UK couple points way to lifestyle transformation

A couple in the United Kingdom has almost ruled out the use of plastic for the past six years.

Claudia Williams and her husband Peter from Stroud, western England, decided to stop buying plastic after swimming in polluted waters off a Spanish island in 2016.

"Plastic was suspended under the surface－it was like a strange soup," Claudia Williams said. "That's when we decided to make the change."

The pair set about eliminating plastic from their lives－transforming their household.

Pasta and grains are kept in glass containers. They also use bamboo toothbrushes and make their own toothpaste from bicarbonate of soda, glycerin and peppermint oil. Toilet paper is ordered from companies that use paper wrap, and cleaning detergents and shampoo are topped up at zero-waste stores that offer refills.

Williams said she now feels as though she and her husband are among the first people to join a burgeoning movement, with the problem of plastic waste and pollution increasingly entering public debate.

This is partly due to the popular 2017 BBC documentary series Blue Planet II, which highlighted marine plastic pollution, as well as China's decision to ban plastic waste imports in 2018, when many Britons learned for the first time how much of their household waste was being shipped abroad.

"There was a lot of public awareness, and that led to things like supermarkets offering refillable items and corporations making pledges regarding plastic," said Williams, who works for The Beeswax Wrap Co, which sells a plastic-free alternative to cling film.

She added that she is hopeful that the recent UN agreement to negotiate a plastics treaty will further accelerate change.

"It's the best news I've heard in a long time," she said, citing examples of how the UN-led Sustainability Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change have affected change. "The UN is a really influential organization, and that gives me hope that this global treaty is going to have some real clout," she added.