When stay-at-home mum Sara Dallat, 24, welcomed her daughters Maggie, one, and Elena, eight months, she started to worry about what the future will look like for the next generation.
She decided to make a change, starting by dropping the amount of plastic she uses in the home.
One major swap was trading in disposable diapers for reusable nappies, which she says has saved her £1, 500.
Sara is now sharing her journey of going plastic-free – and how much money it’s saved her – in the hopes of inspiring other parents to do their bit to lessen their impact on the environment.
The mum, from Coleraine in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, said: ‘When I became a parent, I realised that the damage people were causing to the planet wasn’t just impacting my future, it was impacting my children’s future too.
‘I don’t think people realise that if we don’t start looking after the planet now then it’ll be a disaster for everyone.
‘It will be a catastrophe for the natural world. First the animals will go, then people will follow.
‘I’ve definitely saved money being more eco-friendly.
‘I’m just getting what I need, and I’m not overbuying or stockpiling.
‘Especially in terms of stuff for the girls – with nappies alone I must’ve saved £1,500 in two years by using reusable cloth versions.’
It’s not always easy to go zero-waste straight away.
Sara is keen to encourage people to start small and do what they can – even if that’s simply picking up a bit of litter when you’re strolling through the park.
Her journey to doing more for the environment began back in 2018, after she gave birth to Maggie and decided to start reducing her household waste.
‘To me it was a no brainer,’ she said. ‘I wanted to raise my children in an environmentally-friendly way.
‘I was a first-time mum with no experience of using normal single use disposable nappies, so I went straight in for cloth versions.
‘They come in all sorts of funky colours and patterns and one size fits all.
‘The nappies I’ve got vary from £4.99 up to £17 and have fitted Maggie since she was a baby right up until she was potty trained.
‘Literally all you do is chuck them in the washing machine, hang them out to dry and use them time and time again.’
With disposable nappies costing up to just £17 to be used time and time again, Sara says it has also meant large savings for the family.
Sara's tips for going zero-waste
- It doesn’t have to be a big change – grab a fork from your kitchen to take out to eat, rather than using a plastic one. Or carry a reusable water bottle or coffee cup when you are out and about.
- Think about the acts you perform every day like brushing your teeth or going to the toilet. Getting a bamboo toothbrush or ethically sourced toilet paper makes a big difference, because it’s something you use all the time.
- Take your journey gradually, don’t try and overhaul your life overnight, because either will not stick to it, or you will end up wasting lots of plastic by throwing it away before it has been used to its full capacity
- Stop stockpiling! If lots of people opened up the kitchen cupboard, they would find five bottles of fairy liquid – that is five bottles of plastic, just sitting there
- Stop having a ‘throwaway’ mindset. Many items have many different uses – you just have to be a little inventive
She added: ‘As a single mum of two, I don’t have time to quickly pop to the shop if I run out of something.
‘So, having reusable nappies is more convenient for me, too.’
As well as being mindful of what she buys, Sara has tried to make her house plastic free.
She started with the bathroom, swapping plastic toothbrushes for bamboo versions, trading plastic containers for solid bars of shampoos, soaps, and conditioners, and signing up to Who Gives A Crap?, a subscription service that delivers recycled toilet rolls to your door.
The mum has even made sure her hair dyeing routine isn’t contributing to household waste, using a bamboo mixing bowl and an aluminium cap.
Sara has also swapped using traditional sanitary towels in favour of a menstrual cup, which alongside reducing waste saves her plenty of money longterm.
Not only is it better for the environment, but at £25 per cup – which is meant to last for around a decade – compared to £3 for a packet of 18 tampons, it saves a fortune.
The next area to tackle on Sara’s plastic-free mission is the kitchen, where she’s already made sure to buy cutlery from charity shops and takes her own containers to the local refill store rather than buying packaged goods.
‘This also means we only buy what we need, rather than getting a family size box of Coco Pops, which is too big for us,’ she explains.
‘There’s a farm near us which has just started doing refillable milk – so, just like the refill store, you bring you own container and they fill it up for you,” she said.
‘For meat, I always go to the local farmer or butcher, because that way you’re putting money back into your local economy and your meat’s not been transported from far away, so you save on air travel and reduce the carbon footprint.’
Only dressing herself and her daughters in ethically sourced clothes is also important to the eco-mum.
She said: ‘Fast fashion is a huge problem for the planet.
‘I only buy clothes made from organic cotton, so you can trace where it comes from and know that people in the factories are being treated well and paid a fair wage.
‘The material is also a lot better for Maggie’s sensitive skin than cheap supermarket clothes.
‘It can end up being a bit pricey, but there’s a huge secondhand market for these clothes.
‘I get all my clothes and the girls’ clothes from eBay or Facebook Marketplace – a T-shirt can cost £2 or £3 and skirts or trousers can cost £5 or £6.
‘And the clothes last so much longer. Maggie has her favourite T-shirt and trousers that she’s worn to death and I’ve washed them every day.
‘Yes, they have a few stains, but she’s a child, so that doesn’t matter, and they still look great.’
If you’re finding this all a bit intimidating, be assured that Sara admits she’s far from perfect.
It’s not about getting everything right, but doing what you can.
‘I need a car to get around, so I can’t give that up and I need the convenience of using a lightweight plastic pram,’ said Sara.
‘Also, with the girls’ toys, I’d rather buy a big hunk of plastic from a charity shop than a brand new wooden toy they don’t use.
‘At least when the toy is secondhand it’s been loved already, and it can be loved again.
“This journey of awareness is about finding what fits with your family and what works for your life – it’s not a one size fits all sort of thing.’
‘People are at home a lot more, so they can just start looking at little habits or things that they can easily change.
‘You don’t have to it all at once. If you chucked all your plastic out at once, it would actually be detrimental to the planet.
‘It’s all about making small changes that work for you and your family – whether that’s swapping your toilet roll or, rather than throwing plastic away, finding a new use for it.
‘Sometimes the smallest change can have the biggest impact.’
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