and the Blue Pantry. Alternatives are also available for washing up tools, such as wooden dish brushes with tampico fibre bristles from Redecker and konjac sponges.

Lots of natural alternatives exist to cleaning products to cut down on the amount of plastic bottles under the sink, with many books on the subject including Fresh Clean Home by Wendy Graham.

Plastic-free food shopping is a topic that requires its own article. Glass or earthenware jars can be used instead of plastic containers to refill and store food in cupboards and fridges, and although TerraCycle can now recycle McVitie’s biscuit and Walkers crisp packets – collection points at Nurtured by Nature and the Baptist Church – shoppers can do without a lot of plastic wrappers by choosing what they buy and shopping at zero waste shops like The Blue Pantry.

So many reusable products are on sale now to replace single-use plastics, for example coffee cups. Many people think disposable cups are just cardboard but they have a plastic lining that can be recycled at Poole tip. Beeswax wraps are a great alternative to cling film – they look great and work well. Plastic bags can be replaced with reusable bags from KeepLeaf, which can be washed in the dishwasher or washing machine. Plastic straws can be replaced with metal or bamboo alternatives, even with their own plastic-free cleaning tools. If disposable cutlery or plates are needed for a party, use compostable ones, for example, from Little Otter Party Supplies.

As plastic tools or bowls break, replace them with metal, wooden or ceramic alternatives. It is not necessary to throw out something that is still working perfectly well. No doubt you will have some plastic kitchen items for life. Really durable plastic is something to invest in – a silicone spatula will last a lifetime as it won’t ever melt.

Just start small and soon all those changes will add up. We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly, we need millions of people doing it imperfectly.