Bulk buy
Big up your essentials
Your Challenge
Reduce the amount of packaging in your home by buying long-lasting essential products in larger packages.
This challenge is about buying larger containers or packets of everyday essentials such as rice, pasta, beans and pulses (which can often be cheaper per gram). By buying larger packets you reduce the need for several small packets. This reduces the total amount of plastic used and disposed of. For example, one big bag of crisps (keep it closed with a rubber band or clip) rather than six smaller packets.
Many products like pasta, rice, washing detergent, tea bags and toilet paper can be bought in larger packages and stored for a long time. You can also help reduce the environmental impact by choosing recyclable packaging.
Always make sure you’re buying larger quantities of items you actually need, and that they won’t expire before you can use them. For example, if it’s something with a short shelf-life, you might not use 1kg of that product before it expires, so this ends up being food waste instead!
Why you're doing this
Globally we produce 400 million tonnes of plastic every year.[1] Plastic comes from fossil fuels that cause environmental harm when extracted, processed and disposed of. This results in emissions and pollution, and contributes to climate change.
How you'll make a difference
Small changes like this in our day-to-day habits all add up to help reduce the amount of plastic that can inadvertently end up in our waterways and oceans, harming wildlife, and can leach back into the food system.
Track your progress
in the My Footprint App
Track your progress and discover many more challenges in the My Footprint app. Available for iOS and Android devices.
