On new year’s day, we drove to Point Reyes to see elephant seals. The seals were minding their own business as expected on the California coast, but the beach was unusually colorful.

The BAD kind of colorful. Right in front of us.

It’s impossible not to notice the blanket of bottle caps, pens, packaging, straws, hang tags, toys, and micro plastic broken into pieces too tiny to pick out by hand. The vibrant blue, pink, orange, and green attract the attention of everyone on the beach — humans and shorebirds. This is a fragment of the 8 million tons of plastic trash entered into the marine system every year.

We walked away only when our hands and pockets couldn’t hold any more trash. We were reluctant to leave as if we were walking away from the hope that our children will even see a clean beach.

The first thing I noticed when I got home that night is how much plastic there is in our life. Most of us carefully dispose of our plastic waste and recycle what we can. However, 90% of the plastic waste ever made has never been recycled. As more countries are getting out of the business of processing recycled plastics (you might want to check out Plastic China, a documentary on the negative environmental and health impact of plastic recycling), the mounting plastic trash finds its way back into the ecosystem: turtles, fish, birds, and ultimately our own bodies.

Governments start to take actions banning or reducing single-use plastic across the U.S. (slowly but surely) and in 127 countries around the globe (39 in Europe, 34 in Africa; Asia / South America are following suit in 2020: Thailand, Mexico City, etc.).

So… What can we do as consumers?

The answer is: A LOT. Not only would our choice of using plastic-free products reduce the total amount of waste, but the collective shift to live greener as a community will also inspire manufacturers and retailers to innovate for the better (For example, Trader Joes is eliminating over half of its 4 million pounds of plastic in its produce department).

We are at the center of the change. Perfect for a 2020 new year resolution.

Conveniently, it turns out that there is already a wide selection of plastic-free solutions, and the selection is growing. Here are a few ways to get started:

Milk cartons

Buy the diary cartons without a plastic bottle cap. The milk tastes just the same.

Cloth produce bags

These reusable mesh or cloth produce bags replace the thin-film plastic bags, and can be washed easily. There are many kinds to choose from on Amazon.

There are plenty of options for reusable produce bags.

Reusable sandwich and snack bags

Those reusable bags are leak proof and dish-washer safe. Some come with very cute designs. There are many options available on Amazon.

Shampoo bars

Lush introduced shampoo bars and now many other companies are entering the marketplace: it comes without the plastic bottle, and the added bonus of making air travel easier (no need to check bags).

Refill containers, and use concentrated cleaning products in tablet form

Blueland and other companies offer “just-add-water” dehydrated household cleaning products, from hand soap to surface cleaners. Read more.

Blueland house cleaning products in tablet form.

Laundry detergent sheets

TruEarth: Those sheets are simple to use and easy to store. Each sheet washes one load — there is no more complicated measuring / messiness associated with liquid or powder detergent. Also, traditional bottled liquid detergent come in a plastic container. The majority of the weight is water, so when we buy liquid detergent we are transporting water across the country.

Other laundry alternatives include dissolvable pods (check out Dropps’ plastic-free laundry and dish detergent).

Dropps’ dissolvable laundry detergent pods.

New retail model in “Refillables”

There are also new ways of shopping that help reduce the plastic in distribution. Two Alaskan women opened up a store where customers can refill house-hold liquid products.

Loop, a cross-brand distributor delivers goods in reusable container and picks up the empty jars after use.

Products available in reusable containers on Loop.

Household cleaning life hacks

Choose more natural cleaning substances or plastic-free packaging, and here are more tips.

We all can play a part in the war against plastics: we are losing the clean ocean and the sandy beach; we are suffocating marine animals with our trash; and at the top of the food chain, we are feeding ourselves micro plastics.

As a society, we have made great progress to eliminate the use of asbestos and lead. This time it is plastic. We can do it together.

Finally, here are some cute and fuzzy elephant seals (incl. a pup) napping in humans’ awe and sharing the peace. Happy 2020!

Elephant seals (incl. a pup) hanging out on the beach.

Kathleen Gundry, a life-long advocate for the environment and a volunteer at the San Anselmo Sustainability Commission, contributed to this article with comprehensive researches and recommendations of plastic-free solutions. San Anselmo, California, has recently banned single-use plastic.