What are the tipping points that encourage people to make significant changes to their behaviour? And when applied to disposable plastic, why should we live plastic free, and how? These are the questions asked by this brilliant new book – Small Steps to Less Waste: stories to inspire change – edited by our founder and Plastic Free Community leader, Claudi Williams.
Small Steps to Less Waste brings together the stories of ten individuals from our community who have taken significant steps in their life towards creating less plastic waste: choosing instead to reuse, repair, repurpose, and create, rather than buying new. It’s an inspiring and deeply practical book. Every contributor’s story is accompanied by recipes, tips, ideas for further reading, and information about the impact simple changes could have on our usage of throwaway plastic. There are DIY instructions for food wraps, sanitary towels, toothpaste, cleansing pads, household cleaning alternatives, clothes and repairs. With photography by Trudie Ballantyne and Amy Harvey, the accompanying images illustrate the simple beauty that can be found in a pared down and more home-made existence.
The contributors to Small Steps to Less Waste are local to us in Stroud, Gloucestershire (something of a hub for sustainable living), but several have national – even international – reach. What links them is the decision they’ve made to be the change. To develop the skills to make, create and look after what they have, rather than throw away and buy new.
Why should we live plastic free, and how? In his foreword, Hugo Tagholm, founder of marine conservation charity Surfers Against Sewage says “every action you take is important”. Choosing to follow these Small Steps will certainly cut waste and reduce the demands on the planet. It may also save you money, and will doubtless bring you satisfaction beyond your expections. And the impact may spread further still: as Claudi says of her own year lived plastic free, ‘what followed was an utterly absorbing, fascinating and rewarding journey that became a permanent lifestyle change, causing ripples that touched our family, friends and community.’
‘The main takeaway from this book? That all of these changes, rather than diminishing us, actually make our lives fuller, richer, better connected and more purposeful. Wave farewell to plastic and discover a world of ingenuity and creativity!’—Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement and author of ‘From What Is to What If’
Small Steps to Less Waste is available now for pre-order from Hawthorn Press, priced at £19.99. All royalties from the sale of Small Steps to Less Waste will go to Stroud District Action on Plastic.
