What to do When Gifted with Plastic Items??

You can try so hard to make your life plastic-free and zero-waste, but when your birthday or Christmas comes along, someone may give you...PLASTIC! Plastic is seemingly everywhere lately, (plastic plants, plastic dishes, plastic toys...), so what do you do when someone gives you something that has plastic?

First off, and this one's a given, don't tell them you don't want their present (lol), but I mean that's just basic etiquette and you don't need a lecture from me on that ;)

The 3 Best Things to do With Gifted Plastic

1. Return it

• See if there's a non-plastic alternative you can exchange it for, or simply return it. If you are really trying to purge your life of plastic use, this is the best option. Maybe if less people are buying or using these items, less of them will be made.

Unable to return the item? Have no fear, see #2!

2. Use it

• I know it seems counter-intuitive, but using the item is the second best option. Think about it, throwing the item away, or even recycling it, is exactly the opposite of what we want to happen here. Using it at least makes the production worth it, and it doesn't go to a landfill or use expensive energy to break it down to be reused as a grocery bag.

3. Donate it

• Give the item to Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, DI, or whatever thrift store is near you..at least then somebody will get use of it, and giving the item to someone in need is a wonderful option.

The simple truth is recycling or throwing the gifted item away simply because it is plastic only hurts the environment; it doesn't help (think of all the cute baby sea turtles being hurt by that thrown away plastic!)

Got any ideas about what to do with gifted plastic? Let me know in the comments!

Here are some pics of cute baby sea turtles to guilt trip you (I'm not ashamed) ;)

I do not claim these images, all images in this post were taken from Google.