As you will no double have heard, getting rid of plastic is difficult.

Some of it can’t be recycled, and many people just put it in the bin.

So here are some handy tips to help you have less plastic in your life.

1. Buy fresh fruit and veg at local markets. Wallingford is lucky to have two weekly markets to provide you with a good selection. Every Friday there is the Charter Market, where fruit and veg is brought to you fresh every day from the New Covent Garden market. Every Saturday there is the Local Producers’ Market in St Mary’s Church, where locally-grown fruit and veg is sold along with local cheese, eggs, local wine and beer. Alternatively, buy loose from the supermarket.

2. Always take your own shopping bags. If you still have plastic bags, reuse them as many times as you can. The few I have are held together with sticky tape for a few more uses. Charity shops have fold-away bags for under £1 so no excuse to be stuck.

3. Stop using cotton buds. You don’t need anything smaller than your elbow in your ear.

4. When you place an order, tell bar or cafe staff you do not want a straw.

5. Refill your laundry and toiletry liquids at a refill station – there is one at Just Trading in Wallingford – reusing your own bottles.

6. Switch to loose tea. Buy a tea strainer or one of those dinky metal perforated gadgets that hold a teaspoon of loose tea to put in your cup or teapot.

7. Always ask before you buy whether a paper bag is available or if drinks will be served in glass, not plastic containers. This raises retailers’ awareness of their customers’ preferences.

8. Go to the butcher for your meat or the butchery counter in your supermarket. Then you can refuse any plastic wrapping. Greaseproof paper is sufficient to get you home.

9. When your toothbrush or nail brush needs replacing, buy a bamboo or wooden one instead.

10. In the garden, re-use all your plastic plant pots till they fall apart then put them in the recycling if they have the recycling symbol. If you must buy pop, use the bottles in the garden as individual cloches to protect your tender plants.

Those are our top ten tips, but if you've got your own plastic-saving tricks you are more than welcome to share then with us and all our members by emailing us today at sw@sustainablewallingford.org