Pret a Manger last year doubled the discount it offers on takeaway drinks served to customers who bring along their own reusable cup from 25p to 50p. Café chains Paul and Leon offer 50p and 45p off respectively, Starbucks 30p, Costa and M&S cafés 25p, while Greggs offers 20p off and Caffè Nero double loyalty stamps. Many other coffee shops and cafés also offer discounts.



This is an obvious win in terms of plastic waste saved (from lids and the cups themselves, which fuse card with plastic). And you can get your own reusable cup (these need to have a lid, be clean and be able to fit into a coffee maker) from as little as £1, meaning it would only take two Pret drinks or Starbucks, Costa or M&S café drinks for you to make your money back – every use after that represents money saved.

For full info, see our Pay £1, get up to 50p off most Costa, Pret & Starbucks drinks EVERY time blog.

7. Replace cling film with reusable wraps

Beeswax and soy wax wraps – reusable, biodegradable alternatives to cling film – are now widely available. Made from cotton, wax and resin, these wraps can be moulded around containers and food itself to keep it fresh, then washed, dried and reused. They last for up to a year and, once they're spent, some can be composted.

Wraps cost from around £4 each or £10 per pack of three, so they're not cheap. Yet depending on how much cling film you get through, they could help you save. With cling film typically costing £2-£4 a roll, depending on brand a small pack could quickly pay for itself when you consider you'll get a year's use from each wrap (and some beeswax wraps can be used for longer if you get a refresher block).

Alternatively, you could try using Tupperware instead. Plastic, resealable takeaway containers are ideal for storing leftover food, and are largely dishwasher safe, so they're OK to reuse.

8. Go large in the supermarket to save on packaging and price

Economies of scale rarely lie – generally, the more you buy of something, the less it will cost you per unit.

So, if you can afford to buy and have the space to store larger packs of staples like washing powder, toilet roll, washing-up liquid, kitchen roll, batteries, plasters and canned foods, doing so will almost always save you money. (Always check the unit price on the supermarket price label though, and compare with other sizes.)

Buying bigger packs more often than not will mean you wind up throwing less plastic packaging in the bin.